All Ph.D. students are required to prepare a thesis prospectus (also known as a proposal) within four semesters following the successful completion of the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. This time clock begins with the semester following the Qualifying Examination. A calendar year has three semesters (spring, summer and fall). If a student leaves for a semester to return to industry, this four-semester clock is stopped. However, the time clock for the overall Ph.D. program is not stopped. The Ph.D. prospectus clock stops when the student leaves and begins the semester the student returns. Students who have not met their Ph.D. prospectus requirement within the four semester time limit must discuss a revised timeline with their advisor prior to the semester Graduate Progress Review.
The prospectus is both an informal written description of the problem to be investigated and the expected accomplishments of that investigation, and an oral presentation to the Prospectus Committee for its review and recommendations. Both the prospectus requirements must be completed at least one semester prior to the final defense.
The Ph.D. prospectus write up should be no more than 25 double-spaced pages in length, although prospectuses that are on the order of five to ten pages are encouraged. The prospectus should include the following:
Furthermore, the prospectus should not be:
The Prospectus Committee consists of four members, including the student's advisor. At least two members of this committee must be ECE faculty and at least one member must be from outside the department. Faculty members from other departments who hold courtesy appointments in ECE are considered to be inside the department.
Once the date, time and place of the prospectus have been confirmed, the student should email the completed Ph.D. Prospectus Form along with a short bio of any outside committee members to Elaine Lawrence at least one week before the presentation. An electronic copy of the proposal should be submitted on or before the presentation date. The title and affiliation of any outside committee members must be provided.
All four committee members must actively participate in both the prospectus meeting and defense and at least three committee members must be physically present. It is desirable to have all committee members participate in person; however, a student is allowed to have one committee member of four participate by teleconferencing. Any deviation from this teleconferencing policy is exceptional and must be petitioned for approval from the ECE Department Head. After the committee has been approved, the student will meet with his or her committee to present the prospectus to them. In order to encourage open and frank dialogue, this presentation is attended only by the student, the committee and any other interested ECE faculty members. Other attendees must be approved by the committee chair.
The outcome of this meeting will be either that the prospectus is accepted or not accepted. If the prospectus is not accepted, the student will be asked to revise it and meet again with the committee for approval.
A completed Ph.D. Course and Breadth Requirement form (included in the Graduate Progress Review Statement) showing successfully taken courses that meet the Ph.D. course and breadth requirement is due at the time of the prospectus. This completed form should be submitted with the prospectus to your faculty advisor and to the ECE Graduate Office. At the time of the proposal, students should make an appointment to meet with the ECE Graduate Office to review the courses that have been taken or selected to satisfy the Ph.D. course and breadth requirement.