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College of Education
School Improvement Doctoral Program

Dissertation Planning Steps

Congratulations on your progress through the journey of your doctoral studies. Each Action Item below represents a significant step in the dissertation process. Taken as a whole, this overview can help you to map out key phases of the process. Your dissertation chair will be your key resource and advisor in planning and conducting the dissertation study.

NOTE: All forms must be completed and signed electronically and can be submitted to the Program Administrative Assistant (Jacqui Todd), who will process them accordingly. Forms are located on the Graduate College website.

Dissertation Committee Formation

Appoint Dissertation Chair – Submit Form A - Dissertation/Research Advisor Assignment Form

*MUST be submitted BEFORE you take ED 7341 Dissertation Proposal Development. The Chair must hold Core Doctoral faculty status and may be an SI or APCE professor.

Appoint Dissertation Committee Members – Submit Form B - Dissertation Committee Request Form

*Consult with your Dissertation Chair BEFORE selecting committee members. A minimum of 2 members must be SI faculty (this may be any combination of chair and/or committee members). APCE faculty are eligible to serve on your committee. You may appoint a faculty member from other departments/Colleges at Texas State, or one member external to the university - in these cases, the SI Faculty is required to review the proposed committee member’s curriculum vitae and approve the appointment. Final approval comes from the Graduate Dean through the Program. These reviews are done ONLY September –November, and mid-January to mid-April. Your Chair will coordinate this process as needed. Submit Form 2 before the proposal defense.

Changing Chair/Committee Members – Submit Dissertation Advisor/Committee Member Change Request Form.

**In accepting an appointment to your committee faculty have made a serious commitment. Changes should only be made for serious reason and in consultation with the Dissertation Chair and any committee members involved. Changes may not be made to the composition of the committee within 60 days of the dissertation defense.

Dissertation Hours Enrollment

Enroll in Dissertation Hours:

Once you have completed all courses, you should enroll in dissertation hours. Students must take a minimum of 12 dissertation hours. Students must enroll in dissertation hours any semester after coursework that they are receiving dissertation supervision from their chair, and every semester after the proposal defense (including summer). Students typically enroll in ED 7399B during the Fall and Spring semesters and ED 7199B during the summer term. Exceptions to enrollment in ED 7399B are explained on the Dissertation Hours Registration Info sheet (separate document). SI students must enroll in dissertation hours that end in “B” (“A” is for APCE). Enrollment in ED 7199B or 7299B in Fall or Spring semesters requires approval of Dissertation Chair and Program Director, in that order. To request that approval of the Program Director or to request a section of dissertation hours that you need but is not on the class schedule, use the Class Registration Override Form.

*Please note that the criteria for taking ED 7199B in any semester is that the student will be working on the dissertation minimally and/or receiving minimal supervision from the dissertation chair. It may be taken in any summer semester and a maximum of 3 Fall/Spring semesters (Fall/Spring semesters require program approval; please use the Class Override link.

Proposal Defense

At defense complete

*Proposal defense meetings must be announced at least 2 WEEKS before the defense. Send the following information in an announcement format to the administrative assistant for the SI program: Your name, proposal title, date/time/room of defense, name of dissertation chair, and names of dissertation committee members. 

**Have these above forms typed and ready at the defense. They will be used if the committee rates the proposal a “pass.” Hold these forms – do NOT submit yet. AFTER the committee passes the proposal, submit your IRB application for review and work on revisions to your proposal document. Move on to the following step IMMEDIATELY AFTER you receive approval from the IRB.

Advancement to Candidacy

Immediately after receiving IRB approval, the following forms will need to be processed and submitted to the Graduate College. The SI Program Administrative Assistant will work with you to ensure these documents are complete to submit on your behalf:

*Students have a maximum of 5 years from program admission to advance to candidacy. Students who exceed this deadline may request an extension from the Graduate Dean by contacting the Program Director. Extension requests must be accompanied by a work plan for timely completion of the proposal and final dissertation. This work plan must be approved by the dissertation chair.

Dissertation Defense

At defense, complete and submit Form F - Dissertation Defense Report Form

*Dissertation defenses must be announced at least 2 WEEKS before the defense. Send the following information in an announcement format the administrative assistant for the SI program: Your name, dissertation title, date/time/room of defense, name of dissertation chair, and names of dissertation committee members. 

*The SI Program Administrative Assistant will assist you in having Form F typed and ready in electronic format after the defense. The Thesis/Dissertation Committee Approval Form replaces the signature page, which is no longer used.

*Make final revisions and submit the dissertation to the Graduate College according to the requirements in the Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation.

Notes

Dissertation Format: Follow the specific formatting and submission requirements of the Graduate College, as presented in the Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation (see link above). The Graduate College will return any dissertations that have formatting or grammatical errors.

Application for Graduation: Review all deadlines and requirements prior to the semester in which you intend to graduate. Complete the application for graduation in Self-Service Banner by the deadline, which is usually early in the semester. The dissertation must be received by the Graduate Dean by the deadline posted (usually several weeks before the end of the semester). If this deadline is missed, the student enrolls in ED 7199B in the following semester (even if it has already been taken in 3 Fall/Spring semesters) and defers graduation to that semester.

Credit Hours: Minimum credit hours for degree completion are 63. Students who exceed 99 credit hours begin paying out of state tuition rates for all hours after 99.

Years: Students have a maximum of 5 years from admission to advance to candidacy and a maximum of 10 years from admission to successfully defend the dissertation. The expectation is that PhD students will reach both of these benchmark years before the maximum deadlines allowed.

Approval of Outside Committee Members of the Dissertation Committee: The appointment of any person who is not a member of the doctoral faculty in the College of Education to a dissertation committee requires formal approval.