| The oral presentation of the dissertation proposal is intended to demonstrate the student’s comprehensive knowledge of the area, to inform the department of the student’s research (the dissertation’s rationale, hypotheses, and methods), and to allow the student and the supervisory committee to receive input from faculty and graduate students. All members of the supervisory committee are required to attend the oral presentation, and should be prepared to initiate the discussion that will follow the presentation. Based on the presentation and ensuing discussion, the supervisory committee may identify additional revisions to be made to the proposal document. This process is intended to serve as the student’s (and committee’s) assurance that the proposal is acceptable to the department, and that it contains no serious flaws or other problems that would ultimately make it unacceptable as a dissertation. Required course. |
