The PhD Dissertation Process
A few of you have been talking to me and asking about what a PhD thesis defense and process actually consists of. What does it look like? So I thought I’d take a moment to explain the thesis process and the defense(s).
The first step is writing dissertation proposal (often called a Prospectus). This doesn’t have to be SUPER long (usually 20-50 pages), and it outlines the motivation and methods you intend to use in order to conduct a thesis-length research project.
In my program, you defend the Prospectus in a closed session with the committee (3 faculty members from your department and one outside committee member). You prepare a ~20 minute presentation, and then questioning goes as long as goes. In my case, this was about an hour and a half. Given their suggestions and comments/concerns, your proposal then gets approved or not. My proposal was approved in February 2016.
Then you DO the actual work. In my case, this involved 10 weeks doing fieldwork, crazy amounts of reading and analysis, and then you write the book! It is still crazy to me that I know enough to write an entire book. You work with your committee through all of this stage, taking advice and switching things up depending on how things work out.
Once you have a full draft, you begin working with your committee on the writing, presentation/interpretation, and packaging of the results. I’ve been in pretty much daily meetings with committee members for a week now and will continue to do so for the next 2. Crazy amounts of revisions and re-working so that you’re ready for the defense.
The defense itself is a public event - anyone may attend. (Mine is on November 3) The PhD candidate prepares a 30-45 min lecture on their thesis work. This is not nearly long enough to present everything, so we typically focus on a single chapter or aspect of the analysis. It then opens up for the committee to question the candidate. This usually takes about an hour, and it is MEANT to be rough. It is MEANT to be ruthless. You have to prove yourself as an expert in your field. This is the big deal. Once the committee exhausts their questions, it opens up to the full audience. Anyone can ask questions then. This is typically another hour or so. Once the Q&A is finished, you wait while the committee deliberates. They then approve your thesis (and you get to be called Doctor) or not. My committee honestly would not have allowed me to schedule a defense if they didn’t plan on passing me. The question is just which revisions will be necessary in order to pass.
Once you’ve been approved, you get 6 months to make the necessary revisions to the document before filing your final version with the university! Once you file, it is OFFICIAL OFFICIAL... but after the defense is when we usually start throwing around the Doctor title. :-D
So there you have it! It is a LONG process, and it is HARD, and it is meant to be RUTHLESS. You have to be a special level of crazy to take on the thing, and it is so surreal to be near the end now!!!












