Stage 3. Dissertation Completion

Requires the research, writing, and final oral defense of the dissertation. Students may start taking dissertation credits upon completing candidacy and once they begin considering their dissertation proposal, unless their departmental handbook specifies otherwise.  Once they take the first 3 credits of DISS 799, all doctoral candidates must be registered for a minimum of 3 credits each semester, except during the summer terms, until the final approved copies of the dissertation are deposited in the Graduate School, all credits for degree conferral have been completed, and the residency requirement (if any) has been fulfilled. A doctoral candidate in an externally accredited program that requires an internship experience is exempt from continuous enrollment while registered for internship credit. Students who fail to register for DISS 799 hours in a given Fall or Spring semester after they first begin taking DISS 799 credits must register and pay the tuition costs for all missed hours once they resume enrollment at the university. A student's dissertation committee will be unavailable to work with the student during semesters in which they have not registered for DISS 799. Further, a doctoral candidate may request to be exempt from the continuous registration requirement for certain life events such as serious illness, serving as principal care-giver for a child/stepchild or other family member who is seriously ill, or other extraordinary circumstances under which this requirement would result in undue hardship for the student. Requests for exemption to the continuous registration requirement are to be made to the Graduate School. The Graduate Dean will consult with the doctoral candidate’s dissertation chair and program director prior to making a decision on the request. Generally, exemptions will be granted for a maximum of one semester. Students will be required to register during the semester they expect to graduate. 

The culmination of Stage 3 is degree conferral. No later than the first four weeks of the last semester before graduation, students must file an application for graduation with the Graduate School. Applications may be submitted online in Self-Service Banner at my.bsu.edu.