Policies on Advising, Exams, and Dissertation

:::: Advising :::: :::: Preliminary Exams :::: :::: Dissertation ::::

The Advising Process

The purpose of the Ph.D. advising process is to move each student steadily toward completion of the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media degree requirements.

First Year Advising

The Director of the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program serves as the graduate advisor for all incoming students. The Director will provide advising for a maximum of three semesters. As soon as possible, but no later than the end of the third semester, each student will seek a graduate advisor and select an advisory committee. The Director provides advice and guidance in this process. When the committee is formed, advising duties transfer to the graduate advisor.

Graduate Advisor and the Advisory Committee

The purpose of the advisory committee is to help students define a topic for dissertation research, as well as choose examination areas and develop a plan of study that will prepare them for dissertation research. The graduate advisor's role is to chair the committee, oversee the examination and dissertation processes, and to serve as an academic mentor to the student.

The advisory committee consists of four members, including the chair, selected from the faculty in the Departments of Communication and English, and from affiliated faculty (see the list of faculty on the CRDM website). At least one member must be from Communication and one from English. According to NC State's policy on external committee members and technical consultants [graduate school handbook section 3.2.D], students may select committee members from institutions other than NC State. Where applicable, students must complete the appropriate advisory committee appointment form:

Graduate Faculty from UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Greensboro, and Duke - [Graduate Advisory Committee Appointment Form for Interinstitutional Member]
Graduate Faculty from another university - [Graduate Advisory Committee Appointment Form for External Member/Technical Consultant]
A person from industry or a governmental agency - [Graduate Advisory Committee Appointment Form for External Member/Technical Consultant]

Students may change the members of the advisory committee. The procedures for making changes differ according to when changes are requested:

Prior to the preliminary exam: students submit a revised Plan of Work to the Graduate School that is signed by the graduate advisor and the new advisory committee and approved by the CRDM Director.
After the preliminary exam: students submit a revised Plan of Work to the Graduate School that is signed by the graduate advisor and all members of the old and new advisory committees and approved by the CRDM Director.

Plan of Work

Before the end of the third semester students must consult with their graduate advisor and members of their advisory committee to complete a Plan of Work. The Plan of Work contains the following:

A list of advisory committee members,
A dissertation topic, and
A list of courses the student will take in fulfillment of the program requirements and when they will be taken.

The student should fill out a paper copy of the Plan of Work form, get signatures of all committee members, and take the form to the CRDM Program Assistant, who will enter the information into the Graduate School's online Plan of Work and retain the paper copy with the signatures for the student's file. The CRDM Director will approve the Plan of Work online. After approving the Plan of Work, the Graduate School appoints a fifth committee member to serve as its representative.

Students may change a Plan of Work. All changes require signed approval of the graduate advisor, members of the student's advisory committee, the CRDM Director, and the Graduate School.

A signed and complete Plan of Work must be on file in the Graduate School before students will be allowed to schedule the preliminary exam.

:::: Advising :::: :::: Dissertation :::: :::: Back to top ::::

Preliminary Exam

All students must pass a preliminary examination consisting of two parts: a written and an oral. A student will pass the preliminary exam only by the advisory committee's unanimous vote of approval after the oral defense of the written portion of the exam.

During the last semesters of coursework, the student works in consultation with members of the advisory committee to develop reading lists in subject areas that reflect the student's Plan of Work and/or areas of dissertation research. Based on these reading lists, members of the advisory committee will write exam questions intended to test the student's mastery of the designated subject areas.

The student will have up to 4 hours per question to write an answer. All questions must be answered within a 72 hour (3 day) period. The advisory committee will determine the location of the exam and the method for distributing the student's answers to the advisory committee. After the student has completed the written portion, the graduate advisor will consult with members of the advisory committee to determine if the student is ready to proceed to the oral defense. In cases where the committee determines that parts of the written examination are not adequate, the student may be requested to prepare a supplementary response to bring to the oral portion of the exam.

The oral portion of the exam will last approximately two hours. While it may include the material covered in the written examination, it is not limited to the written work and will usually include an initial discussion of the dissertation prospectus (see below). The graduate school representative will attend the preliminary oral examination and sign the Report on the Preliminary Examination to signify that a fair process took place. However, the representative is not a voting member of the committee. As noted, a unanimous vote of approval from the examiners is required for students to pass this examination. A student who fails the preliminary examination will be dismissed from the CRDM program.

Scheduling the Preliminary Examination: Written and Oral Components

Students are required to schedule the written portion of the exam no earlier than the end of the second year of graduate study and no later than one semester (four calendar months) prior to the final oral examination (i.e., the dissertation defense).

After the advisory committee determines that the student is ready to proceed to the oral portion of the exam, the student works with them to determine a date for the oral portion of the exam. Should members of the advisory committee require any sections of the written exam to be revised or rewritten before the oral exam, the student will receive notice at this time.

The oral portion of the exam cannot be scheduled without prior approval from the Graduate School. The student should download the Request to Schedule the Doctoral Oral Examination, complete the top portion, and gather signatures from the graduate advisor and members of the advisory committee. The student should return this form to the CRDM Program Assistant, who will submit it to the Graduate School. This form must be submitted at least 10 business days prior to the proposed date for the oral portion of the exam.

After successful completion of the preliminary exam, the graduate advisor, advisory committee, and the graduate school representative will sign the Report on the Preliminary Examination. The CRDM Program Assistant must file this form with the Graduate School within 5 business days of the examination.

:::: Advising :::: :::: Preliminary Exams :::: :::: Back to top ::::

The Dissertation

Students will work closely with their graduate advisor and members of the advisory committee to plan, write, and defend a dissertation. The dissertation should demonstrate the student's ability to conduct original research and to present the results of that research in a way that makes a meaningful contribution to existing research. The dissertation process, consisting of a prospectus, a dissertation, and a final oral defense, will be the student's culminating experience in the doctoral program.

