As of January, 2022, the Graduate School and the Department of Psychology request that individual thesis and dissertation committees decide whether proposals and defense meetings will be held in person or virtually, with a preference for in person defenses when it is safe for everyone. We encourage committees to select a single delivery mode to prevent technology/auditory challenges that often arise during hybrid meetings, although hybrid meetings are permitted. Committees do not need to receive permission or inform the department or Graduate School of the delivery method chosen at this time.
Email Mandy Mangham to schedule a room for your proposal/defense meetings if needed.
Additional information can be found in the Graduate Student Handbook, starting on page 27.
Thesis
Thesis Committee appointment – After the committee has been approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, the student should complete the Appointment/Change of Master’s Thesis Committee Form electronically (instructions here) and submit to the Graduate School electronically. (This form may be submitted after the proposal.)
Thesis proposal – This is an informal meeting and does not require paperwork.
Thesis defense – The student should notify the Department Administrative Assistant (Cindy Apperson), the Graduate Program Assistant (Nicole Dover), and the Director of Graduate Studies (Dr. Randall Salekin) of the date of the Thesis Examination/Defense and include the following information:
- Your name, CWID, and program area (e.g., clinical child)
- Date of defense
- Title of Thesis
- Name and email address of Committee Chair
- Name and email address of Committee Co-chair (if there is one)
- Name and email address of external committee member
- Names and email addresses of other committee members
The Department Administrative Assistant will create a folder in UA box and issue an invitation to the student and the committee chair. The student should upload the document to UA Box at least five working days prior to the meeting (working days are days on which UA offices are open). Also, at this time, raw data and variable labels should be uploaded to UA Box Upload Thesis and Dissertation.
The document and the links to the fillable Rubrics (Oral Rubric and Document Rubric) should be emailed to the committee members.
Oral Exam and Written Document rubrics – The committee chair should collect these documents and upload them to UA Box folder Rubric and Committee Acceptance Form with Vote Upload within 48 hours of the examination.
ETD Committee Acceptance Form – As soon as revisions have been completed and approved by the committee chair, the student should notify the Graduate Program Assistant (Nicole Dover) that the document has been or is ready to be submitted through ProQuest; the Graduate Program Assistant will then initiate the ETD Committee Acceptance form.
Doctoral Degree
Pre-lim
Dissertation Committee appointment – After the committee has been approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, the student should complete the Appointment/Change of Doctoral Dissertation Committee Form electronically (instructions here https://gradservice.ua.edu/reports/projects/GRADS_TD_Instructions_Student.pdf ) and submit to the Graduate School electronically.
Mini-proposal meeting – This is an informal meeting and does not require paperwork. The student shall distribute the mini-proposal to committee members at least 5 working days prior to meeting with the committee (working days are days on which UA offices are open), in electronic form. There is no need to upload the mini-proposal to UA Box or to provide a copy of the mini-proposal to the Department Administrative Assistant.
Preliminary Examination – The student should notify the Department Administrative Assistant (Cindy Apperson), the Graduate Program Assistant (Nicole Dover), and the Director of Graduate Studies (Dr. Randall Salekin) of the date of the Thesis Examination/Defense and include the following information:
- Your name, CWID, and program area (e.g., social)
- Date of Preliminary Exam
- Title of Dissertation
- Name and email address of Committee Chair
- Name and email address of Committee Co-chair (if there in one)
- Name and email address of external committee member
- Names and email addresses of other committee members
If the student already has a folder in UA Box Document Upload Thesis and Dissertation, s/he should upload the document to that folder. Otherwise, the Department Administrative will create a folder for the student in UA Box Document Upload Thesis and Dissertation and send an invitation to the student to upload the document there. The same applies for the committee chair and the folder for rubrics.
The student should upload the document to UA Box at least 10 working days prior to the meeting (working days are days on which UA offices are open).
The document and the links to the fillable Rubrics (Oral Rubric and Document Rubric) should be emailed to the committee members.
Oral Exam and Written Document rubrics – the committee chair should collect these documents and upload them to UA Box folder Rubric and Committee Acceptance Form with Vote Upload within 48 hours of the examination.
Plan of Study and Candidacy Form – The Graduate Program Assistant will complete the Plan of Study and initiate the Admission to Candidacy form for committee members to sign. Please note: the Graduate School will not sign off on the Candidacy form until all coursework is completed; therefore, the candidacy form will not be initiated until that time.
Dissertation
Doctoral Examination/Defense – The student should notify the Department Administrative Assistant (Cindy Apperson), the Graduate Program Assistant (Nicole Dover), and the Director of Graduate Studies (Dr. Randall Salekin) of the date of the Dissertation Examination and include the following information:
- Your name, CWID, and program area (e.g., cognitive)
- Date of Examination / Defense
- Title of Dissertation
- Name and email address of Committee Chair
- Name and email address of Committee Co-chair (if there is one)
- Name and email address of external committee member
- Names and email addresses of other committee members
If the student already has a folder in UA Box Document Upload Thesis and Dissertation, s/he should upload the document to that folder. Otherwise, the Department Administrative Assistant will create a folder for the student in UA Box Document Upload Thesis and Dissertation and send an invitation to the student to upload the document there. The same applies for the committee chair and the folder for rubrics. At the time the student uploads the document to UA Box Document Upload Thesis and Dissertation, raw data and variable labels should be uploaded to UA Box.
Following the final oral defense, the dissertation chair will notify Graduate Program Assistant and Department Administrative Assistant of the final vote. Also, the dissertation chair should collect electronic Oral Exam and Written Document rubrics and upload them to UA Box folder Rubric and Committee Acceptance Form with Vote Upload within 48 hours of the examination.
ETD Committee Acceptance Form – As soon as revisions have been completed and approved by the committee chair, the student should notify the Graduate Program Assistant (Nicole Dover) that the document has been or is ready to be submitted through ProQuest; the Graduate Program Assistant will then initiate the ETD Committee Acceptance form.
NOTE: As of the date of these instructions, The Graduate Programs Assistant will initiate all related forms except for the Committee Appointment form.
Those forms are
-
- Committee Acceptance Form for Electronic Thesis
- Outline of Ph.D. Program (Plan of Study)
- Doctoral Admission to Candidacy Form
- Committee Acceptance Form for Electronic Dissertation
- Request for Transfer of Graduate Credit
- Transfer Credit Evaluation Form
- Courses Drop/Add Form