Doctoral Thesis Proposal

1) Purpose

In the thesis proposal, the student lays out an intended course of research for the dissertation.  By accepting the thesis proposal, the student's dissertation committee agrees that the proposal is practicable and acceptable, that its plan and prospectus are satisfactory, and that the candidate is competent in the knowledge and techniques required, and formally recommends that the candidate proceed according to the prospectus and under the supervision of the dissertation committee. It is part of the training of the student's research apprenticeship that the form of this proposal must be as concise as those proposals required by major funding agencies. [Revised by full faculty vote, April 13, 2007.]

2) Committee

The student proposes to a committee consisting of the student's advisor and two other researchers who meet GSAS requirements for dissertation committee membership.  The advisor should solicit the prospective committee members, not the student. In cases where the research and departmental advisors are different, both must serve on the committee, with then only one other member.

3) Document

The student prepares a proposal document that consists of a core, plus any optional appendices. The core is limited to 30 pages (e.g., 12 point font, single spacing, 1 inch margins all around), and should contain sections describing 1) the problem and its background, 2) the innovative claims of the proposed work and its relation to existing work, 3) a description of at least one initial result that is mature enough to be able to be written up for submission to a conference, and 4) a plan for completion of the research. The committee commits to read and respond to the core, but reserves the right to refuse a document whose core exceeds the page limit. The student cannot assume that the committee will read or respond to any additional appendices.

The complete doctoral thesis proposal document must be disseminated to the entire dissertation committee no later than two weeks (14 days) prior to the proposal presentation.* [This rule was passed by full faculty vote on February 4, 2004 and is effective immediately.] The academic staff must be informed of the scheduling of the proposal presentation no later than two weeks (14 days) prior to the presentation.* [This rule was passed by full faculty vote on November 17, 2004 and is effective immediately.] ^*Emergency exceptions to either of these can be granted by the phdczar or the Department Chair on appeal by the advisor and agreement of the committee.

A latex thesis proposal template is available here.

4) Presentation and Feedback

The student presents the proposal in a prepared talk of 45 minutes to the committee, and responds to any questions and feedback by the committee.

5) Timing

The student's advisor, upon approval of the full faculty, establishes the target semester by which the thesis proposal must be successfully completed. The target semester must be no later than the eighth semester, and the student must be informed of the target semester no later than the sixth semester.

6) Progress

Passing or failing is determined by consensus of the committee, who then sign the dissertation proposal form. Failure to pass the thesis proposal by the end of the target semester or the eighth semester, whichever comes first, is deemed unsatisfactory progress: the student is normally placed on probation and can be immediately dismissed from the program. However, on appeal of the student's advisor, one semester's grace can be granted by the full faculty.^*

[Modified by full faculty vote on September 22, 2004. Effective immediately for students currently in their sixth semester or earlier.]

^*Note: A student will not be placed on probation if the proposal has been written and is deemed satisfactory by the advisor, but circumstances beyond the student's control (such as scheduling conflicts amongst the committee members or the advisor's failure to form a committee in a timely matter), prevents the student from presenting the proposal.

Last updated on October 20, 2007.