The student is admitted to candidacy when all course work other than dissertation
research (6950) has been completed, and the qualifying examinations have been passed.
Doctoral students must maintain continuous enrollment subsequent to passing the qualifying
examination for admission to candidacy.
When the student is admitted to candidacy, the appropriate departmental committee
is dissolved and a Dissertation Committee is formed. In the event that a committee
is not formed, the appropriate departmental committee will serve as the default committee
and the Ph.D. Coordinator will serve as chair. The Dissertation Committee consists
of a major professor, who assumes primary responsibility for the dissertation, serves
as chairperson of the Dissertation Committee, and is selected from the Graduate Faculty
of the student's major area. This chairperson must be a Full Member of the Graduate
Faculty. Two or more committe members are selected in consonance with the dissertation
requirements from Graduate Faculty member holding Full or Associate Membership. Other
faculty may be added if they possess special expertise needed by the committee. While
the student may recommend to the department the composition of the committee, the
selection will be made by the department in accordance with established departmental
procedures (e.g. which may include departmental requirement of an outside college
member). The major area Ph.D. Coordinator submits the recommendations to the Director
of Ph.D. Program & Research. The Director verifies appropriate qualifications and
notifies the Dean of the Graduate School, of the formation of the candidate's Dissertation
Committee (FORM K).
Dissertation Proposal
The work will be supervised by the Chair of the Dissertation Committee and is intended
to provide the student with the background necessary to defend a research proposal.
The work, therefore, is primarily directed research into potential areas. Manuals
describing acceptable style are on file in the Office of the Graduate Dean.
Upon approval of his/her Dissertation Committee, a dissertation proposal defense may
be scheduled after the completion of a minimum of six hours of dissertation research
hours (6950). A total of twelve hours of 6950 is required.
The student is responsible for requesting the proposal defense be scheduled, which
is accomplished by filing FORM L with the Chair of his/her Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee will
set the time and place of the defense, after consultation with the Ph.D. Coordinator
and the CoB Office of Graduate Programs and Research. The members of the Dissertation
Committee should have copies of the proposal or dissertation at least three weeks prior to scheduling a defense. FORM L, electronic copies of the Abstract and the Proposal or Dissertation must be given
to the CoB Office of Graduate Programs and Research (BLB 201) before the defense can
be announced two weeks in advance by memorandum to the CoB Faculty and doctoral students and reserve a room.
The memorandum will include: (1) the name of the candidate, (2) the candidate's major
area, (3) the date, time and place of the defense, (4) the title of the proposed dissertation,
(5) names of the dissertation advisory committee members, and (6) a one or two page
abstract of the proposal. The Chair of the Dissertation Committee will make copies
of the proposal available to all interested faculty and doctoral students.
The abstract must include a statement of the problem and a description of the research
methodology. The abstract will conform to the standard format approved by the CoB
Doctoral Program Committee. A description of this format is available from the CoB
Office of Graduate Programs and Research (FORM M).
All faculty and doctoral students in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business are encouraged
to take an active part in the proposal defense.
After the defense, the dissertation proposal should be revised by the candidate to
reflect suggestions made by the faculty. A final draft should be prepared for review
and approved by the candidate's Dissertation Committee. FORM N will then be sent to the Graduate Dean's Office.
Once the proposal has been approved, the candidate may enroll for the remaining hours
of dissertation research hours (6950).
The candidate should retain a signed copy of the dissertation proposal in his/her
personal records.
Dissertation
A student must enroll in 6950 for a minimum of three credit hours during each long
semester until the dissertation has been accepted by the Dean of the Graduate School.
Registration in at least one summer session is required if the student is using university
facilities and/or faculty time during that summer session. Failure to maintain continuous
enrollment will either invalidate any previous dissertation credit or will result
in the student being dropped from the degree program unless granted an official leave
of absence by the Graduate Dean for medical or other exceptional reasons.
When the candidate's Dissertation Committee agrees that the dissertation is ready
for defense, the student will work with his/her Dissertation Chair and the major area
Ph.D. Coordinator to schedule the defense. The defense is then announced two weeks
in advance by memorandum to the CoB Graduate Faculty and doctoral students. The memorandum
will include: (1) the name of the candidate, (2) the candidate's major area, (3) the
date, time and place of the defense, (4) the title of the dissertation, (5) names
of the dissertation advisory committee members, and (6) a one or two page abstract
of the dissertation. The defense will be conducted in accordance with policies and
procedures established by the Graduate School of the University, the CoB and the candidate's
major area. The candidate is advised to check with these offices to obtain official
information concerning these policies and procedures. A form requesting the oral defense
(FORM O) should be filed with the Graduate School via the Ph.D. Coordinator and the CoB Office
of Graduate Programs and Research.
The CoB Office of Graduate Programs and Research must receive a copy of the dissertation
at least two weeks prior to the defense.
At the time of filing for final defense the Ph.D. student is required to submit a
current electronic vita to be retained in the student's file (see Standardized Resume,
FORM P).
After the candidate successfully defends the dissertation, the Dissertation Committee
chairperson should complete and file the Report of the Final Comprehensive Examination
(Sample Only attached, may not be copied for use - this form is generated by the Graduate
School) for the Doctor's Degree with the Graduate School Office via the major area
Ph.D. Coordinator and the CoB Office of Graduate Programs and Research. The dissertation
is not completed until it has been approved by the candidate's Dissertation Committee
and accepted by the Graduate School of the University.
University of North Texas 
