Ph.D. Thesis Requirements

The thesis must demonstrate the student’s originality and ability for independent investigation, and the results of the research must constitute a contribution to knowledge. The thesis must exhibit the student’s mastery of the literature of the subject and familiarity with the sources. The subject matter must be presented with a satisfactory degree of literary skill.

Thesis Proposal—Students must file the thesis proposal form with the Graduate School, 316 Johnston Hall, no later than the first semester after passing the preliminary oral examination. The form must include the proposed thesis title and a thesis proposal, about 250 words in length, describing the research to be undertaken and the methods to be employed in carrying it out.

The thesis reviewers and other members of the final oral examining committee are appointed by the dean of the Graduate School upon recommendation of the faculty in the major field at the time the student’s thesis proposal is approved.

Changes in the Thesis Title or the Thesis Proposal—Changes in the wording of the thesis title may be made without special approval, but changes cannot be made after the final thesis copy is submitted to the Graduate School. If substantive changes are made in the nature of the thesis research itself, the student must submit a revised thesis proposal to the Graduate School immediately.

Language of the Thesis—Theses must normally be written in English or in the language of instruction. If a thesis is to be written in a foreign language, including a language of instruction other than English, a letter should be attached to the thesis proposal form when it is submitted to the Graduate School. This letter should confirm that the recommended thesis reviewers (including the outside reviewer) are qualified to read, comprehend, and criticize a thesis in the foreign language.

Published Work Included in or in Lieu of the Thesis—The thesis may include materials that students have published while University of Minnesota graduate students, provided the research was carried out under the direction of the graduate faculty and approved by the adviser for incorporation into the thesis. Such publication is welcomed as the best demonstration of quality in a student’s research, and the Graduate School encourages the practice. The adviser should notify the Graduate School in writing of the intention to publish part of the thesis material, but the Graduate School’s approval is not required.

In cases where the thesis research is to be presented to the examining committee in the form of one or more articles that have been published, or are in a form suitable for publication, the student should contact the Graduate School, 316 Johnston Hall, for information on accommodating such a presentation to the required thesis format.

Thesis Reviewers—All members of the final oral examining committee read the thesis, although only those designated as thesis reviewers sign the report form certifying that the thesis is ready for defense.

The designated thesis reviewers consist of the adviser, representing the major field, and at least two other members of the final oral examining committee, including at least one representative from the major field and one representative from the minor or supporting program. Part of this group of reviewers should come from outside of the graduate program’s thesis advisory committee, if the program uses such a committee. Reviewers cannot represent more than one field simultaneously.

Certification of the thesis as ready for defense is a necessary step toward the final oral examination, but in no way diminishes the significance of that examination.

The Thesis Reviewers Report Form is obtained by the student from the Graduate School, 316 Johnston, or by requesting a graduation packet online. This form will be released only if the student has a Graduate School-approved thesis proposal form on file and has maintained active status (see Registration Requirements under Registration ).

Delivery of the Thesis to Thesis Reviewers—At the time the candidate submits a draft of the thesis to the thesis reviewers, copies must also be provided to all other members of the final oral examining committee. The thesis abstract must be included with the thesis when it is distributed to the committee. The abstract must be signed by the adviser and submitted, with the final thesis copy, to the Graduate School which forwards both to University Microfilms.

To permit faculty to allocate sufficient time to read the thesis and decide whether it is ready for defense, students must notify their adviser and other members of the final oral committee at least two weeks in advance that the thesis will be delivered on a particular date. All members of the examining committee must then have at least two weeks to read the thesis after it has been delivered.

When signing the thesis reviewers report form, the reviewers have three options: the thesis is acceptable for defense as presented; the thesis is acceptable for defense with minor revisions; or the thesis requires major revisions and is not acceptable for defense as presented.

The reviewers must be unanimous in certifying that the thesis is ready for defense, whether as presented or with minor revisions. If this is the case, and all other requirements have been met (see Final Oral Examination below), the Graduate School authorizes the final oral examination. In any instance where revisions are required, the committee must inform the student in writing of the revisions required, and all questions concerning such revisions must be resolved before the final copies of the thesis are submitted and the degree is conferred. It is the adviser’s responsibility to ensure that revisions required by the reviewers are satisfactorily made (see Preparation and Submission of the Copies of the Thesis ).

Final Oral Examination
All doctoral students are required to successfully defend their theses in a final oral examination and graduate within five calendar years after passing the preliminary oral examination. To be eligible for the final oral examination, a student must have completed all work on the official doctoral degree program form, including the language requirement, if any; must have passed both the written and oral preliminary examinations; must have an approved thesis proposal on file with the Graduate School; must have maintained active status; and must have satisfied the thesis credit requirement. In addition, the thesis must have been certified by the readers as ready for defense.

