The committee must be finalized and approved by The Graduate School 30 days prior to each defense, and all members must have official graduate faculty status. Students should check each committee member via this webpage. If any are missing this status (either “term” or “full”), that committee member should be asked to use this form to submit the required information. After all members are approved, the student then submits their committee details here.
Most dissertation committees will include faculty from both DPHS and other departments and schools, including those outside Duke. Given the multidisciplinary nature of Population Health Sciences, the dissertation committee should reflect a diversity of research methods, training, and experiences. Students will receive guidance from their chair on assembling a committee whose assets demonstrate this diversity and allow them to realize the benefits of a team whose varying theoretical perspectives and research methods help to make each dissertation its best.
The chair of a student’s dissertation committee must be a full member of the Duke Graduate Faculty from Population Health Sciences, and there must be a total of at least four members (full or term) of the Duke Graduate Faculty on the committee. The majority of the committee must be Duke faculty, and a total of three members must be from a student’s primary research area (DPHS).
Timing
Students must complete required coursework and pass their comprehensive exam to proceed to the dissertation proposal, and cannot schedule their proposal defense until June at the earliest, and after receipt of qualifying exam results. Students are required to pass their dissertation proposal defense (known in The Graduate School as the preliminary examination) by the end of the third year (sixth semester). Requests for up to a one-semester extension are made by the DGS to the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs. The request for extension must explain the reasons for the delay and set a date for the exam. Except under highly unusual circumstances, extensions will not be granted beyond the middle of the fourth year. In cases where the preliminary exam has not been passed by this point, such students will be on academic probation with a short timetable for dismissal.
Structure of the Dissertation Proposal
Although its format can vary, the organization, length, and level of methodological sophistication is often similar to a grant proposal. The student is expected to work closely with their dissertation committee chair and consult with committee members as the proposal is being developed. The committee chair must sign off on any version of the proposal prior to submission to other committee members. The final copy of the dissertation proposal must be sent to all committee members at least two weeks prior to the proposal defense.
The exact structure of the proposal is not explicitly defined. However, the proposal should represent a thorough description of the planned dissertation work. This includes:
- Background and description of the problem
- Description of the research objectives for each paper
- Comprehensive methods for each paper, including study design, data sources, and analytic approaches
The proposal should reflect the skills learned through coursework. Typically, the proposal will include more details about the problems and research approach(es) that will be used, compared to a standard grant application. However, the typical structure of NIH grant applications (e.g., specific aims, significance, innovation, and approach), is likely appropriate for most DPHS students. Students will work with their committee chair to develop specific expectations.
Preliminary Exam Process
The proposal defense is an oral examination by the student in front of their dissertation committee. The typical structure of this examination is as follows:
- The student presents their research proposal, outlining the research question, background, methodology, and anticipated results. This presentation should last 30-45 minutes and should be concise and well organized.
- Following the presentation, the committee members pose questions to evaluate the student's understanding of the research topic, their ability to address potential challenges, and their overall knowledge of the field.
- After the question-and-answer session, the committee members deliberate, in a closed session, on the student's performance and decide on the outcome of the exam.
Please schedule a two-hour block for this exam.
The committee has full responsibility for examining the doctoral proposal and evaluating performance on the oral examination. A pass will be based on the presentation of an acceptable proposal and on the demonstration of a satisfactory level of knowledge in the subject matter of the dissertation and related areas. The committee may decide to:
- Approve the proposal as presented
- Conditionally approve it, subject to specified, minor revisions to the proposal
- Require that the student make major revisions and/or take additional coursework, and stand again for oral proposal defense
Passing the preliminary examination requires at least four affirmative votes and not more than one negative vote. All committee members must sign the Preliminary Examination Form. The DGS signs the completed preliminary exam report and submits it via email to for The Graduate School’s review and recordkeeping.
