Dissertation Planning

This list is meant only to assist you in navigating these procedures. Complete and official information can be found on the Graduate School’s website. It is strongly recommended that students planning their defense meet with the Graduate Program Coordinator at least 6 months prior to the presentation/defense. Students should reserve a room for the presentation and committee deliberations with the Graduate Program Coordinator as soon as a date is set.

Do not send any completed forms directly to the Graduate School, our Director of Graduate Studies, or our Chair.

Committee

The final oral examination committee must be composed of a total of four or more members, including at least a first and second reader and at least two additional committee members who serve as either designated readers or additional committee members. Each committee also must designate a chair from E&E who can serve either as one of the four committee members (although the first reader cannot serve in the role of the committee chair), as an additional committee member, or solely as the chair of the committee.

All committee members are required to attend the final oral examination. Up to one committee member, who is not the chair of the committee or the first reader, can attend via audio/video communication without a proxy during the final oral examination. A proxy must be in attendance for any additional committee members who attend via audio/visual communication.

A designated reader is defined as those committee members who sign the final dissertation approval page; all committee members are expected to read the dissertation prior to the final oral examination even if not appointed as a designated reader. At least two of the committee members must be from the student’s department or graduate program. if, by special arrangement with the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the committee’s first reader is not from the student’s department or program, then at least the chair and the second reader of the committee must be from the student’s department or graduate program. A majority of the committee must be Boston University faculty members who do not require a special appointment. The department chair/program director or the director of graduate studies must approve the membership of the committee.

A special service appointment (see #4 below) approved by the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, is required for those committee members who are: visiting, adjunct, and *emeritus faculty; Boston University employees not of professorial rank; and examiners from outside Boston University.

*Emeritus faculty members may serve as readers of GRS dissertations or on examination committees within two years of their retirement date without a special service appointment.

Prior to the Defense

  1. Submit the dissertation prospectus at the completion of the qualifying exam and no later than six months prior to the defense.
  2. In coordination with the committee chair, set a date for the defense, bearing in mind the deadlines set by the Graduate School. Work with Administrative Coordinator Fred George to reserve CAS 132.
  3. Submit the Intent to Graduate form.
  4. Submit Special Service Appointment forms for any committee member who is not at BU or who is at BU but not at the professorial rank (research scientist, for instance).
  5. At least three weeks prior to the defense, submit a full draft of the dissertation (pdf only) directly to the Graduate School for format review: grsrec@bu.edu.
    • The Graduate School may recommend formatting edits, including to your signature page. Follow their instructions if offered; if no changes are requested, do not change your signature page from what you submitted.

Outcomes

  • Unconditional Pass: The dissertation requires no edits or changes; the student passes and may submit the dissertation.
    • In which case: E&E submits the report form to GRS. The committee signs the signature page.
  • Conditional High Pass: The dissertation requires minor edits and/or changes that do not need to be reviewed and approved by the advisor or committee before submission.
    • In which case: E&E submits the report form to GRS. The committee signs the signature page.
  • Conditional Pass: The dissertation requires substantive edits and/or changes that do need to be reviewed and approved by the advisor before submission.
    • In which case: E&E waits to hear back from advisor. The committee signs the signature page at the appropriate time.
  • Conditional Low Pass: The dissertation requires substantive edits and/or changes that need to be reviewed and approved by the entire committee before submission.
    • In which case: E&E waits to hear back from advisor and/or chair. The committee signs the signature page at the appropriate time.
  • Fail: The student fails to execute the goals of the project successfully; next steps are discussed with the committee on the day of the defense or within 1 week.
    • In which case: E&E submits the report form and/or waits to hear back from advisor and/or chair. The committee does not sign the signature page.

*The Graduate School and the Department do not make distinctions between the “passes” above, and they do not appear on a transcript. They are meant only for the purposes of describing the scope of editing that may be required following the defense.

After the Defense

  1. Submit the Report of Examination form.
  2. Submit the the signature page with all signatures.
  3. Taking note of deadlines, submit your dissertation to the Electronic Theses & Dissertation (ETD) website.
    • Do not insert the signed signature page into your final version. Submit your final version with a blank signature page.
    • All submissions should be made through ETD, and it requires a $115 processing fee. During this process, you may order hard-bound copies of the dissertation ($70 or so depending on length); the Department will reimburse you for the cost of two copies, one for you and one for the archives in CAS 132. After you submit the dissertation, a reviewer at Mugar Library may request formatting changes. You’ll receive notice of approval.
    • Submit your receipt to E&E. E&E does not reimburse the processing fee.
  4. Submit the PhD Candidate Contact Information form.
  5. Complete the BU Doctoral Exit Survey.
    • This will be emailed to you from the Graduate School.
  6. Complete the E&E Exit Survey.

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