A dissertation is the result of a scholarly investigation on a topic or problem conducted independently by the candidate under the general guidance of a faculty committee and chaired by a primary advisor. The committee plays a key role in guiding the candidate's proposal, research, and writing. To facilitate the advisory process, the candidate selects his/her faculty committee on the basis of common intellectual interest on the dissertation topic. Two additional faculty members are added later in the process, in consultation with the Doctoral Program Director, to participate in the defense as external readers. Ultimately, what constitutes a dissertation is the result of an agreement between the student, the chair, and the committee members.
In order to maintain current student status, all students must register for one of the following during the dissertation stage: NYU Wagner Research Colloquium; Maintenance of Matriculation; or Seminar on Research in Progress.
Wagner doctoral students have written dissertations on a diverse range of topics spanning the fields of finance, policy, management, health policy and urban policy. Examples of recent dissertation topics include:
Searching for a Topic
A doctoral candidate may have to ponder and explore more than one possible
topic for his/her dissertation research. This is an intellectually demanding
effort that requires time and self-discipline. Some questions that a candidate
may ask at this stage are:
When a candidate feels comfortable with a topic, s/he should put together a brief outline including a tentative title and research plan. The candidate should approach a few potential readers once s/he has put together a preliminary statement. Their reactions and dialogue will help the student move forward and assess how helpful different faculty can be for their dissertation. The dialogue with faculty would help the student identify a first reader or dissertation advisor as well as other potential members of the committee.
Proposal and Dissertation Committee
Once a first reader (chair) has agreed to serve on the dissertation committee,
the candidate works on developing a formal dissertation proposal. While developing
the proposal, the candidate also secures two additional readers in consultation
with the chair. These two additional readers and the chair comprise the dissertation
committee.
The dissertation advisor should be a full-time Wagner faculty member and at least 2 of the 3 readers should be from Wagner. If there is no Professor available for the selected topic area, it is preferable that the Chair still be from Wagner with the understanding that the second reader will be the technical expert and advisor. The three readers serve as the dissertation committee and assist the candidate with further developing his/her proposal. Based on the nature of the research topic, it is also possible for students to include faculty from other NYU schools or from other universities in their dissertation committee. The composition of the dissertation committee must be approved by the Doctoral Program Director prior to the proposal defense.
K. Turabian's Manual of Style and/or the American Psychological Association Manual of Style are excellent guides to develop the proposal. In addition, copies of approved proposals are available for review in the Office of Academic Services. Students should also obtain a copy of You and Your Dissertation from Charles Nicolson, for N.Y.U. guidelines. Periodically books about the dissertation process appear in the market and can be helpful sources. An example is: Fitzpatrick, J., J. Secrist and D. Wright. (1998) Secrets for a Successful Dissertation, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Proposal Defense and Formal Proposal Approval
Students are required to defend their proposals orally before their committees.
When the chair and candidate are satisfied with a draft of the proposal, three
copies must be submitted to the Director of Academic Services; one for the
student record, and two for the second and third readers. In a formal meeting,
the committee will determine if the candidate is ready to begin writing his/her
dissertation. A copy of the form used to evaluate the dissertation proposal
is available at the end of this section.
Research and Writing
Once the approval of the dissertation proposal has been secured, the candidate
proceeds with the research and writing under the guidance of his/her principal
advisor and dissertation committee.
Oral Defense
The chair of the dissertation committee works with the student to schedule
the final oral defense. A dissertation is accepted when the five committee
members (3 original readers and 2 external readers) indicate their approval
in writing on the appropriate form.
Job Talk
In addition to the defense, students nearing completion of their dissertation
are expected to make a formal presentation (or "job talk") of dissertation
related research at the Wagner Research Colloquium. Students expected to defend their dissertations in a given academic year
should contact the faculty coordinators for the Research Colloquium so that
time can be set aside to do the student's presentation.
Publication
Each candidate, prior to receiving the recommendation for his/her degree,
must guarantee the publication of the dissertation through University Microfilms,
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Instructions for preparing the dissertation for publication
may be obtained from the Office of Academic Services.