Should the student fail, he or she may apply, with the consent of the examining committee and the Associate Dean, for the privilege of a second examination to be taken no sooner than three months and no later than six months after the date of the first. The original examining committee must conduct the second examination. Successful passage of the examination must still occur by the end of the third year; students should be encouraged to schedule their initial attempt to allow time for a retake if necessary. The standards of the second examination must be no lower than the first. For the student to pass this second examination, the committee's vote must be unanimous. A second failure will render the student ineligible to continue in the doctoral program.
Graduate School Policies & Procedures for Dissertations
DPHS PhD students are required to follow all of The Graduate School’s policies and procedures to ensure that the publication of research adheres to Duke University guidelines. Students should review and follow all of the steps outlined in this guide.
Students should go to The Graduate School’s webpage to check deadlines for:
- Applying to graduate in the upcoming semester
- Initial submission of their dissertation
Final submission of their approved dissertation
Structure of the Dissertation
While an individual student’s dissertation format may vary, dissertations will generally consist of five integrated chapters. The first chapter will typically be an introduction to the topic and research question including a review of relevant literature. Chapters two through four will generally be related, but independent chapters each containing material that could be sufficient for a scholarly journal publication. These should be potentially publishable, and the formatting should reflect the highest standard for published scholarly work in a content-appropriate journal. The final chapter should reflect on the dissertation content as a whole and should provide a summary of the dissertation content and its impact (e.g., population health impact, clinical implications, policy implications). In considering the impact of their dissertation, students may bear in mind that the whole should be greater than the sum of its parts: the effect (and contribution to the field) of the entire dissertation should subsume, amplify, and intensify that of each individual chapter. All references must be self-contained within each chapter. The reference style may be variable depending on the target journal.
Final Exam Process
The dissertation defense is an oral examination by the student in front of their dissertation committee, in a forum that is open to all members of the faculty, students, and the public. All of the following tasks must be completed at least two weeks before the scheduled examination:
- The Director of Graduate Studies notifies the Graduate School with the details of the exam, including the time, place, date, student's name, title of dissertation, and names of the committee members.
- The dissertation must be accepted by the Graduate School as being in proper format.
- The dissertation must be sent to members of the doctoral committee, so they have at least two weeks to read the dissertation prior to the defense.
The typical structure of this examination is as follows:
- The student presents their research proposal, outlining the research question, background, methodology, and results. This presentation should last 45-60 minutes and should be concise and well organized.
- Following the presentation, the committee members pose questions to evaluate the student's understanding of the research topic and their overall knowledge of the field. Others present at the examination may also ask questions.
- After the question-and-answer session, the committee members deliberate, in a closed session, on the student's performance and decide on the outcome of the exam.
Please schedule a three-hour block for this exam.
The committee has full responsibility for examining the doctoral dissertation and evaluating performance on the oral examination. A pass will be based on the presentation of an acceptable dissertation and on the demonstration of a satisfactory level of knowledge in the subject matter of the dissertation and related areas. The committee may decide to:
- Pass the candidate
- Conditionally pass the candidate, subject to specified, minor revisions to the dissertation
- Fail the candidate
Passing the final examination requires at least four affirmative votes and not more than one negative vote. All committee members must sign the Doctoral Exam Card, which should be returned promptly to the Graduate School Office.
A committee finding that the candidate has passed except for minor revisions should sign the doctoral examination card, with the understanding that the committee chair sees and approves the revisions before the dissertation is submitted. The student has up to one month after the examination to make changes to the dissertation requested by the committee. Even in case of a revision, the specified deadlines for the awarding of degrees still apply and final submission of the approved dissertation by the student must meet these deadlines. It is in the interest of the student to schedule the defense well before the graduation deadlines during the semester when he/she wishes to graduate.
A candidate who has failed the final doctoral examination may be granted a reexamination on the recommendation of the supervising professor no sooner than six months after the date of the failure. The examining committee must be the same as that for the first examination. Voting requirements and other procedures on the reexamination are the same as for the first examination.