Advisory Committee Meeting

The CRDM Program Committee recommends that doctoral students organize a meeting of their advisory committees to discuss the theoretical foundation and general approach planned for the dissertation during the process of studying for the preliminary examination. Because of the interdisciplinary makeup of each student's advisory committee, it is important to seek input and consensus from the committee before writing the prospectus. This meeting should occur before the Preliminary Exam.

Dissertation Prospectus

Following completion of the preliminary written examination and before the oral preliminary exam, the student will submit a draft dissertation prospectus to the advisory committee. The prospectus should

Identify a significant problem or opportunity for which the dissertation will be a researched response.
Articulate a clear topic and direction for research; often, the topic will be expressed as a question or a set of related questions.
Ground the problem to be addressed in existing scholarship in order to argue that the dissertation will be an original contribution to published discussions on the topic and that it will not significantly overlap with previous research.
Discuss details of a workable and appropriate research method, including any literature to be surveyed, data to be collected, field research to be conducted, or other relevant methodological processes.
Outline the chapters of the dissertation.

As noted earlier, generally the oral portion of the preliminary exam will include a discussion of the prospectus. By the end of the oral portion of the preliminary exam, the advisory committee will suggest any necessary changes to the prospectus and will recommend whether or not the student is ready to advance to the next stage of the dissertation.

The Dissertation

The dissertation is a comprehensive study based on original research that is written in partial fulfillment of requirements for the CRDM doctorate. It has a clear theoretical foundation and employs a rigorous methodology. The manuscript is written so that it reflects the highest standards of writing valued in the Communication and English disciplines. Although all dissertations will be different, most successful dissertations will

Articulate a meaningful and precise topic that contributes to existing research.
Advance our understanding of the phenomena, processes, histories, or contexts that are the focus of the study.
Ask meaningful research questions and then report original research that answers those questions.
Articulate the consequences of the research so as to highlight their significance.
Demonstrate the author's mastery of relevant theories and methods of research.
Demonstrate the author's ability to write clearly and at a level that would be suitable for publication.
Read like a book as opposed to a collection of essays. All components of the dissertation should be woven together and presented as a coherent discussion of a single topic.
Present the author's voice as one that is authoritative and confident.

More details about the Graduate School's requirements for preparation and evaluation of dissertations are available at http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/grad_publicns/thesdis/respon.htm.

Final Oral Examination (The Dissertation Defense)

The final step in a student's successful completion of the doctoral degree is the oral dissertation defense. In this examination, the doctoral candidate defends the methodology, data, and conclusions developed in the dissertation, and relate its overall significance to the field. A unanimous vote by the advisory committee is required to pass the examination. The graduate school representative will attend the final oral examination to ensure a fair process and will sign the report on the final oral examination. However, the representative is not a voting member of the committee.

Scheduling the Final Oral Examination

In order to graduate within a particular semester, doctoral students must successfully pass the final oral examination by the deadline listed in the Graduate School handbook calendar [graduate school handbook section 3.20.B] and submit an approved, completed dissertation within the required time frame. These deadlines are not flexible, and missed deadlines have consequences. For instance, students may be required to pay another semester's tuition to remain a doctoral candidate.

Thus, students in their final year are encouraged to develop a clear schedule that lists all Graduate School due dates and work backwards from those to schedule the oral examination. Scheduling the committee meeting for the final oral examination is no easier than scheduling the preliminary examination, so students should consult with their advisory committee and set the date at least one month in advance.

Once the date is set, the doctoral candidate should initiate the Request for Approval to Schedule the Doctoral Oral Examination, complete the top portion, gather signatures, and return the form to the CRDM Program Assistant at least 10 business days before the final oral examination date. The Program Assistant will ensure that it is submitted to the Graduate School. After approving the request, the Graduate School will send to the graduate advisor the following materials:

Admission to the Final Doctoral Oral Examination form,
Survey of Earned Doctorate form
Doctoral Dissertation Agreement form, and
Graduate Attendance Letter

After successful completion of the final oral examination, the graduate advisor, advisory committee, and the graduate school representative will sign the Report of the Advisory Committee section on the Admission to the Final Doctoral Oral Examination form. The CRDM Program Assistant must file the completed form within 5 days of the examination.

Thesis Editing and Microfilm Charges

The student must schedule an appointment with the Graduate School's thesis editor to ensure that the Graduate School's requirements for dissertations are met, in addition to those already required by the CRDM program. The student can schedule an appointment with the Graduate School's thesis editor as soon as the Graduate School has approved the Request for Approval to Schedule the Doctoral Oral Examination. Please note that as Graduate School deadlines near, it becomes more difficult to schedule time with the thesis editor.

NC State also requires that doctoral students pay for their dissertations to be microfilmed by University Microfilms International (Ann Arbor, MI). This fee includes publication of the abstract in Dissertation Abstracts International. A microfiche of the dissertation is held in the NCSU Libraries collection.

Completing the Degree

By the end of the sixth week of classes in a student's last semester, the student must complete a diploma card and submit it to the CRDM Program Assistant for signatures.

When doctoral students submit the final copy of their dissertation to the Graduate School, they must also submit:

Diploma Order Request Card
Survey of Earned Doctorate
Doctoral Dissertation Agreement form
Check or Money Order to cover the microfilm fee.

NC State will not release the diploma or record the student's degree until these forms have been submitted. Please note that a survey or additional feedback may also be required by the CRDM Program.

:::: Advising :::: :::: Preliminary Exams :::: :::: Dissertation :::: :::: Back to top ::::