Dissertation Topic

It is highly recommended that the graduate student consider the question of financial support when selecting a dissertation topic, though the doctoral committee must not take this factor into consideration when deciding whether or not to award candidacy to the student. Life is easier for a student who can be paid as a research assistant to undertake the project proposed for the PhD. This can only happen if a student chooses a dissertation topic that meshes with the scientific goals of a faculty member. It is possible for a student to work on one project for a dissertation and another project as a paid research assistant, but such a student must expect to make slower progress towards the PhD.

There is no fixed format for the dissertation proposal. Its contents and breadth should be discussed with the chair of the doctoral committee. The student needs to provide written and oral documentation to the committee -

• that he/she has is thoroughly familiar with the current state of knowledge in the area of the dissertation;
• that the research to be done is feasible, timely, important and original;
• that the student has the technical and intellectual skills necessary to carry out the observations, analysis and publication of the proposed research;
• that the observing time requested is appropriate for the project and likely to be awarded by the Time Allocation Committee;
• that the proposed timeline for the project will lead to graduation within a reasonable length of time.

The committee may recommended that the student write a review of the current state of the field as part of the dissertation proposal; this review may then become the basis of the introductory chapter of the dissertation.