All Ph.D. candidates must write a dissertation. The topic of the study must be original and must be developed in large part by the student. Thus, the purpose of writing the dissertation is for the student to demonstrate the ability to pose a new relevant problem, conduct the necessary research, and summarize the results in a well-organized written form. The dissertation should be completed within three to four years after a student has been admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. Further information on the required format of the dissertation can be obtained from the Thesis Guide published by the Graduate School.

Once completed in manuscript form and approved by the research advisor, the dissertation is given to the student's Doctoral Committee whose members read it and then administer a Final Oral Exam, or dissertation. This exam is scheduled by the Graduate School in the same way that the Comprehensive Exam was scheduled; as with the other exams, the student must be registered and the current tuition bill must have been paid in order to take the exam. The final oral examination consists of an oral presentation of the dissertation by the student and a period of question and responses. This phase of the final oral exam is open to the public. Following the presentation and question and response phase, the public is excused and the student meets with his or her doctoral committee. The committee members may continue the questioning. Although the questions should relate in large part to the dissertation, they may cover the student's whole program of study, since one of the purposes of the examination is to assess the general scholarly attainments of the student.

The Program Office should be notified at least two weeks prior to the scheduled dissertation defense so that announcements of the defense can be circulated to faculty and students. The committee decides whether a student passes the exam; as with the Comprehensive Exam, at least two-thirds of the committee must vote in favor of passing the student for the student to have passed the exam.

When the final oral examination has been passed and the dissertation accepted (after incorporating the changes made by the committee), it should be submitted in final form to the Graduate School (see the Thesis Guide, which can be obtained from the Graduate School Thesis Office). The unbound master copy of the thesis is required by the Graduate School and one bound copy is to be presented to the Acoustics Program Office. An additional bound copy may be required by the thesis advisor. Traditionally, committee members are presented with bound copies as well. If the student or work was funded by the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), two unbound copies must be submitted to the ARL Office of Research and Academic Affairs 6-8 weeks prior to submission to the Graduate School. The costs of dissertation preparation, copying, and binding are the responsibilities of the student.

 

 

 

Graduate Program in Acoustics, The Pennsylvania State University