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Candidacy Phase

• Dissertation Registration
• Dissertation Phase Committee
  • Committee Structure
• Dissertation Models
  • Traditional Dissertation Model
  • Alternative Dissertation Model
  • Format/Style
• Dissertation Proposal
  • Contents of Proposal
  • Dissertation Proposal Defense
  • Human Subjects Review
• Guidelines for Preparation of Dissertation
• Preparation for Defense of Dissertation
  • Selection of Graduate Faculty Representative (GFR)
  • Pre-Defense Dissertation Committee Meeting
  • Arranging for the Defense
  • Readiness to Defend & Brochure
• Oral Defense
  • Examining Committee and Voting Procedures
  • Remote Participation in a Dissertation Defense
  • Report of the Oral Defense

Candidacy Phase

At this point in the doctoral program, the student is designated a "Doctoral Candidate."

Dissertation Registration

Registration for Dissertation I or the advancement to candidacy will not occur until   satisfactory completion of both the written and oral exams along with any “IPs” or “INs” received in their final semester.

Each doctoral student, upon admission to candidacy, must register continuously for Dissertation I (8x199) each semester (fall, spring) for a total of 30 credit hours. A student who has completed the required 30 credit hours of Dissertation I but has not finished the dissertation is expected, thereafter, to register continuously for Dissertation II (8x299) each semester (fall, spring) until all degree requirements are met.

Students who are planning to defend their dissertation in summer or early fall, or who are requiring access to university resources during the summer months — including, but not limited to, feedback or mentoring from their dissertation advisors, use of university buildings and other research resources — must register for dissertation in the summer term.

The fee for Dissertation I or II can be determined by consulting Tuition for the appropriate term. A student who enrolls in an additional course or courses will be charged additional tuition fees.

All doctoral dissertation registrations permit the student the use of University facilities including library and research equipment.

Students must be registered for dissertation credit in the term in which graduation is anticipated.

Dissertation Phase Committee

Dissertation Phase Committee form must be submitted by the end of the first semester of Dissertation I. All Committee Members must have Graduate Faculty Status. If Temporary Graduate Faculty status for outside members needs to be granted, the paperwork should be processed through the school office prior to submitting the committee form.

The student is responsible for initiating a meeting with the dissertation director for the purpose of identifying a committee to guide preparation of the dissertation. Once this has been done, the Dissertation Phase Committee form must be completed. It can be found on EHHS Graduate Student Services and Forms. If, due to faculty leave of absence or illness, it becomes necessary to change the committee, a “Revised” committee form must be completed by accessing the Dissertation Phase Committee form and utilizing the checkbox “Revised”.

Although a general research topic should be selected prior to choosing a committee and filling the form, it is not expected that the student be able to state the exact title of the dissertation at this point. The title provided on the Dissertation Phase Committee form is assumed to be an approximation of the eventual title.

Committee Structure

When the student has developed a dissertation topic acceptable to the advisor, a dissertation committee is convened, responsible for overseeing the progress of the candidate’s dissertation. The graduate/program coordinator appoints the members of the committee in consultation with the student and the student’s advisor. This group will consist, at minimum, of three members. As per , the committee will consist of:

1. The advisor, who chairs the committee and must be from the candidate’s program area.
2. One additional member from the candidate’s unit (i.e. school)
3. One faculty member from a discipline outside the program. This member can also come from outside the unit, college, or university.

The advisor must have been approved to direct dissertations. The unit members of the committee must have associate or full Graduate Faculty Status. A co-advisor, if used, will count as one of the above members. Special permission must be obtained from the Associate Dean for anyone on the dissertation committee who does not meet the qualifications stated above. Any changes to committee memberships may be made after discussion with the program coordinator.

Please note: Dissertation directors are required to have at least co-directed a dissertation to completion before directing in a solo capacity. Exceptions to this must be approved by the School Director and the Associate Dean.

