Texas A&M University Graduate Catalog

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Degree Information

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Dissertation

The ability to perform independent research must be demonstrated by the dissertation, which must be the original work of the candidate. Whereas acceptance of the dissertation is based primarily on its scholarly merit, it must also exhibit creditable literary workmanship. The format of the dissertation must be acceptable to the Office of Graduate Studies. Guidelines for the preparation of the thesis are available in the Thesis Manual which is available online at thesis.tamu.edu/thesismanual.php.

After successful defense and approval by the student's advisory committee and the head of the student's major department (or chair of the intercollegiate faculty, if applicable), students must submit their dissertation to the Thesis Office in electronic format as a single PDF file. The PDF file must be uploaded to the Thesis Office website, thesis.tamu.edu. Additionally, a signed approval page must be brought or mailed to the Thesis Office. Both the PDF file and the signed approval page are required by deadline day.

Deadline dates for submitting are announced each semester or summer term in the Office of Graduate Studies Calendar (see Time Limit statement). These dates also can be accessed via the website ogs.tamu.edu/OGS/currentForms.htm.

Before a student can be "cleared" by the Thesis Office, a processing fee must be paid at the Fiscal Department. This processing fee includes a charge for microfilming services through UMI. After commencement, dissertations are microfilmed, digitally stored and made available through the Texas A&M Libraries.

A dissertation that, because of excessive corrections, is deemed unacceptable by the Thesis Office will be returned to the student's department head or chair of the intercollegiate faculty. The manuscript must be resubmitted as a new document, and the entire review process must begin anew. All original submittal deadlines must be met during the resubmittal process in order to graduate.