St. Thomas University

St. Thomas University · Office of Graduate Education & Research

STU Dissertation Process

Effective Fall 2026 · DIS 900 through DIS 904 · Revised July 17, 2026

DIS 900

Dissertation Planning

  1. 1Write the dissertation plan
  2. 2Connect with a chair
  3. 3Draft Chapter 1
Chair Selection Form
DIS 901

Committee & Proposal

  1. 1Chair works with student to assemble the committee
  2. 2Complete the proposal
  3. 3Secure full committee approval
  4. 4Successfully defend the proposal
Committee Selection Form
Proposal Defense Completion Form
Proposal Defense

Required attendees

  • •Full committee
  • •OGER representative
DIS 902

Data & Analysis

  1. 1File for IRB approval
  2. 2Collect data
  3. 3Complete data analysis
  4. 4Draft Chapter 4
DIS 903

Final Dissertation & Defense

  1. 1Complete the full dissertation
  2. 2Secure full committee approval
  3. 3Successfully defend the dissertation
  4. 4Finalize the document and send to the library
Final Defense Completion Form
Final Defense

Required attendees

  • •Full committee
  • •Provost's Office representative
  • •Coordinated Deans' Office representative
  • •OGER representative
DIS 904

Continued Enrollment

  1. 1Stay enrolled while iterating on library comments
  2. 2Await final approvals from the library
  3. 3Await final approvals from the Registrar's Office

Academic Consequences

Failure to complete the required items in each of these phases will mean that a student will receive an "NP" for that course and must repeat it. Students may repeat a course twice before being out on academic probation.

Defense Scheduling — OGER

All defense scheduling is handled by the Office of Graduate Education and Research (OGER) on a first-come, first-served basis. Allow 7 business days for scheduling to occur.

OGER Scheduling Date Calculator

Enter the date you plan to submit your defense request. The calculator applies the OGER 7 business day, first-come, first-served rule and honors the daily-capacity limits (max 2 defenses per day; no more than 2 consecutive defense days before an open day is required).

Required Forms — Quick Reference

FormWhen filed
Chair Selection FormDuring DIS 900, when a chair is selected
Committee Selection FormDuring DIS 901, when committee members are selected
Proposal Defense Completion FormEnd of DIS 901, upon proposal defense
Final Defense Completion FormEnd of DIS 903, upon final defense

Scheduled Dissertations

Dissertations with a confirmed chair and committee, listed by earliest upcoming defense.

Loading roster…