Dissertation Models

In addition to the traditional dissertation model, faculty in some programs will permit an alternative model. This model would consist of a minimum of two manuscripts that would be intended for publication. Each program area can decide whether the doctoral candidate would be permitted to utilize this alternative model, and each dissertation advising committee must grant approval to any candidate wishing to pursue this option prior to (or at) the dissertation proposal defense.

Regardless of the model used, standard “Organization of Front Matter” will apply as outlined in the Guidelines for Preparation of Dissertation (PDF) and Finalization of Theses/Dissertation Steps (PDF)

Traditional Dissertation Model

• Abstract*
• Chapter 1. Introduction*
• Chapter 2. Literature Review to establish conceptual/theoretical base*
• Chapter 3. Methodology*
• Chapter 4. Results
• Chapter 5. Discussion/Interpretations/Implications
• References

*Included in the dissertation proposal

Alternative Dissertation Model 1

• Abstract*
• Chapter 1. Introduction, statement of problem, purpose, hypotheses*
• Chapter 2. Literature Review to establish conceptual/theoretical base*
• Chapter 3. Methodology*
• Chapter 4. Manuscript 1 (in submission form including separate abstract)**
• Chapter 5. Manuscript 2 (in submission form including separate abstract***
• Chapter 6. Summary – overall conclusions.
• References

Notes:

1. Each manuscript (purpose/aims, research questions, etc.) must be approved by the 
   advisor(s) at proposal stage.
2. Manuscripts 1 and 2 will include elements of chapters 1-3.
3. Manuscripts 1 and 2 should be research-based and developed from data collected by the    
   student.
4. Manuscripts 1 and 2 should contain discussion and interpretation/implications sections 
   pertaining to the research question(s) on which the manuscript is based.
5. Manuscripts 1 and 2 should contain their own separate reference sections, in addition to 
   the overall dissertation reference section.

*Included in the dissertation proposal

**The dissertation is singularly authored. At the point of journal submission, each manuscript may be either singularly authored by the student or reflect the student as first author of a collaborative piece.  In the event of collaborative work, the student will be the first author and the advisor(s) last author. The major advisor(s) ensures that the student is responsible for data collection and the write up of the dissertation.

***Manuscript 2 may be a grant proposal or review article based on findings from manuscript 1. A grant proposal/application should be formatted and include all the information and sections required by a specific funding agency for a specific grant mechanism. This may include background, research methods, budget, timelines, bio sketch, etc. In other words, upon completion of Chapter 5, it should be ready to submit for funding. Students must have committee approval for a grant proposal/application at the time of dissertation proposal defense. A review article will focus on the main topics of interest within the student’s dissertation and can be formatted per the guidelines of a peer-reviewed scholarly journal of the student/committee’s choosing.

Alternative Dissertation Model 2

• Abstract*
• Chapter 1. Introduction/Literature Review to establish conceptual/theoretical base*
• Chapter 2. Methodology*
• Chapter 3. Findings/Results
• Chapter 4. Discussion/Interpretations/Implications
• References

*Included in the dissertation proposal

Format/Style

Regardless of the model, dissertations should be written in an appropriate style. The most recent version of the APA style manual is preferred though this might vary if the alternative model is used, if for example a particular journal requires a different style of writing. Please inform the Office of Administrative Affairs and Graduate Education if a style other than APA is being used.  It then becomes the responsibility of the student and chair to review the formatting to ensure accuracy.  The Office of Administrative Affairs and Graduate Education will not review for formatting if a style other than APA is used.

Regardless of the model and style used, it is the responsibility of the author (i.e., the doctoral candidate) and the dissertation advisor(s) to ensure that the manuscript is uploaded to OhioLink in finished condition, appropriately formatted, edited, and referenced.

Dissertation Proposal

Contents of Proposal

The dissertation proposal consists of a detailed plan for the proposed research study.

