Geography Department > Graduate Study > Guide to Progress
Guide to Progress Through the Graduate Program
The Preliminary Conference
[First semester]
Students meet with their interim advisor and the Graduate Chair as soon as possible upon their entrance into the program. A broad outline of the program will be discussed, and specific courses will be suggested.
Forms: Geography Department’s Preliminary Graduate Chair Assessment Form.
Appointment of the Advisor
[Second semester]
The permanent advisor, who may or may not be the same person as the interim advisor, should be selected by the second or third semester of residence.
Advancement to Candidacy
[Second/Third semester]
Students are advanced to candidacy when they have resolved any pre-program deficiencies, and if required, satisfactorily completed the first foreign language requirement.
Forms: Graduate Division’s Doctorate-Student Progress Form I: Advancement to Candidacy
Appointment of the Advisory Committee
[Third semester]
The student, in consultation with their permanent advisor, should select an advisory committee. The committee should be selected to support the student’s field of specialization and intended dissertation research. The committee must contain at least three members from the geography graduate faculty and at least five members overall.
Forms: Geography Department’s Proposed Ph.D. Committee Form
Comprehensive Exams and Approval of the Dissertation Topic
[Fourth /Fifth semester]
The exams are scheduled as soon as degree candidates have completed their preparation for mastery in their field of specialization. They consist of written and oral portions. Students who fail the comprehensive examination may repeat it once. A student who fails the second examination is dropped from both the graduate program and the Graduate Division.
Subsequent to the comprehensive examinations, the student prepares a formal dissertation proposal for approval by his or her committee. Doctoral students in Geography are required to orally present their proposal before the departmental community.
Forms: Geography Department’s Synopsis of Doctoral Program Form; and Graduate Division’s Doctorate-Student Progress Form II: Advancement to the Dissertation Stage.
The Dissertation
[Fifth through Eighth semesters]
The dissertation is the capstone of the Ph.D. degree and is a demonstration of the student’s ability to make a significant independent contribution to knowledge. Students normally register for GEOG 800 (Dissertation Research) while collecting data and writing the dissertation. Students can only register in GEOG 800 after the Graduate Chair approves the candidates Synopsis of Doctoral Program form, and Graduate Division’s Form II
The Defense
[Eighth semester]
The formal defense may be held after the advisory committee has read a draft of the dissertation and given preliminary approval. The event must be publicly advertised according to Graduate Division guidelines and must be approved by the Graduate Chair. Departmental faculty and graduate students must receive an invitation that is distinct from any other public notice.
Final Approval
[Eighth semester]
Afterall required revisions to the dissertation have been completed, committee members sign the signatory page in the dissertation and sign Form III, which is countersigned by the Graduate Chair when the student submits an unbound copy of the dissertation for the department library.
Forms: Graduate Division’s Doctorate-Student Progress Form III: Final Examination and Approval of the Dissertation
