AMSC Dissertation Requirements

Dissertation Prospectus

Beginning August 2007, students must submit their dissertation prospectus to the AMSC Graduate Committee for approval at least one year before graduation. The Graduate Committee members reviewing the prospectus may not be experts in the students' subject areas, so the prospectus should outline the background of their research, the work that they have already completed, along with the work they intend to do. Examples of dissertation prospectuses can be found here.

Application for Diploma

Applications for diplomas should be made at the Registrar's Office early in the term in which the degree is expected to be awarded. The dates are listed in the Graduate School Calendar. The student must apply for his or her diploma within four years of being admitted to candidacy. A student must receive his or her diploma at least one year after being admitted to candidacy.

Before a doctorate student applies for a diploma he or she must have:

• maintained a B average in all formal coursework;
• passed the Final Oral Examination;
• completed a dissertation that is accepted by the Graduate School.

The Ph.D. Final Oral Examination (Defense)

Procedure for Obtaining Ph.D. Final Examination Committees

The Ph.D. final oral examination (defense) is conducted by a committee appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies. The student and his or her dissertation advisor must fill out the form Nomination of Thesis or Dissertation Committee (available at the AMSC Office). For the Ph.D. defense, this form must be completed three months before the date of the final oral examination. The completed form should be returned to the AMSC office where it will be forwarded to the Graduate School.

Selecting Ph.D. Final Examination Committee Members

A doctoral final examination committee consists of at least five members who hold a doctoral degree or its equivalent.

• At least one member represents the mathematical basis of the AMSC Program and one the outside area of specialization.

• A minimum of three members must be regular members of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Maryland.

• One member of the examining committee is designated by the Dean for Graduate Studies. The Dean's Representative should have some background or interest related to the student's research. The Dean's Representative must be a tenured member of the Graduate Faculty at the University of Maryland and must be from a graduate program other than the home program of the chair and co-chair (if one exists) of the examination committee. In cases where a student is in an interdisciplinary graduate program , the Dean's Representative must be from a unit other than the home unit(s) of the chair of the committee and student's advisor. This is from the Grad School Catalog.

  Note: In practice the Dean would probably not select a Dean's rep who is a member of AMSC for an AMSC exam.

• One or more members of the committee may be persons from other institutions who are distinguished scholars in the field of the dissertation.

Scheduling the Ph.D. Final Examination

The major professor who chairs the committee establishes the time and date of the examination. It is his or her responsibility to notify the other members of the committee and the AMSC office. We strongly recommend that the student remind the committee members where the exam is a couple of days before the exam.

Complete copies of the dissertation must be distributed by the candidate to the committee members at least 10 days prior to the date of the examination.

Function of the Examination Committee

All final oral examinations are open to anyone who is interested. After the examination, the Committee deliberates in private. The decision to accept the examination as satisfactory need not be unanimous, however two or more negative votes constitute a failure of the candidate.

The Examining Committee also approves or disapproves the dissertation for submission to the Graduate School. If the candidate fails the final examination then the dissertation is disapproved. If the candidate passes the final examination then the Committee can either:

• approve the dissertation without revision;
• approve the dissertation with minor revisions that will be reviewed by only the dissertation advisor;
• approve the dissertation with major revisions that will be reviewed by the entire committee.

Repeating the Examination

The candidate may attempt the final oral examination at most twice.