Proposal Defense and Summary

i. The proposal defense (oral qualifying exam) is the second piece of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam.

ii. The proposal defense (oral qualifying exam) is to be completed after the passing of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam.

iii. The proposal defense (oral qualifying exam) is comprised of 3 parts: a written proposal, a public oral presentation and a closed oral defense of the proposal.

iv. The student is required to submit a written research proposal and proposal summary to the supervisory committee at least 2 weeks prior to the proposal defense.

1. Written Research Proposal requirements:

a. Must follow standard format such as those suggested by NSF (see NSF Proposal Preparation Instructions),
DOE, NIH, or other funding agencies as appropriate.

b. Include a budget, two-page bio-sketch, and a one-page summary.

c. Project description must be 15 pages or less and include a time table.

2. The Proposal Summary requirements:

a. Provide a succinct, one-page description of what your Ph.D. research will accomplish.

b. Your supervisory committee will have a clear understanding of your overall plan and approach after reading this one-page summary.

c. To be submitted with the written research proposal to the supervisory committee 2 weeks prior to the proposal defense. If the committee suggests changes, a revised and approved version must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator no later than 2 weeks after the proposal defense date.

    • Announcement Template (must be submitted to your grad advisor at least 1 week prior to proposal date)

    • PhD Proposal Defense Report

    • Defense Summary