Thesis/Dissertation

Continuous Registration

Students who have achieved candidacy and are working on a thesis or dissertation are expected to comply with the enrollment requirements as set forth in the sections entitled Course Load  and Continuous Enrollment . Advice or assistance from a member of the faculty in the preparation of the thesis or dissertation should not be expected unless the student is officially enrolled.

Students are required to be continuously enrolled (i.e., each Fall and Spring semester), including the semester in which the thesis or dissertation is submitted to, and accepted by, the university. Failure to enroll in thesis/dissertation courses may delay graduation and may result in the loss of financial assistance and other privileges. A student not enrolled in a Fall or Spring term is not eligible for a teaching or research assistantship during that term. The student should consult the individual college requirements regarding summer registration for thesis or dissertation credit hours.

Students may enroll in absentia for thesis/dissertation courses if arrangements are made through the department of their major at least two weeks before the registration period. Registration for all other students must be completed in the prescribed manner during the announced registration period. The thesis or dissertation course is considered part of a student’s current course load.

Thesis/Dissertation Committee

The thesis/dissertation committee (also called advisory committee) advises the student on research and writing of the thesis /dissertation, conducts the final oral examination (as required by the program) and approves the final version of the thesis/dissertation. A thesis/dissertation committee should include at least three members. The thesis/dissertation committee must have members from the student’s graduate program/academic unit. It may have additional members that are serving as an external committee member. The majority of members must be currently active in the scholarship of the field.

One committee member will serve as the chair of the thesis/dissertation committee. In some cases, two committee members may be appointed as co-chairs and will share the chair responsibilities.

If a student’s thesis/dissertation chair is a faculty member whose primary appointment is not in the graduate program offering the degree, then they must receive approval from the graduate program director/department chair to serve as a co-chair with a faculty member from the program also serving as co-chair. If the academic unit/graduate program has specified departmental or college policies regarding thesis/dissertation committee members, the student will follow the specified procedures of the graduate program/academic unit as long as they do not conflict with the policy outlined here.

The thesis/dissertation chair (or co-chairs) is (are) the student’s mentor(s) and guide(s) through the degree program. Students should consult the departmental policy regarding the appropriate number of thesis/dissertation committee members, the process for the selection of the committee members and the process to request changes in the committee membership. If the chair of a student’s dissertation committee leaves the University and the student is near completion of the degree and wants the chair to continue to serve in this role, the student, in consultation with the graduate program director and committee members, should ask a current member of the University of Houston faculty to serve as the co-chair of the committee.

A prospective committee member who is not a member of the University of Houston faculty may receive approval to serve on a thesis/dissertation committee by the chair of the committee. The chair has the responsibility of confirming that the prospective committee member has the requisite qualifications (typically, a terminal degree, subject matter expertise, and active in the field) to serve on the committee. When the committee chair approves a non-UH committee member to serve on the committee, they should provide a CV/resume from that member as part of the committee composition record.

Changes to the Thesis/Dissertation Committee require the approval of the student, new committee members, and the graduate program director. The graduate director (and department chair) will have the authority to make changes in case of a disagreement over the committee composition. In case a dispute goes beyond the department, the associate dean for graduate studies (and dean) will have this authority to appoint committee members and/or appoint an external thesis/dissertation chair to oversee the proceedings. Exceptions to this process may be granted by petition to the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School.

All thesis/dissertation committee members should be entered into the student information system when the committee is formed to facilitate accurate academic records. Exception: At this time, committee members not employed by the University of Houston cannot be entered into the student information system.

A graduate program may have stricter requirements with respect to the final exam/defense and these requirements should be clearly articulated in the written policies and procedures or catalog entry for the graduate program.

Final Exam/Defense

The thesis/dissertation committee will conduct a final exam/defense as specified in the degree requirements. The final exam/defense should be scheduled such that the thesis/dissertation is available in nearly final form so that the committee has adequate time to review the document prior to the final exam/defense. While the final exam/defense may broadly cover the disciplinary field of the candidate’s training, the primary questioning should be related to the thesis/dissertation. A positive evaluation by the thesis/dissertation committee - with at most one dissension - is required for a student to pass. The dissenting member should indicate their dissent on the approval form. At the discretion of the thesis/dissertation committee and per the graduate program rules, a student may be given one opportunity to repeat a final exam/defense for the master’s/doctoral degree. The repeat exam/defense must be held no later than the end of the next fall/spring semester (summer terms excluded). A graduate program may have stricter requirements with respect to the final exam/defense and these requirements should be clearly articulated in the written policies and procedures or catalog entry for the graduate program.

Grading

A student enrolled in a thesis/dissertation course should receive a grade of S/U each semester until the semester in which the thesis/dissertation is defended and finalized. Upon completion of the thesis/dissertation, the student is awarded a letter grade commensurate with performance in that course. A final grade of B or better is required on the completed thesis/dissertation in order for the student to graduate. Colleges will ensure that the thesis or dissertation has been submitted and approved, and a letter grade of B or better assigned to the thesis/dissertation course, prior to certifying the student’s graduation.

