Department of Educational Administration
College of Education
The University of Texas at Austin

Ph.D. Dissertation Guidelines

The Ph.D. degree is designed for those who plan to become researchers and university faculty.  The focus of a Ph.D. dissertation must be in-depth, original research that has the possibility of creating new knowledge and understanding of particular educational construct.  In addition, the implications of Ph.D. dissertation research should be much wider than a specific problem in a specific context.  Any accepted social science methodology, including quantitative, qualitative, or mixed, could be used for a Ph.D. dissertation in the Department of Educational Administration.

In most cases, the Ph.D. dissertation will include five chapters. Chapter I will include an introduction to the study and its context. Chapter II will contain an examination of the relevant literature.  Chapter III will present a thorough discussion of the methodology for the research.  Chapter IV will feature a careful, insightful, and comprehensive coverage of the results of the research.  Chapter V will include interpretation, discussion, and implications of the research results.  Of course, the focus of each chapter and the chapter order are only what is typical and thus do not necessarily apply to all dissertations. All decisions on these matters are completely in the hands of the dissertation chair and committee.  (Committees are addressed below.)

It is expected that the writing, the use of citations, the review and understanding of the research literature, and the research skills would reflect the highest quality standards. In addition, the style guidelines are typically those of the APA format, those made available by the University, or any other legitimate style appropriate to the study and accepted by the dissertation committee.

The committee for the Ph.D. dissertation must be comprised of five individuals.  The chair of the committee must be a faculty member with GSC status in the Department.  The second and third committee members must be faculty or and/or senior lecturers with GSC status in the Department. The fourth member must be a faculty member with GSC status from any other department within the University.  The fifth committee member may be any of the above or an individual with a recognized doctorate degree who works outside the University.  The fifth member, if external to the University, will need to submit a curriculum vitae and a letter indicating his/her willingness to serve on the dissertation committee. 

The process for completing a Ph.D. dissertation is fourfold.  First, a student will defend a dissertation proposal consisting of the first three chapters before all members of the dissertation committee, including the chair.  Second, once the proposal is approved by the committee, the student must complete the advancement to doctoral candidacy application process, including a one-page description of the proposal, and the IRB application. Third, upon successful advancement, the student will conduct the research activities under the guidance of the dissertation chair and committee.  Fourth, the student will defend the completed dissertation before the committee.  After successfully defending and satisfactorily completing any required revisions, the student would earn the Ph.D.

Passed by the GSC on March 9, 2004