C5. The Dissertation

Before advancing to candidacy, the student, in consultation with the advisor, forms the Doctoral Dissertation Committee.

All committee members must be part of the Graduate Faculty (i.e., tenured or tenure-track faculty). Some exceptions apply but require prior approval from the Division of Graduate Studies.

The committee includes four members:

1. One committee chair. The student’s faculty advisor, who must be a SOMD faculty member.
2. Two core members.
   • At least one core member must be from the student's primary area within the SOMD and must be a member of the Graduate Faculty.
   • The other core member can be from the SOMD, another UO department, a non-tenure track faculty member (career-track, visiting, emeritus, etc.), a faculty member from another college or university, or a qualified practicing professional or community member. This member does not need to be a member of the Graduate Faculty but will need prior approval from the Division of Graduate Studies
3. One institutional representative. Faculty member at UO but outside of the SOMD.  

GradWeb has a faculty directory listing all faculty eligible to serve on a doctoral committee and the specific positions for which they are eligible. Students should consult with the SOMD Graduate Office to verify eligibility before asking faculty to serve. For additional information, including the service of retired and non-tenure track faculty and others, see the UO Division of Graduate Studies’ Dissertation Committee Policy.

Committee Chair
The student’s primary faculty advisor typically serves as the committee chair. The chair has the principal responsibility of advising the student through the lecture-document process. They should have sufficient time available for this work and be accessible to the student.

Core Members – at least two
Core members support the work of the committee chair but are not the primary leaders of the committee. They should have some time available for this work at various stages and be accessible to the student.

Institutional Representative
The institutional representative acts as an impartial, “outside” committee member, ensuring that all rules and standard practices governing committee procedures are followed. They may also offer substantive expertise related to the dissertation or lecture document, although this is not required.

Additional Resources

• Division of Graduate Studies – Graduate Faculty Policies & Procedures: https://graduatestudies.uoregon.edu/academics/policies/doctoral/graduate-faculty
• Division of Graduate Studies – Dissertation Committee Policy: https://graduatestudies.uoregon.edu/academics/policies/doctoral/dissertation-committee-policy

Formal Approval of the Dissertation Committees:

After the student has been advanced to candidacy, the committee members are recommended to the UO Division of Graduate Studies via GradWeb. Once the Division of Graduate Studies approves, the candidate may then become fully engaged in the research related to the dissertation and may register for dissertation credits. Note: A doctoral candidate must be enrolled for a minimum of six (6) months be­tween the Division of Graduate Studies’ approval of the dissertation committee and the dissertation defense. (For example: students who wish to graduate spring term must be advanced around November 15 of the preceding fall term.)

Revised Committees:

If the chair of the committee is changed after UO Division of Graduate Studies approval, the required six (6) months begin again. If the institutional representative is changed, the student must be enrolled for at least three (3) subsequent months. The replacement of a core member does not affect the six-month rule.

While developing the proposal, the student may take up to six (6) credits of MUS/MUE 601: Research under the guidance of the dissertation advisor. These six credits will not apply toward the university requirement of 18 dissertation credits. While developing the dissertation proposal, students may not register for MUS/MUE 603: Dissertation.

The proposal should be definitive, identifying all essential aspects of the proposed investigation. Aspects of the proposal should include all of the following that are relevant: state­ment of problem or purpose; hypotheses; research design; investigative tech­niques; statistical procedures; research instruments and methods to be used; perti­nent research variables; scope and delimitations; working bibliography; etc. The proposal will generally follow the tradi­tion­al format of the first chapter of the dissertation.

The dissertation proposal, as outlined below, is typically a minimum of 10-15 pages in length plus bibliography. Certain areas may have additional requirements, so students should consult with their advisor when developing their proposal.

1. Title
   • Download the official approval pages. Fill out the relative information. Signatures will be collected via DocHub.
2. Statement of Purpose
3. Justification of the Study
4. Methods and Procedures
5. Definitions, Assumptions and Delimitations
6. Review of Literature
7. Bibliography

Approval of the Proposal: 

After the dissertation com­mittee has been determined, the student must obtain the commit­tee’s unanimous written approval of the formal dissertation proposal. To obtain approval of the dissertation proposal, the student should:

1. Distribute copies to members of the dissertation committee (no later than one month prior to the requested date of advancement).
2. Convene the committee to discuss any edits and make edits as needed.
3. Once verbal approval is received from the committee, send the approved proposal (including the completed title pages) to the SOMD Graduate Office (gradmus@uoregon.edu).
   • Name the file: Last Name, First Name_PhD Program_Dissertation Proposal
4. The SOMD Graduate Office will send the proposal around via DocHub for the committee members’ signatures. Upon completion, the SOMD Graduate Office will send the student the final approved copy.

A student may enroll for dissertation credit only after being advanced to candidacy.

Except for preparing the dissertation proposal, students may not work on the dissertation prior to advancement to candidacy. Even though six (6) hours of MUS/MUE 601: Research may have been taken while developing the formal proposal, they may not be counted as part of the required 18 credit hours in MUS/MUE 603: Dissertation.

There is no maximum number of dissertation credits a student may take. Typically, a student registers for all dissertation credits with the designated chair of the dissertation committee (usually the student’s advisor). During the term in which the oral defense is held, the student must be registered for at least three (3) credits of MUS/MUE 603: Dissertation with the chair of the dis­ser­tation committee.

To register for Research or Dissertation credits each term, fill out the Individualized Study Request Form. These requests should be made in the term preceding the intended term of registration.

