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Advancement Information

Please refer to the relevant sub-sections of the ELP wiki for further details of each doctoral milestone.

After You will be eligible for advancement into doctoral candidacy after you pass and complete all of the following:

  • Required courses
  • Mid-program Review
  • Specialization Paper  Paper SP (formerly the SQE)
  • Prepare, Complete and Complete Pass Dissertation/ Treatise Proposal

you will be eligible for advancement into doctoral candidacy.Each graduate student would normally expect to reach this point by the end of the third year. Doctoral Candidacy will allow you to focus solely on research and register each semester for Dissertation/Treatise coursework.

Assessment Stages

Complete Written Mid-program Review

  • Check with your advisor regarding your eligibility and method of completing this requirement. More information is available in the mid program review section of this ELP wiki.

Complete Specialization Paper (SP)

  • Administered by each program area: CSP, EPP, PHEL, and ExecEdD.  Check with your faculty advisor to determine your eligibility and method of completing this requirement. More information is available in the SP policy section of this ELP wiki. Specialization Paper Policy. 

Prepare Dissertation/Treatise proposal

  • Please see the proposal process in the ELP wiki.Proposal Process
  • Select chair/supervisor and members for the dissertation/treatise committee. Information about the composition of the dissertation committee can be found on the Graduate School website.
    • To determine if a faculty member is on the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC), which might impact their eligibility to be on your dissertation committee, talk to your advisor. It is the responsibility of the student to secure a faculty supervisor and committee that meets the requirements of the Graduate School.
    • The committee for a Doctoral dissertation must be comprised of four 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 an outside member, who holds a doctorate degree, who is not a member of the student’s GSC. The fourth 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. 
  • Prepare your proposal (traditionally, this is the first 3 chapters of your dissertation/treatise; however, you should work with your dissertation chair to determine the contents of your proposal).
  • Once your dissertation committee chair approves your proposal draft, schedule a meeting for the oral proposal presentation and distribute copies to committee members.  (Your dissertation chair will assist you in determining the appropriate amount of time needed for your committee to read your proposal before making your presentation).
  • Schedule a room in which to present your proposal (reservations for rooms in the Sanchez Building need to be made by you).  Ask the Please see ELP Office Staff for assistance in scheduling a room.
  • After a successful proposal, you will complete your doctoral advancement kit for committee signature. Please see the ELP wiki for more information on how to submit the advancement kit for signature. 


Dissertation Guidelines and Committee

In most cases, the a Doctoral dissertation will include five chapters:

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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 a Doctoral dissertation must be comprised of four 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 an outside member, who holds a doctorate degree, who is not a member of the student’s GSC. The fourth 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 Doctoral . dissertation is fourfold. 

  1. A student will defend a dissertation proposal consisting of the first three chapters before all members of the dissertation committee, including the chair.
  2. 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.
  3. Upon successful advancement, the student will conduct the research activities under the guidance of the dissertation chair and committee. 
  4. 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.

Apply for Advancement to Candidacy

Advancement into candidacy requires an application and approval by the student’s supervising professor, the departmental Graduate Advisor, and the UT Graduate Dean.

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  • Only AFTER you receive IRB Approval, you may register for your first dissertation course (either 399R, 699R or 999R).
  • An advising bar on your registration record will be in place until you meet the IRB Approval Pre-requirement.
  • Two dissertation/treatise courses are required to be taken in consecutive semesters.  The first one is the dissertation research course (399W, 699W or 999W) followed by the dissertation writing course (399W, 699W or 999W).  The treatise research course numbers are 399K, 699K or 999K and the writing course numbers are 399L, 699L or 999L. 
  • Work with your chair to determine your progress.
  • Complete data collection and analysis (for peace of mind, be sure to back up your work).
  • Write the final dissertation/treatise draft.
  • Submit your draft to your chair for approval.

Complete Final Oral Exam

Scheduling of the Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation/Treatise) will be predicated upon the quality of the execution, analysis, and writing of the dissertation/treatise and will be conducted only with Dissertation/Treatise Committee approval. The Examination will cover the dissertation/treatise and related topics. While the Dissertation/Treatise Committee alone votes on the acceptability of the student's Final Orals, any member of the Graduate Faculty may participate during the Examination. Oral Exams are to be scheduled by the student and the Office of Graduate Studies. The Request for Final Oral Examination must be formally submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies at least two weeks prior to the Examination. Normally, students must submit to members of the Dissertation/Treatise Committee a final draft of the dissertation at least four weeks prior to the Examination.

  • Submit the Degree Candidate Form (application to graduate) the first week of the semester in which you plan to graduate).  This form is available on the Graduate School's website. 
  • Get your committee chair’s approval of your final draft.

    • Submit your dissertation/treatise to your Dissertation Committee at least four weeks before your defense.

  • Schedule your Final Oral Examination two weeks before the desired date using the “Request for Final Oral” (formally known as the 'pink form'), signed by each committee member and the graduate advisor (attach all the required documents), once the chair and committee members agree to meet.  Their signature signifies that they approve of your request for the final oral exam and serves as a receipt that they received your dissertation/treatise draft. 
    • The typed Request for Final Oral Examination form must be submitted to the Graduate School at least two weeks before the date of your final examination.
        • Please send the “request for final oral” form to your committee for signature via Docusign, a digital workflow software that allows faculty to electronically sign official university forms. This is a student-initiated process.
        • DocuSign Request for Final Oral Examination PowerForm Link:
          http://links.utexas.edu/bmswkih

  • As soon as the committee and Graduate Advisor sign the form, you will receive an alert via Docusign. Please then submit the Request for Final Oral Examination form, along with the Dissertation “front matter” to the Graduate School at GradStudentSvcs@austin.utexas.edu at least two weeks before the defense date.

  • Work with your chair to determine the elements and presentation method needed for your final oral exam.
  • Present your research results to your dissertation committee.  Be sure to have the necessary forms for them to sign at your final oral exam.
    • Effective Fall 2020, the Graduate School will not schedule your final defense within two weeks of the last class day of the semester. Reference the UT Academic Calendar for deadline information.


After a successful defense,

Submit all paperwork to the Office of Graduate Studies (Graduate School, Main Building 101 in the Tower), email contact (GradStudentSvcs@austin.utexas.edu) by the deadline.

Attend Graduation and Celebrate!!!


Extension of Candidacy Policy and Process

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Only under exigent circumstances, as verified by the Chair of the dissertation/treatise committee and the program chair, a student may request an additional extension.

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