Appendix IV: Doctoral Dissertation

The Ph.D. in Counselor Education at Ohio University is a research doctorate intended to prepare scholars in the sciences, humanities, and the arts to carry out significant research and produce scholarly work. To this effect, all doctoral candidates must complete a dissertation, a scholarly account of research in the new area of knowledge. Students are required to complete 10 credit hours of dissertation.

A doctoral dissertation is intended to demonstrate the candidate’s ability to develop, design, conduct, and interpret independent, original, and creative research. It must make a unique contribution to knowledge in the field of counseling. Under the primary supervision of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee Chair, students should consult regularly with their Doctoral Dissertation Committee members in preparing, completing, and writing the dissertation.

Any studies by faculty, students, or staff that involve human subjects are considered human subjects research by the federal government. This includes everything from clinical trials to surveys, interviews, and observation. Any research that calls for participation by human subjects must be approved by the Institutional Review Board before the project can begin.

Doctoral Dissertation Committee

The student’s Doctoral Dissertation Committee consists of a minimum of four members, three of whom must be full-time faculty. A Dean’s representative is also a member of the committee. The committee conducts the dissertation proposal defense and final dissertation defense. At least 75% of the dissertation committee members, including the dean’s representative, must approve the dissertation. It should be noted that approval of the dissertation by the dean’s representative is mandatory for acceptance of the dissertation.

Oral Defense of the Dissertation Proposal and Dissertation

The student must notify the PCOE Office of Student Affairs, Graduate Records two weeks before the oral defense to supply information about the confirmed date, time, and location of the defense as well as the current dissertation title and committee membership. The PCOE Office of

Graduate Student Services gives public notice of the defense and mails the official notice of the defense along with the required forms for the dissertation chair and the Dean’s Representative.  At least 75% of the dissertation committee, including the Dean’s Representative, must approve the dissertation.  It should be noted that approval of the dissertation by the Dean’s Representative is mandatory for acceptance of the dissertation.

Thesis and Dissertation (TAD) Services at Ohio University

Students completing a doctoral degree are required to complete a dissertation and must register with and follow home college and university TAD processes. The Graduate College coordinates the final approval and submission processes for the manuscript. The Thesis and Dissertation Services (TAD) is a resource provided by the Graduate College to aid in creating the document.

All TAD forms and templates can be found on the Graduate College website. 

Students are asked to use the current Patton College template, found on the Thesis and Dissertation (TAD) website, to create and continue to write the dissertation. Students who write over several years must ensure that the current template has been implemented at the time of final defense and submission. The TAD process has key required checkpoints with which all students need to become familiar. These include initial and post-defense document format reviews as well as specific deadlines for the oral defense and final document submission. Current requirements are presented on the TAD website, referenced above.

Patton College Doctoral Dissertation Information

In The Patton College, the Office of Graduate Student Records maintains a “Procedures Checklist of Completing Thesis/Dissertation Requirements” for the degree. This checklist is located on The Patton College Forms webpage.

The student must notify the PCOE Office of Student Affairs, Graduate Records two weeks before the oral defense to supply information about the confirmed date, time, and location of the defense and the current dissertation title and committee membership. The PCOE Office of Student Affairs, Graduate Records, gives public notification of the defense. At least two weeks before the oral exam, the student must distribute final draft copies of the dissertation to all members of the dissertation committee.

After the oral examination, the Dissertation Committee deliberates privately to evaluate the dissertation and, when appropriate, determine necessary conditions or plans for resolution. If the results of the dissertation defense warrant conditions or a resolution plan, these must be delineated in detail (in writing) in the Dissertation Defense Report. Conditions represent the criteria that committee members expect doctoral students to meet when they revise the dissertation. A plan for resolution consists of additional requirements (e.g., coursework, workshops, seminars, readings, etc.) that a student must take to revise the dissertation.

The Patton College requires submission of the post-defense, committee-approved dissertation through plagiarism checking software (Turn-it-In) and final review by the Department Chair and the Senior Associate Dean.

Dissertation Deadlines

The list of deadlines is updated for the next academic year every spring and made available at TAD. Per the Graduate Council, all TAD deadlines are mandatory and final.

Please consult with the Graduate College Handbook and the PCOE Graduate Handbook for additional information.