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Dissertation requirements are for the academic degrees of PhD, DrPH and EdD The Dissertation must conform to the guidelines of the University. Refer to the Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines, available on the web at www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php for information about requirements, procedures, and deadlines.

Format
Consult the ETD FAQ on Formatting (www.grad.usf.edu/ETD-FAQ.php)

Directed Research
Directed Research hours taken with the (Co) Major Professor(s) prior to approval to doctoral candidacy by the Office of Graduate Studies may satisfy up to 50% of the dissertation hour requirement, with program approval.

Manuscript Processing Fee
USF Regulation USF4-0107, regulationspolicies.usf.edu/regulations/pdfs/regulation-usf4.0107.pdf. Students participating in the dissertation process are required to pay a processing fee. More information is available on the website at www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php.

Doctoral Dissertation Defense
Upon acceptance into candidacy, the doctoral student forms a dissertation committee that is approved by the college. The candidate, major professor and the committee members should meet regularly (at least once per term) to review the candidate’s progress. Minutes of committee meetings including date, who was in attendance, and action items are maintained by the candidate. 

When the candidate, major professor and committee members agree that it is time to schedule the final defense of the dissertation, the candidate distributes the final dissertation draft at least 4 weeks before the final defense date. This time period allows the committee to thoroughly review the document and the student to make changes before the final defense. The final defense date must be at least one week prior to the final submission deadline to the Office of Graduate Studies.

After the Doctoral Dissertation Committee has determined that the final draft of the dissertation is suitable for presentation; the Committee will request the scheduling and announcement of the Dissertation Defense (also called Final Oral Examination or Oral Defense.) Check with the College and Program for college and program specific procedures for this process. A copy of the announcement should be sent to the Office of Graduate StudiesDoctoral Training, preferably two weeks in advance of the defense date. The announcement must also be posted in a public forum for a minimum of twenty-four hours to comply with statute requirements for a public meeting. The student and the Major Professor (or, if Co-Major Professors, at least one) must be physically present at the defense. The student must successfully defend the dissertation to be able to proceed and complete the final submission process.