DEPARTMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

[Note: If you have not yet submitted your PhD Plan of Study by the time you are planning your proposal, you should prepare and submit the Plan of Study to the Graduate School prior to submitting the Proposal.]

TWO FORMS ARE REQUIRED:

  1. Graduate School form: “Dissertation Proposal for the Doctoral Degree” form

(This form (with Grad School instructions) is available on the Graduate School website:

  1. Department form:“Report of Meeting to Approve a Proposed Dissertation”

(This form is available from Debbie Vardon ( or BOUS 101C)

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Review the “Dissertation Proposal and Approvals” section of the “Policies and Rules for Graduate Study in Psychology” handbook (available online:
  2. Review the Graduate School Instructions for Preparation of the Proposal: (p.3)
  3. Check with your Major Advisor or Division Head to see if there are any Divisional requirements in addition to the Graduate School and Department requirements.

[Note: Your proposal must be approved by your advisory committee (major advisor and associate advisors) plus two “readers/reviewers”; per Graduate School policy, the readers/reviewers cannot be members of your PhD advisory committee. In some divisions the reviewers attend the proposal meeting/presentation; in other divisions they do not attend the meeting/presentation. Check with your Advisor or Division Head for policies in your division. (If the readers/reviewers will not be attending the meeting/presentation then #’s 4-5 below can be done after the proposal meeting/presentation.)]

  1. In consultation with your major advisor, select 2 Reviewers (also called “Readers” or
    “Review Committee Members”) and list them in the appropriate section of the Department form.
  2. Obtain the Division Head signature on the Department form (approving the Readers/Reviewers)
  3. Prepare your proposal and schedule your proposal meeting or presentation (differs according to division)
  4. Have your proposal meeting/presentation with your Advisory Committee (and possibly Readers/Reviewers).
  5. After the meeting/presentation, have your Major Advisor and Associate Advisors sign the Graduate School form
  6. Have your Major Advisor sign the Department form (if Readers/Reviewers were present at the meeting/presentation skip to #11 below; if Readers/Reviewers were not present, complete #4-5 above if not already done and then go to #10 below)
  7. You or your advisor should submit copies of your Proposal to the two Readers/Reviewers for approval. (If the Readers/Reviewers attended the meeting/presentation then skip this step.)
  8. Have the two Readers/Reviewers sign in the bottom section of the Department Form and indicate their approval of the proposal.
  9. Submit the Graduate School Proposal packet (Graduate School Proposal form, IRB/IACUC Approval, and the Proposal document) along with the Department Proposal Form to Dr. Etan Markus (Associate Dept Head) forapproval. (You can leave it in his mailbox in the mailroom with a note to return to your mailbox when signed.)Dr. Markus will indicate his approval by signing on the “Program Director or Department Head” line of the Graduate School form.
  10. Once you have all required signatures, submit 1 copy of the Graduate School form (just the form, not the entire proposal) and the original of the Department Form to Debbie Vardon (mailbox in the mailroom or BOUS 101C).
  11. Submit the Graduate School Proposal packet (Graduate School Proposal form with original signatures, IRB/IACUC Approval, and the Proposal document) to the Graduate School (Whetten Center, 2nd Floor). [Note: do not submit any copies of the Department Proposal form to the Graduate School.]

Rev. 11/10/2014-DV