Dissertation
Dissertation and Requirements
Students will start to work on their dissertations in Year 2 including submission of dissertation proposals, and complete dissertations and defences within four (4) years.
In year 3 and 4, Students are allowed to work on their dissertation project off-campus but are expected to meet regularly in-person or online with their Dissertation Supervisor and Committee members.
| Process | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Confirm supervisor | At the end of Term 2 in Year 1 |
| Prepare Dissertation Proposal | In Term 1 of Year 2 |
| Submit Dissertation Proposal | In Term 3 of Year 2 |
| Submit Dissertation and Oral Defence | In Year 3 or 4 |
The student can only proceed formally with the dissertation after having satisfied the following:
- Successful completion of the Coursework (12 credit units)
- Successful appointment of the Dissertation Committee
- Successful completion of the Qualifying Examination (QE)
- Successful get the Dissertation Proposal approved.
The topic of the dissertation should be material importance relating to the student’s practice area. The length of the doctor dissertation is between 40,000 and 60,000 words (exclusive of references).
The Committee will be composed of three (3) members and at least one (1) member is not a YPHSL faculty. The Dissertation Committee will be led by a Dissertation Supervisor who must be a full-time faculty member at SMU YPHSL and will serve as the Chair.