DS PhD Dissertation Committee, Proposal, Timeline & Final Defense

Dissertation committee formation guideline

After successfully formulating a preliminary dissertation topic, completing the preliminary examinations, and prior to completing a dissertation proposal, a candidate should form a dissertation committee in close consultation with their major faculty advisor(s). This committee may be the same group as was used for the preliminary examination.

Minimum requirements for graduate committee are:

• The chair or co-chair of the committee must be Graduate Faculty from the student’s major program who holds a doctoral degree.
• Doctoral committees must have at least four members, three of whom must be UW Graduate Faculty or former UW Graduate Faculty up to one year after resignation or retirement. At least one of the four members must be from outside the student’s major field (often from the minor field).

Dissertation proposal

After successfully completing the preliminary examination and advancing to PhD candidacy (or dissertator status), a student must complete a written dissertation proposal and submit to the student’s dissertation committee for approval. The general format for a dissertation proposal will vary according to the student’s area of concentration. Students should consult with their major advisor regarding the appropriate form and content.

If a dissertation research involves human subjects, the student is required to complete on-line training and the research must be conducted according to an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved human subjects protocol. For more information on these requirements, see the Human Research Protection Program at the Human Subject’s Protections website which includes links to the training, protocol submission, and other information. Most doctoral dissertations in Design Studies are reviewed by the Education and Social/Behavioral Science Institutional Review Board (IRB). The student’s advisor is officially responsible for the dissertation project, and must complete the training as well.

The proposal is presented to and approved by the student’s committee. A student should make every effort to complete his/her dissertation proposal within six months of advancing to candidacy.

Dissertation Timeline and Final Defense

A dissertation is required of all PhD students at UW-Madison. A PhD dissertation demonstrates the student’s ability to design and conduct original research, further contributing to the knowledge base of the design research and scholarship.

The student is allowed five years to complete the degree after passing the Preliminary Exam and achieving Dissertator status. If more than five years has transpired, the student must retake the Preliminary Examination or petition the DS Graduate Program Committee and the Dean of the Graduate School for an extension of one year.

During the process of completing the dissertation, the student should remain in close contact with their faculty advisor and the other members of the committee. To graduate with a doctoral degree, the student must inform the DS Graduate Chair and make their intent known to the SoHE Graduate Program Office in the final semester. After arranging a dissertation defense date, the student must obtain the PhD warrant through the SoHE Graduate Program Office. This must be filed with the Graduate School a minimum of three weeks before the oral defense date. The Graduate School will then send a warrant to the committee members for signatures at or after the defense.

The finished dissertation should be approved by the advisor before it is distributed to other committee members. The complete draft should be given to the committee at least one month prior to the scheduled defense date. It is recommended that the full dissertation committee have a pre-defense meeting with a short presentation by the candidate and use the opportunity to refine the final defense and modify the written dissertation should the need arise. Once the committee agrees that the pre-defense presentation is acceptable, the final defense is conducted. The final defense is open to the faculty and students of the university.

Students should follow all guidelines for dissertations and deadlines as outlined on the Graduate School’s website. https://grad.wisc.edu/current-students/doctoral-guide/