• Application for Current Students to Enroll in a Higher Degree Program
  Due date: upon successful completion of M.A. comprehensive exams
  This application is required of all finishing M.A. students (including those who were admitted with "M.A.-Ph.D." status) who wish to continue to Ph.D. studies. It requires the distinct evaluation of the faculty, certified by the department chair, that the student is qualified to embark upon Ph.D. work.
  
  
• Application for Admission to Doctoral Candidacy
  Due date: upon successful completion of Ph.D. comprehensive exams
  This form is submitted to the Dean's office with the approval of the chair, following upon a distinct evaluation by the faculty that the student is qualified to do the research necessary for the preparation of a doctoral dissertation. Candidacy status then begins as of the first day of the following fall or spring semester, marking the beginning of the five-year period within which the student must complete the dissertation.
  
  
• Departmental Procedures for Dissertation Proposal Colloquium
  Due date: six months following admission to candidacy
  After a student has been advanced to candidacy, immediate work should begin (or continue) upon the dissertation proposal. The student and the anticipated dissertation supervisor work together to identify the second and third prospective members of the dissertation committee (the "readers"), and together the committee assists the student in preparing the proposal for a formal departmental colloquium. The approval of the faculty is required for the proposal to be advanced for university review.
  
  
• Dissertation Proposal Preparation Instructions
  Due date: upon request to schedule dissertation proposal colloquium (cf. above)
  Catholic University dissertation proposals are organized according to a very specific template.  When a Ph.D. student in this department requests that the chair schedule a proposal colloquium, the version of the proposal circulated to the faculty and used for the colloquium discussion must follow these preparation instructions in every respect.
  
  
• Doctoral Dissertation Topic and Committee: Request for Approval
  Due date: six months following admission to candidacy
  This form presents the dissertation proposal to the university after it has been approved by the department. The form also identifies the members of a student's dissertation committee, i.e. the supervisor ("major professor") and dissertation readers. Approval of this form at the university level advances the Ph.D. candidate to "A.B.D." status.
  
  
• Departmental Procedural Summary: Preparation for Dissertation Defense
  Due date: proposed final dissertation ready at least two months before anticipated defense date
  Upon approaching completion, the doctoral candidate coordinates the scheduling of the defense with the dissertation committee, according to the date and time windows permitted by the university.  A proposed final camera-ready version of the dissertation, including all front matter, appendices, illustrations, and the like, is due to the committee members at least two months before the date chosen for the defense.
  
  

Additional resources

The Catholic University Graduate Studies doctoral section presents essential university-level information on such important details as the formatting and submission of the dissertation, as well as larger policies governing all facets of graduate work.