Handbooks

Doctor of Philosophy in
Nursing Science Handbook

Dissertation

The dissertation chair is usually the student's academic advisor. If the chair is to be someone other than the academic advisor, the change of advisor form should be completed.

With the advice of the dissertation chair:

The student plans the dissertation proposal and selects the dissertation committee members. The student may include faculty members who were on the preliminary examination committee, depending upon their research expertise in the student's research area. Similar to the preliminary examination committee, the dissertation committee requires a minimum of five (5) members. The chair must be a College of Nursing Graduate Faculty member. At least two (2) of the members must be tenured Graduate Faculty. At least three (3) of the members must be UIC College of Nursing Graduate Faculty. The appointment of one (1) member from outside the College of Nursing is mandatory.

The student completes the dissertation proposal. The student convenes the dissertation committee to review the proposal and receives guidance on the design and implementation of the proposed study. The student must allow a minimum of fifteen (15) working days for the committee to review the proposal prior to the proposal meeting. Depending on the committee's review and recommendation, additional meetings may be needed before the student is ready to begin data collection.

A student cannot begin data collection until he/she has received approval from the UIC Institutional Review Board (IRB) to access human subjects, or the Animal Care Committee to use animals

See Research@UIC Web site for more information about the process to obtain approval for human subjects and information about approval for use of animals. Students may need to receive approval from other institutional IRBs depending on where data collection will take place.

The student completes the dissertation. The student confers regularly with the dissertation chair and committee members during data collection, analysis, and write-up. One meeting of the committee may be needed to review drafts of the dissertation prior to scheduling the final defense.

The dissertation chairperson completes a Committee Recommendation Form for the dissertation defense and returns this form to the Office of Academic Programs (OAP), Room 138, College of Nursing, at least 8 weeks before the examination for approval by the Associate Dean for Nursing Science Studies and the Graduate College. The student's IRB approval notification MUST be attached to the form.

The student defends the dissertation in the final oral examination. The student schedules the dissertation defense with the committee, allowing a minimum of three weeks for the committee to review the dissertation; the dissertation presentation must be open to the public. The presentation must be open to the academic community of UIC and be publicly announced TWO WEEKS prior to the occurrence. The suggested format is a 20-minute presentation of the research findings, with slides and/or overheads, and a 10-minute question-and-answer period. A closed meeting follows this between the doctoral candidate and the committee, for further discussion of the research design and results. All committee members MUST attend the final defense meeting. Following the final defense, the dissertation chair obtains signatures from all Dissertation Committee members; signs the bottom of the form as the examiner who certifies that conditions for a successful examination are met; and submits this form to the Office of Academic Programs in the College of Nursing .

The “Thesis Format Check” form requires the signatures of the advisor and the Associate Dean for Nursing Science Studies. Therefore, before the submission of any dissertation to the Graduate College , it must be approved by the advisor; reviewed by Gail Cook , Office of Academic Programs (Room 138); and approved by the Associate Dean for Nursing Science Studies. It is required that three (3) weeks be provided for the dissertation review by Gail Cook . Theses will not be accepted by the Graduate College without the CON thesis format approval. The Graduate College Thesis Manual gives detailed instructions about the format of the thesis and the required forms and can be accessed from the Web site.

Forms and final checks for completing the dissertation:

•  Two (2) signed Certificates of Approval

•  Signed examination report

•  Survey of Earned Doctorate

•  Microfilm agreement

•  Dissertation original

•  Dissertation copy, on bond paper and unbound

•  Dissertation abstract

•  Four (4) title pages, all original

•  Three (3) 10 x 13 envelopes

•  Completed Thesis Format Check Form with Advisor and Associate Dean for Nursing Science Studies signatures obtained by the student

•  One (1) bound copy of the dissertation given to each member of the committee and one (1) bound copy to the college. The Main Library Acquisition Office (1-472 LIB 9960-2632) will bind dissertation copies inexpensively.

Students must complete all requirements by the deadlines specified for each semester in the Academic Calendar published in the Graduate Catalog. The deadlines to note are indicated as “Last day to submit defended thesis/dissertation to Graduate College for formal approval,” and “Last day to file for graduation for this term.”

THESE DATES ARE SET BY THE GRADUATE COLLEGE AND ARE ALWAYS NON-NEGOTIABLE!