After advancement to candidacy but before the final defense, PhD candidates in Musicology,  Music Theory, Music Education, and Data-Driven Music Performance and Composition are required to present one formal public lecture on the UO campus. Guidelines are as follows:

1. The dissertation committee members will attend and evaluate the lecture.
2. The public lecture must take place in-person, with all members of the committee physically present, unless otherwise approved by the ADGS. Pre-recorded lectures are not allowed. 
3. The lecture must be audio recorded. See scheduling instructions for details. 
4. The topic of the lecture shall be related to the dissertation research.

At least four weeks before the defense, the candidate must provide a complete copy of the final dissertation draft to each disserta­tion committee member.

During the defense, the dissertation committee will examine the disser­ta­tion in any way that helps determine whether it meets the specifi­ca­tions of the candidate’s approved proposal and whether it meets the following criteria:

• It shows thorough knowledge of the topic.
• It possesses sufficient depth and breadth to serve its intended purpose.
• It demonstrates intelligent organization, analysis and evaluation of material, accurate reporting of information, and sound conclusions.
• It differentiates between information of central importance and infor­ma­tion of peripheral importance and focuses on the former.
• It is written in formal English prose style and follows accepted rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence and paragraph structure.
• It employs established procedures for scholarship and research as they apply to the topic.
• It contributes in some significant way to knowledge in the field.
• It meets the standards of form and style set forth in the Division of Graduate Studies’ Thesis and Dissertation Style and Policy Manual.
• It conforms to one of the standard style manuals for scholarly writing (designated by the advisor).

The public lecture & oral defense must be formally scheduled with the SOMD Graduate Office no later than one month prior to the lecture and defense date.

There must be at least six month between the Division of Graduate Studies’ formal appointment of the doctoral committee and the defense. The lecture & defense must take place in-person, with all members of the committee physically present, unless otherwise approved by the ADGS. Without prior ADGS approval, the lecture &defense may not take place during summer session.

1. Once the advisor is satisfied that the dissertation is ready for the lecture and defense, and no fewer than four weeks before the proposed date, the candidate must obtain provisional agreement from doctoral committee members that they will be available on a specified day and time for the public lecture & oral defense. Consult the SOMD Room Scheduleto ensure that the space is available. Typically, the defense is scheduled immediately following the lecture.
   • There is a mandatory SOMD recital fee for all public lectures. All public lectures will be audio recorded at a minimum. Audio recording can be facilitated in all rooms.
   • If video and live-streaming support is desired through the SOMD Production Office, students must reserve space in Beall Hall, Tykeson Rehearsal Space (Berwick Hall), or Frohnmayer Music Building Room 190/163/173/178, as these are the only spaces equipped with video and live-streaming capabilities. For those interested in video recording and live-streaming, additional costs apply.
     • Current fee rates can be found in the Other Charges, Fees, and Fines for Services, Facilities, Operations, and Programs fee schedule, here.

2. Upon verbal approval from your committee members, the candidate must request their Lecture & Oral Defense Scheduling form from the SOMD Graduate Office (gradmus@uoregon.edu). The form will be sent via DocHub. Upon completion of the form, the space will be booked for the student and a confirmation will be sent to the student. 
   • The public lecture & defense must take place in a public space such as an SOMD classroom or conference room. Public lectures & defenses may not be held in faculty offices.
     
     
3. Complete the “Oral Defense” section on GradWebno later than one month prior to the lecture/defense date. 
   • This generates an email to all committee members asking them to confirm their attendance. Once all the committee members have confirmed their attendance, the Division of Graduate Studies will officially notify the commit­tee of the date, time, and place of the oral defense.
   • Students should review the UO Division of Graduate Studies Doctoral Degree DeadlinesThere are specific deadlines by which students must complete their defense in a given term.
     
     
4. Candi­dates must submit an Information and Arrangements Form to the Productions Office to ensure all recording needs are met. Submitting the Information and Arrangements form must happen no later than two weeks prior to the proposed lecture date. For archival purposes, the recordings will remain with the SOMD.
   • For inclusion in the SOMD online calendar, the candidate should submit their event information to the UO Events Calendar.

Important note: The Public Lecture & Oral Defense space reservations are scheduled through the SOMD Graduate Office. The Oral Defense MUST also be scheduled through the UO Division of Graduate Studies.

After the committee has examined the dissertation and asked the candi­date all necessary questions, the members of the committee will make one of the following decisions:

• Approve the dissertation by unanimous vote. In the event of a split vote the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies—after consulting with the candidate, the committee, and the Music ADGS—determines the review procedure.
• Approve the dissertation by unanimous vote pending appropriate revisions in the dissertation, to be verified by the advisor.
• Have the candidate make appropriate revisions and resubmit the dissertation to the committee.

If any committee member has serious reservations about the acceptabil­ity of the finished dissertation, they should raise the issue with the chair of the committee prior to the scheduled dissertation defense. If it is prob­able that the dissertation will not be approved as stated in one of the options above [(a), (b), or (c)], the meeting is to be canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice given to the SOMD Graduate Office and all partici­pants. (The SOMD Graduate Office informs the Division of Graduate Studies.) An interim meeting, in which the committee’s concerns are address­ed, will then be scheduled, and the candidate will be given appropriate advice regarding completion of the dissertation.

No later than 2 weeks after the defense: the candidate uploads the dissertation to UMI/Proquest ETD. Follow the instructions, here.

Once the student uploads the document, they should email their confirmation email to the SOMD Graduate Office.

UO Style & Policy Manual