The proposal should be as specific as possible to ensure that the dissertation phase committee and the student know exactly what the student plans to do, as well as why, how, when, and where the student plans to do it. The importance of the dissertation proposal should not be minimized. The proposal becomes a contract between the student and the dissertation phase committee. The more accurate, complete, and detailed the proposal, the easier it should be to complete the dissertation.

Often a dissertation proposal will include the first two to three chapters. The topic under study should demonstrate a strong relationship to a theoretical base and should represent a thorough understanding and analyses of the related literature.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

A formal dissertation proposal defense, conducted by the student’s full dissertation committee, should include a rigorous review of the topic and methodologies to be used in this study. Once the student and the dissertation director are satisfied that the proposal (often the first 3 chapters of the dissertation) is ready to present to the dissertation phase committee, copies of the proposal are distributed to the members of the committee. The committee should have a minimum of one week to study the proposal prior to the dissertation proposal approval meeting. The dissertation director is responsible for arranging the time, date, and place of the dissertation proposal approval meeting.

When the dissertation phase committee has approved the proposal, the student should initiate the Notification of Approved Dissertation Proposal form on EHHS Graduate Student Services and Forms. The names of members of the dissertation phase committee should be typed on the appropriate lines so electronic signatures may be obtained. This must be accomplished no later than the first day of the semester of graduation.

Human Subjects Review

Even though it may appear that risk to research subjects or participants is negligible, any research that involves human subjects must have approval from the University Human Subjects Review Board before proceeding.

The doctoral student and the dissertation director are responsible for obtaining the approval to use human subjects in research. An Application for Approval to Use Human Subjects form may be secured from the Office of Research Compliance and Graduate College, or downloaded from the web at IRB Compliance Documentation. If human subjects are involved, the student must complete an attaching an approval email from research compliance.

Guidelines for Preparation of Dissertation

The Office of Graduate Student Services mails a letter to doctoral students when they attain candidacy and informs them of the availability of the College of EHHS Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations.

Guidelines are extremely helpful in providing information to the doctoral candidate and typist on specific style requirements of the College of EHHS. A list of recommended editors is available from the Administrative Affairs and Graduate Education office at awymer@kent.edu. The Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020) is the required guide. If the advisor prefers an alternative style guide, this must be cleared thru the Office of Administrative Affairs and Graduate Education.

Preparation for Defense of Dissertation

It is important to note that application for graduation must be made by Friday of the first week of classes in the semester in which graduation is anticipated. Refer to the Office of Graduate Student Services for important dates.

There are several levels to the oral defense of the dissertation:

1. Appointment of the Graduate Faculty Representative
2. Pre-Defense
3. Defense

Selection of Graduate Faculty Representative (GFR)

When the committee determines that the student is ready for pre-defense, the advisor completes a request form for the GFR. Suggestions for an appropriate GFR should be made by the dissertation advisor in consultation with the doctoral student. A Graduate Faculty Representative form must be completed and submitted to the Associate Dean’s assistant (awymer@kent.edu). The GFR is selected from a list (provided by the advisor) of three full members of the Kent graduate faculty who have directed at least one dissertation to completion and who are members of a program areas different from the major and minor area of study of the doctoral candidate. It is acceptable for the GFR to serve as moderator during the dissertation defense.

• Suggestions for sources, departments, or program areas with relevant expertise for GFR are offered, when possible, by the advisor or co-advisor of the dissertation committee or other members of the committee in counsel with the advisor(s). The Associate Dean the final appointment.
• The advisor(s) of a doctoral dissertation MAY request the addition of a GFR earlier in the process when the proposal is emerging, in which case that GFR would participate in the proposal process, they could continue and serve as GFR for the dissertation pre-defense and defense as well. They do not serve as a regular committee member.
• A GFR must be appointed prior to the dissertation pre-defense. The GFR participates in the pre-defense and has a vote.
• After a dissertation defense, the dissertation evaluation form completed by the GFR along with the oral defense approval form is submitted by the candidate to the Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs and Graduate Education. The candidate and advisor(s) ensure all forms are present at the defense.

