G3.10 Recommendations for Dissertators
The following is a list of suggestions for dissertators. These are not requirements but rather information intended to complement policy statements elsewhere in this document and in the Graduate School’s various publications for dissertators.
Dissertators should compose their dissertation committees in collaboration with their dissertation directors soon after taking the preliminary examination. The dissertation director must be a member of the major field examining committee. Members of the preliminary examination committee do not automatically become dissertation readers, so dissertators must obtain their explicit consent to serve as such.
Dissertators should decide in collaboration with their dissertation directors how writing will proceed. They should agree whether readers will be asked to read any portion of the work while in progress, and if so, how much and at what stages of completion. They should develop a provisional timeline, with the understanding that it is to be adjusted and updated as work progresses.
Dissertators should consult other dissertations written recently in the same field and works available in the library on dissertation writing.
Dissertators should remain in frequent contact with their directors and committee members to inform them of progress on the dissertation and of any delays or other difficulties encountered.
Dissertators are strongly advised to learn and follow the required format for dissertation submission (notes, punctuation, spacing, etc.) from the beginning of the drafting process, so that they will not have to waste time making major format changes at the end. Consult a guide such as the MLA Handbook for formatting information. Readers should not be expected to correct basic errors in formatting at this stage of graduate study.
Dissertations are expected to evidence originality and broad knowledge of the relevant field of study, and they will be assessed on their scholarly contribution to that field.
Dissertators are not necessarily ready to defend their dissertations once they complete drafts of all chapters. Often ideas and chapters shift in relation to one another during writing, and dissertators will almost always find that an introduction written early on will not fit the final product. It is advisable to rewrite and rearrange chapters as necessary before submitting a final complete dissertation draft to the dissertation director.
Dissertation directors should approve complete final dissertation drafts before the dissertator submits them to the other readers. Since reading a complete final draft is time-consuming, dissertators should give readers at least three weeks before the defense date to read the final draft approved by the director. They should also beware of burdening their readers at the busiest times of the academic year, at the beginning and end of semesters. If dissertators keep their readers informed of their progress, they will be able to set aside sufficient time to read the complete draft carefully and to provide comments in time for them to be taken into account in the final submission for defense.
After dissertators have received reader comments on their final drafts and completed all changes suggested by them, it is then appropriate to schedule a defense date. Dissertators should consult with the Graduate Coordinator about the procedure. A final version of the completed dissertation in correct submission format must be made available in the departmental office two weeks before the scheduled defense. Dissertators must ensure that their readers receive this final version at least a week before the scheduled defense and that nonreaders receive the abstract, the table of contents and the introductory chapter of the dissertation.
Dissertators should set aside time after the dissertation defense to discuss with their directors how to make any changes required by the reading committee before submitting the definitive version of the dissertation to the Graduate School.