Proposal Defense (PD)

....The Proposal Defense (PD) consists of the written and oral presentation of the work that the student proposes to complete for their thesis. At a minimum, both the written and oral presentations must include:

....It is recommended that the written thesis proposal follow the format of proposals submitted to NSF, NIH, NASA or other funding agencies.

....The Defense seminar structure will be an oral presentation. Two weeks prior to the presentation, a draft of the written thesis proposal must be provided to the student’s Thesis Committee. In addition, an abstract must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator for posting.

....After the Seminar, the Thesis Committee will meet and give suggestions and recommendations. The passing of the PD requires a unanimous vote by the Thesis Committee.

Timeline: Students must declare their proposal subject after taking the Qualifying Exam (QE) but before taking the Candidacy Exam (CE).

If there is a significant change in the student’s research plan, a new PD must be given.