PhD Proposal and Dissertation

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 Studies, 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.

The Doctoral Dissertation Defense (Final Oral Examination) shall be presided by

• An external committee member from outside the Department, School, or equivalent, hosting the doctoral program, but may be within the academic discipline.

OR

• A non-committee member (a.k.a. Outside Chair), (Refer to the individual Program's Degree Requirements in the Graduate Catalog for information).  If the Chair is from another institution, this individual must be approved for Affiliate Graduate Faculty status.

The Doctoral Dissertation Defense Chair’s role includes overseeing the proceedings as well as serving as the student’s advocate, by ensuring fairness of the process.  Faculty holding joint, courtesy, or adjunct appointments in the degree-granting academic unit (i.e. Department or equivalent) cannot serve as the Defense Chair.   

1. The Doctoral Dissertation defense (final oral examination) should be conducted within a timeline to allow for the student to make any necessary corrections following the defense and still meet the final copy deadline for turning in the Dissertation to the Office of Graduate Studies.The presentation should be considered an important function and all graduate students and faculty be encouraged to attend.
2. The presentation and defense are open to the public and as such, must meet the requirements of the Sunshine Laws for the State of Florida. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee deliberation is not public.
3. The room selected for the examination should have adequate seating with an alternate room selected in case of problems.
4. It is required that all members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee be present for the examination unless an absence is approved prior to the defense taking place by the Office of Graduate Studies Dean. In the event that a member cannot attend in person, participation is permissible via speakerphone or video conference. A minimum of three members, including the Major Professor is required to proceed with the defense. If a non-committee member chairs the Defense, this individual does not count as one of the three required members in attendance.  If an unforeseeable situation arises that would prevent compliance with this requirement, the Major Professor or Doctoral Dissertation Defense Chair should contact the Office of Graduate Studies for guidance and approval to proceed with the Defense. 
5. The length of the examination period will generally not exceed three hours. Throughout this time the Doctoral Dissertation Defense Chair is to be in charge of all proceedings and, ideally, is expected to play a balancing role between advocacy and contention.
6. The Outside Chair, at any time during the course of the examination, may request all visitors to leave.
7. Presentation
• The Outside Chair should open the proceedings by introducing the candidate and the Dissertation Committee.
• The examination should begin with a presentation by the candidate designed to summarize the dissertation.
8. Questions
   Following the presentation the Defense may be moved to a different setting for the main examination.  The College determines the order of the proceedings described below:
• The Examination will consist of questions about the research by the Doctoral Dissertation Defense Chair and the Doctoral Dissertation Committee
• It is suggested that questioning should be limited to about 15 minutes for each Doctoral Dissertation Committee member with subsequent rounds of questioning as necessary.
• Questions from the faculty-at-large and/or the public may be allowed following the presentation.  It is suggested that questioning from the general audience be limited up to 5 minutes per person.
9. Deliberations and Voting
   Following the completion of these proceedings, the Doctoral Dissertation Defense Chair
• will ask all visitors and the candidate to leave and will reconvene the Doctoral Dissertation Committee only.
• will preside over the deliberations and voting of the Committee (Note: if a non-committee member (Outside chair) is used he/she will not participate in the voting)
• is responsible for tallying the votes and informing the candidate of the final decision.  The voting is to be limited to "pass" and "fail" votes. The vote of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee must be unanimous.  If unanimous agreement cannot be reached, the Doctoral Dissertation Defense Chair notifies the Department Chair (or appropriate equivalent) who will endeavor to resolve the dispute in an expedient fashion.
• records the vote on the Successful Defense Form and conveys the decision of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee (Successful Defense Form) to the Department/College Graduate Office to be kept in the student's file

Dissertation Final Submission Guidelines
Information on requirements for submission of the finished and approved manuscript copies is available online at the Thesis and Dissertation website www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php. Students who fail to submit the final copy of a dissertation by the posted submission deadline will not be considered for graduation. The student may be considered for graduation in the following semester and must therefore apply for the degree (graduation) by the posted deadline, enroll in a minimum of two (2) dissertation hours for that subsequent semester, and meet the submission requirements as posted on the Thesis/Dissertation website. Only after the Office of Graduate Studies has approved the manuscript can the student be certified for the degree.

Mandatory Electronic Submission
Students are required to submit the dissertation in an electronic format (ETD). Requirements and procedures are available at the Office of Graduate Studies website www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php

Submission for Official Publication and Archiving
All dissertations will be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies designated system for official publication and archiving.

Changes after Publication
Once a dissertation is approved and accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies for publication, it cannot be changed.

Release of Dissertation Publications
The University recognizes the benefits from collaboration with sponsors on research projects but also recognizes the possibility of conflicts of interest in the disclosure of the results of the collaborations. While the sponsor's economic interests in the restriction of disclosure should be considered, the University has a primary mission to extend knowledge and disseminate it to the public and the broader academic community. The University's “Statement of Policy Regarding Inventions and Works” acknowledges the possible need for delays in publication of sponsored research to protect the sponsor's interests, but it provides no definite guidelines for the restrictions of publication beyond the statement: “Disclosure delays mutually acceptable to the Inventor, the Vice President for Research, and the sponsor, if any, are authorized in order to allow patent applications to be filled prior to publication, thereby preserving patent rights...”¹

To protect the University's primary goal from undue compromise, the University has adopted the following guidelines:

1. The recommendations of sponsors, regarding publication of research results should be considered advisory rather than mandatory.
2. In support of academic discourse and the mission to promote and share academic works, Dissertations will be released for worldwide access once submitted to and approved by the USF Office of Graduate Studies. In the event that a patent or copyright application provides reason to delay the release of the Dissertation, a petition to request a one year delay may be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies for consideration. Such requests must be received by the format check of the dissertation.
3. Students should not be delayed in the final defense of their dissertations by agreements involving publication delays.

Duty to Disclose New Inventions and Works
USF 0-300 regulationspolicies.usf.edu/policies-and-procedures/pdfs/policy-0-300.pdf and USF 12.003 regulationspolicies.usf.edu/regulations/pdfs/regulation-usf12.003.pdf For information about the requirements of this policy contact the Division of Patents and Licensing at (813) 974-0994.

Dissertation Change of Grade
In the semester in which the final manuscript has been received, reviewed, and certified for permanent filing in the University Library, the Office of Graduate Studies submits the change of grade from “Z” to “S” for the last registration of dissertation courses to the office of the registrar when all grades are due at the end of the semester.

¹April Burke, “University Policies on Conflict of Interest and Delay of Publications,” Report of the Clearinghouse on University-Industry Relations, Association of American Universities, February, 1985.