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Guidelines for Dissertation Proposals
This page applies only to students who matriculated prior to Fall 2005.
New guidelines for students matriculating after that date will be posted soon.
Students submit a dissertation proposal after they have passed their Qualifying Examinations-both Comprehensive and Specialty. The proposal is a working description of the project, the exact nature of which will evolve over time. It should be concise, direct, and carefully written. Components of a well-informed proposal include:
- Title and introduction stating the subject, scope, significance and direction of the research.
- Description of how the student plans to proceed, including information such as access to archives, additional study of primary sources, criticism, and theory, and problems anticipated. It may be useful to describe the evolution of the Dissertation Proposal from the Specialty Examination.
- Tentative explanation of chapters envisioned, mentioning possible texts.
- Detailed bibliography and footnotes are optional.
- Approval (signed and dated) by the director and second reader.
Dissertation proposals are normally 2-3 double-spaced pages in length. Sample proposals are available in the graduate office. The Graduate Committee may suggest modification of the proposal.
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