Ph.D. Thesis and Final Exam

The Ph.D. thesis is based upon original research and shows mature scholarship and critical judgment, as well as familiarity with tools and methods of research. The Ph.D. thesis differs from a M.S. thesis or a single journal publication in terms of the scope and/or originality and significance of the research.

The subject of the Ph.D. thesis should be approved by the student's Ph.D. Committee in a meeting with the student within 18 months of admission into Ph.D. candidacy. Some research advisors may request a written thesis proposal; others may require only an oral presentation. The Ph.D. Committee may provide advice on the scope and methods of the research, and will provide an assessment of the suitability of the proposed research for a Ph.D. thesis. The Ph.D. candidate is expected to meet with the committee annually to discuss research progress. A written report will be provided to the student by the research advisor after each meeting with the committee.

The content of a Ph.D. thesis should include:

• Motivation for the research
• Hypotheses, scientific questions, and/or unique observational or analytical tools addressed in the research
• Survey of relevant literature
• Description of research tools and methods
• Research results
• Conclusion that assesses the significance of the results, limitations of the research, and future applications of the research

Theses that emphasize development of observational or analytical tools (e.g. development of instrumentation or numerical models) are expected to include in the thesis research some application of the tool to a scientific problem.

The format of the thesis may be that of the conventional thesis, where individual chapters correspond to topics such as those described above. If the student has published or submitted for publication several manuscripts, the student may elect to include these manuscripts as appendices in the thesis. These manuscripts should only include those for which the student is first author (Note: student's contributions to non-first-authored papers can be included in the body of the thesis). The body of the thesis may then be relatively short, describing the overall motivation, hypotheses, tools, highlights of results (including any results not in the appendices), and conclusions.

Scheduling the Final Examination is the responsibility of the student. Scheduling is normally done only after the thesis advisor has read at least part of the thesis and has given approval to proceed with the Exam. The format of the Final Examination is similar to that of the Comprehensive Examination. However, the entire Final Examination is open to any interested person. The candidate gives an oral presentation of the thesis research that is about 45 minutes in length. After the presentation, questions from the audience are addressed. More detailed questions are then asked by the committee members. After the Exam, the Ph.D. Committee meets in closed session to decide upon the outcome.