1
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
G U I D E L I N E S
DISSERTATION FINAL EXAMINATION
The supervision of the final stages of the dissertation and approvals thereof are the responsibility of the student’s
academic unit. This unit may be a department, a school, or a designated graduate program within a college,
department, or school. For purposes of the policy that follows, the term “program” or “program faculty” will be
used to designate the academic unit that grants approval of the dissertation and the final examination.
THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
This committee is comprised of graduate faculty members and is appointed by the candidate’s program when the
candidate has developed an appropriate dissertation topic and has an approved Advisor. Normally, this committee
will consist of a minimum of the Advisor (who will act as chair of the committee), two additional members from the
candidate’s program, and one faculty member from a discipline outside the program. (NOTE: only one of the
four members may have Associate Graduate Faculty Status. All others must have Full Graduate Faculty Status.)
The Advisor and at least two of the remaining three must be members of the Graduate Faculty who have been
approved to direct dissertations. If a Co-Advisor is desired, s(he) should be included in the above members. If, for
warranted reasons, it is desirous to have a person on the committee who does not meet the above qualifications,
special permission must be obtained from the Dean of the appropriate college or designee.
When the Advisor believes the dissertation is ready for preliminary approval, the Dean must be notified to request
the appointment of the Graduate Faculty Representative (GFR) to serve on the Examining Committee. Once the
GFR is appointed, the dissertation will be circulated in easily legible form among the members of the committee.
The Advisor will allow a minimum of a ten-day period for reading of the dissertation and will then convene the
dissertation committee including the GFR (without the candidate) for the purpose of evaluating it. Recommended
revisions will be noted by the Advisor and communicated to the candidate, and when in the opinion of the Advisor
and the candidate, the appropriate revisions have been made, the Advisor will inform the Graduate Coordinator, the
Chairperson/Director, and the Dean.
COMPOSITION OF THE EXAMINING COMMITTEE:
1. The Examining Committee will consist of the Dissertation Committee (a minimum of the Advisor, two
additional members from the candidate’s program, and one faculty member from a discipline outside the
program), plus a representative from the Graduate Faculty who may act as moderator.
2. If a separate moderator is desired, s(he) will be selected by the Dissertation Committee from the members of the
Graduate Faculty who have been approved to direct dissertations. S(he) will not be a faculty member in the
candidate’s major program. The principal duties of the moderator are to preside and to moderate. S(he) should
see to it that all participants act in a civilized, polite, and proper manner. S(he) should be familiar with the
procedures of the oral defense, and has the authority to suspend the examination should a situation arise that
would not be conducive to a fair examination.
3. The Graduate Faculty Representative will be appointed by the Dean, or his/her designate after consultation,
when appropriate, with the Advisor or Program Chairperson. To qualify, s(he) must have directed a dissertation
to completion a member of the D-list. The Graduate Faculty Representative should be familiar with the general
content area of the dissertation. The Graduate Faculty Representative most often comes from outside the
student’s department but may be a member of the candidate’s program faculty but outside the candidate’s area
of concentration. The graduate faculty representative may also come from outside the university but must have
directed a dissertation to completion. The Graduate Faculty Representative represents the Graduate Faculty by
