GRAD 7300 - Doctoral Dissertation

The Doctoral Dissertation is required in all doctoral programs and is completed under the supervision of a dissertation committee. Prior to the first registration in 7300, Doctoral Dissertation, a Permission to Elect form (www.wmich.edu/grad/forms.html) must be completed and the student must meet with the Coordinator of Theses and Dissertations in the Graduate College so that the student is informed about the regulations pertaining to the preparation and publication of the manuscript and to the requirements for research involving regulated subjects and hazardous materials. Doctoral dissertations involving research with protected or regulated subjects must include documentation indicating compliance with federal, state, and University requirements for the protection of human/animal subjects or appropriate use of genetic or radioactive materials and chemical hazards. Written approval from the board/committee/officer must be included as an appendix to the dissertation. The use of Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses, Projects, and Dissertations is required. This publication is available for purchase in Western’s Campus Bookstore, or for free downloading at http://www.wmich.edu/grad/guidelines. A doctoral dissertation varies in credit from a minimum of 12 credit hours to a maximum of 24 credit hours. The hours required in a program of study are determined by the student’s department. The course 7300, Doctoral Dissertation, may be registered for in increments of one or more hours. Following a student’s first enrollment in 7300, the student must have continuous enrollment in 7300 until all dissertation requirements are completed satisfactorily and approved by the appropriate bodies. A student unable to complete the dissertation within the program-stipulated hours will be required to continue to enroll in 7300; however, only the program-stipulated hours for 7300 will count toward meeting the program requirements for the doctoral degree. For students not enrolled in Summer I and Summer II sessions, pre-enrollment in the subsequent Fall semester is necessary for access to library resources during Summer I and Summer II. Continuous enrollment is defined as enrollment in all Fall and Spring semesters from the initial enrollment to the semester in which the student graduates. If the student will graduate in Summer I or Summer II, the student must be enrolled in that session. The dissertation is graded on a Credit/No Credit basis. In case a student wishes to appeal a negative decision by the student’s doctoral dissertation committee, the student shall first take the appeal to this same committee, which shall hear the appeal and render a decision. In case a doctoral dissertation committee cannot reach unanimous agreement and the student wishes to appeal further a negative decision, a Review Committee shall be established consisting of the Dean of the Graduate College, the appropriate academic dean, and the chairperson or director of the unit. The Review Committee shall seek to resolve the controversy without passing on the dissertation. The Review Committee handling such a case is limited to procedural actions, such as reconstituting the doctoral dissertation committee if the case merits it. All doctoral dissertations will be microfilmed by ProQuest/UMI. The student is also required to prepare an abstract of the dissertation for publication in Dissertation Abstracts International.

Credits: 12-24 hours

Notes: Open to Graduate Students Only. Graded on a Credit/No Credit basis.