Doctoral Writing Center

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Dissertation Committee

Each doctoral student will have a dissertation committee which consists of three members: one Committee Chair and two Committee Members. These individuals will guide you along the dissertation process and act as support for you as you write and complete the dissertation. Each member of the committee will be assigned to you at specific points in your dissertation process and will have specific roles.

Committee Makeup

Dissertation Chair

Role: Primary project manager of the committee. The Chair will have both subject matter and general methodology expertise and will guide the student through the dissertation process.

Selection: Doctoral students will offer suggestions for their Chairs, and if the Chair is available, they will be matched (see below for how to select a Chair)

Committee Member One

Role: Read the dissertation manuscript and provide suggestions on substantive editoral changes. Will attend Preliminary and Final Defense.
Duration: DIS 901, DIS 903

Selection: The Dissertation Coordinator will assign this committee member after matching expertise with student focus in DIS 901.

Committee Member Two

Role: Read the dissertation manuscript and provide suggestions on substantive editoral changes. Will attend Preliminary and Final Defense.
Duration: DIS 901, DIS 903

Selection: The Dissertation Coordinator will assign this committee member after matching expertise with student focus in DIS 901.

Responsibilities by Roles

Dissertation Chair

The responsibilities of the Chair include:

  • Being familiar and current with dissertation policies and procedures
  • Advising the candidate from the first dissertation course until the completion of the dissertation and graduation
  • Guiding the candidate to set a project schedule for completion of the dissertation
  • Guiding the candidate toward achieving a high level of technical qualtiy and ensuring ethics in research is achieved
  • Assisting the candidate in developing a quality prospectus and in navigating the IRB approval process
  • Providing guidance on the dissertation structure, formatting, content
  • Guiding the candidate in the selection of methods/procedures for data collection and analysis
  • Preparing the candidate for the preliminary and defense process
Committee Members

All members of the candidate’s committee share responsibility in ensuring that the candidate produces high-quality scholarship. The responsibilities of the Committee Members include:

  • Providing guidance on disseration topic selection based on student’s interest
  • Reading manuscripts within the agreed-upon time frame, suggesting substantive editoral changes, and providing rationale for their support and critiques
  • Providing guidance on subject matter expertise
  • Guiding the candidate in the selection of methods/procedures for data collection and analysis
  • Directing student to editors list
Doctoral Candidate

The responsibilities of you as a doctoral candidate include:

  • Proposing a viable project that has collectible data to support conclusions.
  • Managing the doctoral research process, including initiation and continuation of communications with the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members.
  • Completing weekly work plans and contact form in GAP and bi-weekly meetings with the Dissertation Chair.
  • Meeting and abiding by the deadlines in the written and approved work plan and contact form.
  • Completing a successful preliminary defense.
  • Conducting ethical research that adheres to the approved written methodology received by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  • Completion of CITI certification
  • Completing a successful final defense.
  • Incorporating any feedback and recommendations from the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members.
  • Having a deliverable, scholarly written, edited, and properly formatted final draft of the dissertation research meets the university’s content and quality standards. (This is the completed Dissertation that must be successfully defended.)
  • Keeping the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Committee Members informed of developments as the research study is conceptualized, designed, conducted, and written. A Doctoral Candidate may consult with an additional statistician, Methodologist, or editor, but in no case should any person other than the Doctoral Candidate conduct the work associated with the dissertation research.

Note: If an event occurs that prohibits the dissertation research’s progression and completion; the Doctoral Candidate must communicate with the Dissertation Chair to obtain advice, service, or assistance. If any significant modifications need to be made to the timeline, the Doctoral Candidate must seek approval from the Dissertation Chair and the Dissertation Director.

Selecting Your Dissertation Chair

Doctoral students will complete the Chair Selection form in their final research course. This form is integrated into the GAP course for all doctoral students to access. The Dissertation Chair serves as the committee lead, providing expert support structure in content, methodology and guidance throughout the dissertation process.

For advice on what to consider prior to offering selection options for a Chair, please see here.

Chair Bios

To see a list of the available Dissertation Chairs and their subject matter expertise and qualifications, please see here for DBA Chairs and here for Ed.D. Chairs

Additional Support

While the students’ Committee Members and Chair will be able to provide substantial support throughout the dissertation process, additional dissertation support is available.

Doctoral Writing Center Specialists

Doctoral Writing Center Specialists are available to assist students from the time they begin their prospectus until the end of your dissertation. The specialists are able to guide the process of writing, organization and revising the dissertation.

The responsibilities of the Doctoral Writing Center Specialists include:

  • Provide suggestions and considerations for the author on organization, mechanics, cohesion, or flow.
  • Focus on the areas that the author has specified the need for.
  • Discuss aspects related to writing, not content.

How to Get in Touch:
Book an appointment easily here!

Common Questions

For a list of responses to common questions regarding the chair selection process, please see here.

Contact Options
If you have questions regarding any element of this process, please reach out to:

Dissertation Department – dissertationdept@westcliff.edu