Culminating
Events:
Culminating event for the degree program
Dissertation
Dissertation Advising Committee Information
In consultation with the Primary Advisor, the student selects a second member from the doctoral faculty in the Dance Department and a third member from any Temple University doctoral program and requests their participation on the Advisory Committee. The student prepares the full dissertation proposal, initially with the guidance of the Primary Advisor, later, seeking feedback from each member of the Advisory Committee. Finally, the student submits the proposal for review by the entire doctoral faculty of the Dance Department. When the Dissertation Advisory Committee agrees that the proposal is ready to go forward, the Primary Advisor and the student schedule a time and place for the student’s formal presentation of the dissertation proposal before the graduate students and faculty of the Dance Department.
Dissertation Examining Committee Information
The original Doctoral Advisory Committee may be expanded with additional doctoral faculty from Temple University or other universities, or even doctorally prepared experts who work outside university settings. For the purposes of the dissertation defense, the committee must include at least one additional doctoral faculty member from Temple or another university but not from the student’s program; so constituted, it becomes the Dissertation Examining Committee. At least one member of the Dissertation Examining Committee must be an "Outside Examiner," defined as one who has not read the dissertation in progress. The composition of committees is subject to approval by the Doctoral Coordinator of the Dance Department, who ensures adherence to Graduate School policies; exceptions to these rules will be considered only if the studen submitts a petition to the Dean of the Graduate School.
Advisor/Committee Information
In the eventuality that circumstances prevent a committee from functioning effectively, the committee may be reconstituted, but only through the following procedure: 1) the student must write a letter to the Doctoral Faculty Committee, c/o the Doctoral Coordinator, stating the reasons for the requested change; 2) the Doctoral Faculty Committee will make a decision on the petition; if necessary, the Doctoral Coordinator will ask the student to supply further information to the Committee on paper or in person; 3) all appropriate parties must be notified of the change. In addition, the Graduate School must be notified of any changes in the composition of the Doctoral Advisory Committee. In the event that either the student desires to change the Primary Advisor or faculty availability dictates such a change, procedures similar to the ones stated above are followed. Faculty availability may also dictate a change in the composition of the Dissertation Advisory Committee.
Preliminary Exam Description
Through the Preliminary Projects, the student demonstrates her/his achievement of scholarly and professional competencies.
1. The student must be able to carry through and complete a major, independent research project culminating in a research article that meets current professional standards for publication.
2. The student must be able to complete a major, independent dance curriculum development project in the form of a course proposal. The proposal must articulate the curricular rationale for a course of the student's own invention, the objectives of the course, how these will be implemented in the teaching-learning processes, what the material content of the course will be, how learning will be assessed, and bibliographic resources for the course.
Subject Areas/Major Components of the Preliminary Examination
A Qualifying Examination focusing on Dance Research and Cultural/Historical Studies is taken after the first year of full time study. The student demonstrates breadth of knowledge and insight into multiple scholary perspectives, discourses, and worldviews through this examination.
At what point in the program is the student expected to take the preliminary examination
In order to maintain good academic progress toward the degree, the student should plan to submit her/his Preliminary Projects by the end of the summer after the second year of full-time study, and no later by mid-term of the fifth semester.
Writing the Questions for the Preliminary Examination
All four doctoral faculty members in dance contribute questions to the Qualifying Examination.
Evaluating the Preliminary Examination
A minimum of three doctoral faculty must approve the content of the Preliminary Projects and the Qualifying Examination.
Criterion for Passing the Preliminary Examination.
A minimum of three doctoral faculty members must make a decision on the examination grade: pass, pass upon the approval of required revisions, or fail. If the student does not submit required revisions before the start of the next semester, the grade automatically reverts to fail. If a student either fails the whole examination, or a part thereof, she/he is permitted to retake the entire examination or the failed portion once. A second failure constitutes grounds for academic dismissal.
Administering, Scheduling, and Proctoring the Preliminary Examination
Both the Qualifying Examination and Preliminary Projects are take-home examinations. The Qualifying Exam must be completed within one week over the summer after the first year of formal coursework.
Dissertation/Monograph Philosophy
The Doctoral Dissertation is a substantial piece of original and independent research making a significant contribution to new knowledge in dance and possibly related fields.
Philosophy of the Proposal
In the dissertation proposal the must student demonstrate that she/he is well versed in the specific mode of inquiry and research methods to be applied and that these are well tailored to the solution of the research problem. Written standards for the evaluation of the dissertation proposals are published in the Ph.D. Handbook. A formal review process consists of three steps: 1) a 4-5 page abstract of the dissertation proposal must be reviewed by the entire doctoral faculty; 2) the full six part proposal must then be reviewed by the student's Dissertation Advisory Committee; 3) the dissertation proposal must be formally presented in a public event and shown to enriche the entire doctoral/graduate community in dance at Temple University.
Criterion for Passing the Dissertation and the Defense.
The Dissertation Examining Committee assesses the defendability of the research and the written document. At least three members of the committee must certify that the dissertation is defensible before the student can proceed to the oral defense of the dissertation. A majority of the members of the Dissertation Examining Committee must approve the oral defense.
Dissertation Defense Scheduling
The dissertation must be approved for defense from the advisory committee. The advisor and student must agree on a defense date. The announcement for defense is posted on ISIS and on campus no later than 10 working days prior to the scheduled defense.
Announcing the Dissertation Defense
The Primary Advisor, the Doctoral Coordinator, and the Department are responsible for announcing the oral defense of doctoral candidates. All doctoral defenses must be announced through the Graduate School using the "Notification of Scheduling Oral Defense" form. These forms must be received by the Graduate School (501 Carnell Hall) a minimum of 10 working days prior to the defense. Also prior to the defense, fliers must be posted announcing the defense.