Pre-Defense Dissertation Committee Meeting

The pre-defense meeting is scheduled by the dissertation director when it appears that the document may be ready for defense.

The dissertation phase committee, plus the Graduate Faculty Representative, meet to discuss the dissertation and to determine whether the dissertation is ready for the final oral defense. The doctoral candidate is not present at this meeting. The doctoral candidate must allow the dissertation committee and Graduate Faculty Representative a minimum of ten working days to read the Pre-defense copy before the pre-defense meeting.

A formal decision should be made by the committee in the absence of the doctoral candidate as   to the state of readiness of the manuscript. The following are among possible decisions:

1. There is unanimous agreement that the dissertation is ready for the oral defense. Individual committee members may have some suggestions for improvement, but they do not wish to see revisions before the defense copy of the document is submitted to the entire examination committee. They recommend that the responsibility for seeing that these changes are made rests solely with the dissertation director.
2. One or more committee members request that minor changes be made in the pre- defense copy and wish to see the revisions before determining readiness to defend. However, the changes are of a minor nature and none of the committee members feels that an additional meeting of the dissertation committee is needed for final approval.
3. One or more committee members feel that revisions of a major nature are needed in the pre-defense copy. In this case, the doctoral candidate makes the recommended revisions and resubmits the revised copy to the dissertation phase committee. At this point, a reasonable period of time must be allowed before the rescheduling of the pre- defense meeting. At the second pre-defense meeting, outcomes "1" through "4" are again possible.
4. The committee determines that major revisions necessitate postponing the scheduling of the oral defense for an unspecified time period. If possible, arrangements should be made at this point to submit the revised document to the committee and a time for the next pre-defense committee meeting should be set.

Once the committee has determined that the dissertation is ready to defend, only minor changes agreed upon by the committee should be made.

Arranging for the Defense

Each term's deadline date for the oral defense is posted on our web page of Important EHHS Graduate Dates. It is important to adhere to the EHHS defense deadline in order to provide sufficient time for editing and for production of the final corrected dissertation copy.

Please note: Remember that the EHHS oral defense deadline is different from the university deadline. Only rarely can a short extension of a deadline be made, and then only with a petition from the doctoral candidate and the dissertation director to the Associate Dean.

Upon receiving the approval from the dissertation director, the doctoral candidate should distribute the defense copy to all members of the Dissertation Committee and the Graduate Faculty Representative (GFR). At least ten working days must elapse between distribution of the defense copy and the oral defense.

The purpose of the defense copy is to be a basis for the questioning of the doctoral candidate. As such, all parts of the work must be included in typewritten form. These include the table of contents, lists of tables, all data, the complete references, and appendices. All pages must be numbered appropriately.

Readiness to Defend & Brochure

The defense is announced to the faculty and students of the College of EHHS through the defense brochure, prepared by the candidate. The Doctoral candidate is responsible for assuring completion of the Notification of Readiness to Defend the Dissertation form, found on EHHS Graduate Student Services and Forms. This form testifies that all members of the dissertation phase committee have agreed that the dissertation is ready for defense. A copy of the defense brochure must be attached to the form.

The candidate should attach a copy of the brochure to the Readiness to Defend form and ensure completion of the form has occurred no later than ten days prior to the dissertation defense. Copies of the brochure will be posted on the EHHS Graduate Student Services Doctoral Student website so that interested parties can make arrangements to attend the defense. The candidate should also plan to provide copies of the brochure to committee members and guests at the defense. Two samples of brochures can be found on the EHHS Graduate Student Services brochure samples webpage.

The defense brochure contains a biography of the candidate and a condensed abstract of the dissertation. The biography, which should be 200 to 250 words in length, should include background information, professional experience, and research completed or in progress. The condensed version of the dissertation abstract should be limited to 200 to 250 words.

