Timeline of Thesis/Dissertation Completion*
Action Taken |
Fall term |
Spring term |
Summer term |
Thesis draft to advisor |
October |
March/April |
Early July |
Oral defense |
Mid-November |
Mid-April |
Mid-July
|
Corrections to Committee Members |
1-2 weeks after defense |
1-2 weeks after defense |
1-2 weeks after defense |
Final Committee Approval and Signatures |
Early December |
Early May |
End of July |
Near final draft to Grad Studies Office for format review |
Mid to End of November |
Late April/Early May |
Early August |
Format corrections |
Exam week |
Exam week |
Early August |
Final submission to Grad Studies Office |
Last day of exams |
Last day of exams |
End of Summer session |
Submission of grade by Committee Chairperson |
Last day of exams |
Last day of exams |
End of Summer session |
*Students are encouraged to submit their work earlier, as these dates reflect final
deadlines for submission. Program or department guidelines supersede these dates if
they require earlier deadlines than those published in the Office of Graduate Studies Guidelines for Preparing Theses and Dissertations (PDF).
Formation of Committee
Your thesis or dissertation chairperson will be responsible for guiding you through
the process. Once you have identified this individual, then in consultation with them
you should identify two or more (depending on program requirements) additional faculty
members who will add value to the development of the research and be part of the group
evaluating it when you are ready to defend your research.
Forms for the establishment of your thesis/dissertation committee need to be completed
in DocuSign.
Forms for the establishment of your thesis/dissertation committee.
Select your Form
Proposal and Initiation of Scholarship
The student is to maintain ongoing contact with the thesis/dissertation chairperson
and the committee members during the development of the proposal and to abide by the
academic program or department guidelines for its content and scope. Some programs
and departments require a formal oral defense of a thesis proposal, though this is
not a requirement of the Office of Graduate Studies. Doctoral dissertation proposals require a formal oral defense. Approval of the thesis
or dissertation proposal by the chairperson and committee members is necessary for
the student to proceed with the thesis or dissertation research. The student is to
confer with and receive approval from the chairperson and the committee members for
a proposed timeframe for completing the thesis or dissertation. The Dean of Graduate
Studies does not need to approve the thesis or dissertation proposal.
The student must seek and obtain written approval from the Towson University Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects prior to conducting research that involves the
use of human subjects. Students must seek and obtain approval from the Towson University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to conducting research that involves the use of animals. Students can contact
the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research for assistance at 410-704‐2236 or at ospr AT_TOWSON.
Defense and Graduation
Students are to abide by all deadlines established by the Office of Graduate Studies
for review and submission of the final thesis/dissertation and by the Registrar’s Office for formal submission of an intention to graduate. Students are to abide by department
and program deadlines for review and submission of the thesis/dissertation, if these
deadlines are earlier than those stated by the Office of Graduate Studies.
Once it is approved by the committee chairperson, the student is to distribute the
final draft of the thesis or dissertation to the committee members for review. At
the time of distribution, the student is to meet with the committee chairperson to
establish a date and time for the oral defense of the thesis/dissertation. The oral
defense should occur at least four weeks before the end of the academic term. The
student may announce the date and time of the defense to the university community
at least one week prior to the event. The administrative assistant to the student’s
program or college can assist in posting defense announcements. Thesis and dissertation
defenses are open to all members of the Towson University academic community, and
to guests invited by the student. Upon successful completion of your thesis/dissertation
defense and making all corrections required by your committee you should submit your
thesis to the Office of Graduate Studies and circulate the appropriate final thesis approval form to your committee members for signature.
Submission to Graduate Studies
The student is to submit the final approved thesis/dissertation, signed approval form,
and the Internet release page in electronic form to the Office of Graduate Studies
at gradformat AT_TOWSON at least 10 working days prior to the official end of the term in which the student
intends to graduate.
The electronic copy of the thesis/dissertation is to be in a version compatible with
Microsoft Word; the electronic copy should not be a PDF at this time. The Office of
Graduate Studies evaluates an electronic copy of thesis/dissertation, after it has
been approved by the committee, to ensure compliance with the procedural and formatting
requirements stipulated in this manual. Theses or dissertations that do not follow
the guidelines will need to be corrected by the student before receiving final approval
from the Office of Graduate Studies.