Doctorate without a dissertation

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by turtle, Jul 3, 2006.

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  1. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Re: Thanks

    It is really more up to the department of the university you are in, as well as your committee chair. Just because one student at UT or UF did it this way, doesn't mean that another will be able too.

    You need to start interviewing possible committee chairs before you start trying to do things "different."
     
    edowave, Jul 5, 2006
    #21
  2. jordan_tn

    jordan_tn New Member

    Re: Re: Thanks

    This is totally correct. It is really up to the chair of each students committee. This is the trend of my friends at other universities and at my own schools. There are some older faculty, however, that still prefer the traditional dissertation. Again, the defense is the same, a dissertation is still submitted, but it is usually written as seperate papers which are the quality that would make it into review.
     
    jordan_tn, Jul 5, 2006
    #22
  3. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Doctorate without a dissertation

    My master's thesis was like this. It ended up with two published papers and a third in review right now.

    Welcome Jordan!

    My Master's program doesn't have a thesis, but I'm presenting a paper later this year anyway that's an expansion of a term paper for one of my courses. I didn't want to wait to start publishing, especially since it will be more difficult for me to get faculty recommendations from the instructors in my program -- one doesn't get the same opportunity to get to know instructors in a DL program.

    With the constant pressure to publish, publish, publish in academia, this seems like a suitable approach to a dissertation.

    I agree, and expect to handle my dissertation the same way. Interestingly, IIRC some universities won't allow anything that's been published to be used in a dissertation.

    I don't know why this would take longer if you would just submit it as a dissertation and then eventually (if passed through review) the papers would get published.

    Perhaps the chapters would need to be reformatted a little to make them suitable to be journal articles, but that doesn't sound that time consuming once the material's already written.

    -=Steve=-
     
    SteveFoerster, Jul 5, 2006
    #23
  4. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Understood. The issue is really that the doctorate represents the ability to conduct original and significant research in the field. The monolithic dissertation is not the only acceptable way to fulfill the requirement. Without evidence of research of some sort, then it is not a doctorate, or the highest degree that can be conferred in that field. While some schools are requiring "projects", published articles, bundled publishable articles, or the monolithic dissertation, the distinction between the doctorate and masters degree remains "giving birth" to original and significant research in the field. I realize that medicine and dentistry have a doctoral traditions (and now law) with slightly different requirements, but those are exceptions.

    Dave
     
    Dave Wagner, Jul 5, 2006
    #24
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