Oral Defense

The oral defense of the dissertation is a formal scholarly event which is open to the university community and the public. It is suggested that the candidate distribute copies of the defense brochure to members of the audience who did not obtain them at an earlier time. At the discretion of the moderator, members of the audience may be granted the privilege of questioning the candidate. It is the responsibility of the Graduate Faculty Representative to file an evaluation with the Associate Dean regarding the maintenance of scholarly standards. Evaluation forms are distributed by Luci Wymer awymer@kent.edu in the Office of Administrative Affairs & Graduate Education

Students are expected to have achieved independence with the requisite research methodology of the dissertation and demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the research processes for his or her dissertation. The oral defense of the dissertation should be a clear demonstration of a student’s independence and competence in research.

Examining Committee and Voting Procedures

The examining committee consists of the dissertation phase committee, the Graduate Faculty Representative, who also often serves as moderator. Apart from the moderator who votes only if serving in the dual capacity of Graduate Faculty Representative, each committee member must  vote in favor of passing or failing the candidate's performance.

No abstentions are permitted. A candidate passes the final oral defense if they receive no  more than one dissenting vote.

Immediately preceding the defense, if not previously determined at the pre-defense meeting, the moderator might clear the examination room of all but the examining committee. The committee then discusses the defense copy to ensure that all members judge it ready to defend. The moderator and committee will also establish the questioning procedures at this time.

At the outset of the examination, the moderator reviews the ground rules for the oral defense and the order of questioning by the examining committee. The doctoral candidate then presents an overview of the research, briefly stating the purposes of the research, method of investigation, and outcomes. Questioning of the doctoral candidate follows the rules previously established by the moderator. Normally each committee member is allotted ten to fifteen minutes during the first round of questioning. The dissertation director is usually the last member of the committee to present questions.

Following the first round of questioning, the moderator will normally ask each examination committee member if there are further questions. When the examining committee has been satisfied in the questioning, the moderator may ask if there are any questions or comments from the members of the faculty or guests in attendance. The moderator may also choose to question or comment at this time.

When the questioning and dialogue have been completed, the doctoral candidate and all visitors are excused. The examination committee then has an opportunity for discussion before voting to determine whether the oral defense should be evaluated as pass or fail.

Doctoral candidates preparing to defend their dissertations are strongly encouraged to attend one or more oral defenses in order to become familiar with procedures.

Remote Participation in a Dissertation Defense

Under normal circumstances, all members of a dissertation committee must be physically present in the examination room during the entire dissertation defense and during the committee's private deliberations following the examination. In most cases, the chair of the dissertation committee and the Graduate Faculty Representative are expected to be physically present in the examination room. Students enrolled in a fully online degree program are not required to be physically present for their dissertation defense. For on-campus and hybrid (online/on-campus ) degree programs, remote participation by web conferencing is permitted only if the student and/or committee member has obtained permission in advance from the chair of the dissertation committee in consultation with committee members. They must provide a compelling reason and/or explanation as to why they cannot be physically present. With any dissertation defense that is approved to be conducted with remote participation, the following rules must be enforced:

• The web-conferencing software to be used allows all participants to see and hear each other during the entire defense.
• The defense remains open and available to the university community.
• The program pays for any costs associated with remote participation.
• The chair of the dissertation committee is responsible for ensuring that all requirements for  remote participation are met, that the remote participation was uninterrupted and, if interrupted, that the defense was paused until all remote participations were fully restored.
• Participation by telephone only is not permitted under any circumstances.

Report of the Oral Defense

The must be initiated by the student prior to the oral defense. It is necessary that this form be submitted in order to clear the candidate for graduation.

The Graduate Faculty Representative is expected to provide an evaluation of the dissertation defense including thorough written comments which are forwarded to the Associate Dean. Comments will be summarized periodically and will be disseminated to dissertation chairs, the Annual Dissertation Awards Committee, and the committee conducting the five-year review of graduate faculty.