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Dissertation Proposal and Defense – General Information

• Some concentrations require students to write a dissertation proposal and present a defense of the proposal. The dissertation proposal consists of Chapters 1-3 of the dissertation.
• For concentrations that require a dissertation proposal defense, students must be admitted to candidacy prior to the defense and be registered for dissertation credits.
• The following forms must be submitted no later than 2 weeks prior to the dissertation proposal defense:
  • Request for Dissertation Proposal Form ( must be submitted in Archivum for students starting in 2018 or later).
  • PhD Dissertation Proposal Announcement (form should be sent to cophdoctoral@usf.edu). Announcements are posted to the public two weeks prior to the scheduled defense date. 
• The Proposal Defense Chair is not required, but may be selected from within the student’s concentration area.
• Students should meet with their (Co-) Major Professor(s) to discuss the requirements of their specific concentration regarding the dissertation proposal and defense. It is recommended that students schedule their defense several weeks or months in advance.

For the USF policy on Dissertations please refer to the USF Catalog.

Dissertation Defense – General Information

• Students must submit the dissertation draft to their committee for feedback at least 4 weeks prior to their defense date. Committee members should return feedback to the student within 2 weeks. The revised draft must be sent out to committee members at least 7 days before the defense. No changes should be made to the dissertation until after the defense.
• The following forms must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the dissertation proposal defense:
  • Request for Dissertation Defense Form ( must be submitted in Archivum for students starting in 2018 or later).
  • PhD Dissertation Defense Announcement (form should be sent to cophdoctoral@usf.edu 

• Students should meet with their doctoral committee to discuss the requirements of their specific concentration regarding the dissertation defense. It is recommended that students schedule their defense several weeks or months in advance.