Scheduling the Final Oral With the Graduate School—The student must schedule the examination at least one week in advance with both the committee and the Graduate School (see Clearance for Graduation). In certain of the health science fields, however, the faculty requires 30 days notice of the date of the final oral. The Final Oral Examination Scheduling Form is available online at www.grad.umn.edu/current_students/forms/doctoral.html .

When the examination is scheduled, the student’s Graduate School file is checked to determine if the student can be cleared to take the examination as stipulated above. If so, the report form for the final oral examination will be forwarded to the chair of the examining committee. If difficulties are apparent, the Graduate School staff will contact the student immediately.

A minimum of 10 weeks must intervene between the preliminary oral and the final oral examinations. Also, the final oral should not be scheduled during the summer unless the committee members can be assembled without substitution.

Final Oral Examining Committee—The committee must consist minimally of four members: three (including the student’s adviser) from the major field and one from the minor field or supporting program. At least one committee member from the minor field or supporting program should represent a graduate program (and budgetary unit, if possible) other than that of the student’s major. Committee members cannot represent more than one field simultaneously.

Although the student’s adviser serves as a member of the final oral examining committee, another member of the committee is designated as the chair and functions in this capacity at the final oral examination. The chair must be a senior member or affiliate senior member of the graduate faculty and may be from either the major field or the minor field or supporting program. The chair and other members of the final oral examining committee are appointed by the dean of the Graduate School upon recommendation of the faculty in the major field at the time the student’s thesis proposal is approved.

All committee members must be present at the examination; the absence of any member results in an invalid examination.

Changes in the Final Oral Examining Committee—Substitutions on the examining committee may be necessitated by such circumstances as a faculty member’s temporary absence on leave from the University. The adviser or the director of graduate studies must request the Graduate School’s approval of such substitutions well in advance of the examination. Substitutions necessitated by emergency situations must also be approved in advance. In such cases, the committee chair should consult with the Graduate School staff by telephone before the start of the examination.

Form of the Final Oral Examination—The final oral examination consists of a seminar in which the candidate presents the thesis and to which the scholarly community is invited. The seminar may take place only after the thesis has been judged ready for defense. The examination is limited to the candidate’s thesis subject and relevant areas. It will not exceed three hours. A closed meeting between the candidate and the appointed examining committee immediately follows the thesis presentation. Immediately after the examination, the candidate is excused from the room and a written, secret ballot is taken before discussing the examination. Following the discussion, a second and final vote is taken.

Reporting the Results of the Final Oral Examination—To be recommended for the award of the doctoral degree, candidates must receive a vote with no more than one dissenting member of the total examining committee. If the student has clearly passed or clearly failed the examination and all members have signed the final examination report form, the report form must be returned to the Graduate School no later than the first workday following the examination.

The adviser should be responsible for ensuring the inclusion of appropriate modifications and required revisions, if any, in the final thesis. The final oral examination report form should not be signed and submitted to the Graduate School until all revisions have been made. If the form will be held for more than one week, a letter must be sent to the Graduate School stating that the form is being held pending required revisions.

Once the final report form has been returned to the Graduate School indicating that the student has either passed or failed the final oral examination, a hold is placed on the student’s records to prevent further registration in the Graduate School. If the adviser indicates that the student needs additional time to make minor revisions to the thesis before it is submitted to the Graduate School, the student is permitted to register for one additional semester. Once the thesis has been submitted, no further registration in the Graduate School is permitted unless the student has been admitted to professional development status or to another major field.

Recess of a Final Oral Examination—On rare occasions, the examining committee may conclude that the final oral examination should be recessed, to be reconvened at a later date. Guidelines for such circumstances are sent to the chair of each examining committee along with the final oral examination report form.

The Graduate School need not be notified until after the fact of informal recesses of up to a week. In the case of a longer recess, the committee must inform the student in writing of the reasons for recessing the examination, including any deficiencies noted in the student’s thesis or defense, and must indicate when they expect to reconvene and resume the examination. A copy of this letter must be sent to the Graduate School, along with the unsigned final examination report form. When the student and the committee are ready to reconvene the examination, it should be scheduled in the normal way with the Graduate School. A new examination report form will be mailed to the chair of the committee one week before the date on which the committee will reconvene. The reconvened committee must be composed of the same members as the original final oral examining committee.

Preparation and Submission of the Copies of the Thesis
A copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School. The student’s adviser(s) must sign the thesis to confirm that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects and that all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made. Instructions for the preparation of the thesis, including format specifications and adviser’s signature requirements, can be obtained from the Graduate School, 316 Johnston Hall, or online at www.grad.umn.edu/current_students/forms.