Once you have passed your comprehensive exams, the time has come for you to complete the dissertation proposal. In this memo, I give you some of my thoughts on ways to approach the proposal. Also, I ...

"I've been taken aback at what passes for a dissertation proposal around here," a newly arrived colleague at a major research institution confided, lamenting the brevity and tentativeness of the ...

The dissertation proposal and the specialty exam serve different purposes and should be viewed as separate activities, even though often executed concurrently. The dissertation proposal marks the ...

Before you can write a dissertation, you must write a dissertation proposal. How to do that is worth a closer look. In my July 24 column, “It’s a Dissertation, Not a Book,” I emphasized the importance ...

A doctoral thesis should be based on extensive research in primary sources, make an original contribution to knowledge, and be presented in acceptable scholarly form. Students entering the program ...