This letter grade may be applied to thesis/dissertation course hours up to a maximum of 12 cumulative total letter-graded credit hours of Dissertation coursework for a Doctoral degree and a maximum of 6 cumulative total letter-graded credit hours of Master’s Thesis coursework for a Master’s degree. Once students are enrolled in thesis/dissertation courses, they must continuously enroll in them until a degree is conferred. (Also see section on the 99-Hour Doctoral Cap .)

Preparation of Document

The University of Houston uses an electronic thesis/dissertation submission process for submission of the final, official version of the document to the university. Please check with your specific department or college for details regarding the steps for submitting a thesis or dissertation to your college and the university.

Approval of Document Proposal

Students must receive approval of their thesis or dissertation proposal from their thesis or dissertation committee. In some departments, students may not begin research prior to admission to candidacy without the approval of an advisor. The committee is approved by the dean of the college upon the advice of the appropriate department chair or in accordance with college policies. Students must check with their departments or programs for deadlines regarding the submission of the thesis or dissertation proposal.

The thesis or dissertation must present evidence of a mastery of the literature in an area of study, a significant contribution to knowledge, and the ability to conduct independent research.

Every thesis, dissertation or other research project involving the use of Human subjects must be approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects before research is started. Students should consult their faculty advisors for information. For additional information or an application form, contact the Office of Research Policies, Compliance and Committees, 316 Ezekiel W. Cullen Building, (713) 743-9104.

Suggested Form

As a general rule, the format and style of presentation should conform to the most acceptable standards of scientific and scholarly writing in the discipline. For instances in which this general rule is an inadequate guide, reference should be made to a style manual approved by the college or department.

Before preparing the thesis or dissertation, the student should obtain a copy of the guide for the preparation and submission of theses and dissertations from the appropriate college office.

Approval of the Final Draft

The final draft of the thesis or dissertation must be completed and submitted to the advisory committee as early as stipulated by the committee, but no later than the deadlines specified by the college. After students have received approval of the final draft from their advisory committee, they must submit it to the college for approval no later than the deadline specified by the college.

Electronic Submission

Once they have received approval from the college, students must submit the college-approved thesis or dissertation electronically for archiving by the University. Students will submit the work and faculty will approve it using Vireo, following the instructions found at the following link: http://www.uh.edu/graduate-school/thesis/. Students must submit their documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) per the guidelines on the web site, following all program, department, and/or college-specific requirements. Students may have hard copies of their theses or dissertations bound for personal use, and they should check whether their specific program, department, college, or library requires a bound copy as well.

After your thesis/dissertation has been approved by your advisor and college in Vireo, your document’s content is considered finalized and you are not allowed to make any changes.

Deadline for Completed Submission

All student, department, and college approval processes for submission of thesis or dissertation-including college approval of defended thesis or dissertation, assignment of final grade(s) for thesis or dissertation courses by the faculty advisor, and all components of electronic submission to the university for archiving-must be completed no later than the final grading deadline for faculty for session 1 (regular academic session) of the academic term, as published in the graduate Academic Calendar .

Early Submission

If a student meets all of the requirements described above for completed submission of thesis or dissertation prior to the last day to add a class in session 1 (regular academic session) of the academic term, they are eligible to request via petition to have their minimum required enrollment reduced to one credit hour. Such petitions are approved at the discretion of the Associate Dean for graduate studies of the respective college and filed with the Graduate School. Such petitions must be submitted to and approved by the Associate Dean for graduate studies no later than the last day to add classes in session 1 (regular academic session) of the academic term, as published in the graduate Academic Calendar . Students who meet this early submission deadline and do not submit a petition to request a reduced minimum required enrollment by the last day to add a class in session 1 (regular academic session) for the academic term are required to remain in the required three credit hours of enrollment. 

Previous Publication of Materials

Students who have previously published portions of their electronic thesis or dissertation in professional journals or in books must demonstrate who ultimately retains the copyright to the published works before material can be made publicly available in UH Libraries’ Vireo repository. It is the student’s responsibility to determine copyright ownership; he/she should consult the contracts signed between the corresponding author and the publisher to determine the copyright holder.

Future Publication of Materials

It is recommended that any future publication (article or book) include a note indicating that the material is, or is based upon, a thesis or dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designated degree at the University of Houston.

Take Down Policy

The University of Houston Institutional Repository (UH IR) is intended to be a permanent archive of, and provide persistent access to, deposited theses and dissertations, among other materials. When authors submit their thesis or dissertation to the Vireo system, it will be deposited in the UH IR pending any embargo, and will only be removed under special circumstances, including copyright violations, plagiarism, or falsification of data. When authors leave the University, their material will remain in the repository. Authors who wish to request the removal of items that they, or others, have submitted to UH IR should contact the Library by emailing cougarroar@uh.edu. The requesters should provide a full statement of the rationale for removing the item, which will be reviewed by UH Libraries and the Graduate School. In cases where material is removed, the citation/metadata information will remain displayed.