Doctoral Milestones
The Communications PhD program is organized around a series of academic milestones that guide students from their first year through graduation. Each milestone represents an important step in the doctoral journey and includes specific forms, approvals, and program requirements.
Use this page as a guide to understanding each milestone and accessing the forms and resources needed to complete it. Students should work closely with their faculty advisor throughout the program and consult the Program Policies and PhD Advising Checklist for detailed procedures and deadlines.
Completion of the required forms is an essential part of each milestone. These forms document student progress for both the Department of Communication & Film and the Graduate School. To help ensure timely progress toward graduation, students should submit all required forms promptly upon completion of each milestone.
Advisor and Committee Appointment
After being advised by the Director of Graduate Studies during the first two semesters of coursework, students should select a major advisor before Spring Break of their second semester. The major advisor will guide the student's academic progress throughout the remainder of the doctoral program.
Before the end of the second semester, students should work with their major advisor to appoint an advising and examination committee consisting of two additional Communication & Film faculty members. One faculty member from outside the department may also be appointed to the committee.
Once the committee has been established, students should submit the Thesis/Dissertation Committee Appointment Form to formally document the committee membership with the Graduate School:
Thesis/Dissertation Committee Appointment Form
Plan of Study
The Plan of Study serves as the academic roadmap for your doctoral program. Developed in collaboration with your major advisor and advising committee, it documents your research agenda, coursework, examination areas, teaching and research experiences, and overall progress toward the PhD.
Students should work with their advising committee to develop and approve a Plan of Study by the end of the second semester. Because the Plan of Study is intended to evolve throughout the program, students should review and update the document as their research interests, coursework, or academic goals change.
Once the Plan of Study has been approved and signed by all advising committee members, the completed document should be submitted to the Department of Communication & Film Administrative Associate at cmhwkins@memphis.edu for departmental records.
Plan of Study Template
Comprehensive Examination
The Comprehensive Examination evaluates your knowledge of communication scholarship and your readiness to advance to the dissertation stage of the doctoral program. Working with your major advisor and advising committee, you will identify four examination areas that reflect both core disciplinary knowledge and your research interests.
Students typically begin planning their comprehensive examinations during the second semester of the second year. At that time, students should meet with their advising committee to finalize examination areas and establish an examination schedule. Once the examination has been scheduled, the Department of Communication & Film Administrative Associate (Cat Hawkins, cmhwkins@memphis.edu) should be notified. Comprehensive examinations are typically completed during the first semester of the third year, following the completion of coursework.
The PhD comprehensive examination consists of take-home, open-book written examinations followed by an oral defense. Written examinations are generally administered during the department's Fall and Spring examination periods, though alternate scheduling may be approved under limited circumstances with the unanimous agreement of the advising committee.
For complete policies, examination procedures, scheduling information, timelines, and formatting requirements, please review the Comprehensive Examination Policy & Procedures.
Upon successful completion of both the written and oral examinations, students must submit the Comprehensive Examination Results Form to document completion of this milestone with the Graduate School.
Comprehensive Exam Results Form
Prospectus (Proposal) Defense
Following successful completion of the comprehensive examination, students begin preparing for dissertation research by forming a dissertation committee and developing a dissertation prospectus. The dissertation committee must include the student's major advisor, two additional Communication & Film faculty members, and at least one faculty member from outside the Department of Communication & Film. Students appointing a committee member from outside the University of Memphis should notify consult the appropriate Graduate School guidelines.
Students should submit the Thesis/Dissertation Committee Appointment Form as soon as the dissertation committee has been established.
Working closely with the dissertation chair, students develop a written prospectus that outlines the proposed dissertation research, including the research problem, relevant literature, methodology, and anticipated timeline. Once the committee determines the prospectus is ready for review, the student will participate in an oral prospectus defense.
For complete information regarding prospectus preparation, formatting requirements, defense procedures, and committee expectations, please review the Dissertation Prospectus & Defense Policies.
Following a successful defense, students should submit the Thesis/Dissertation Proposal Defense Form. Successful completion of the proposal defense marks the beginning of the dissertation research phase.
Thesis/Dissertation Committee Appointment Form
Thesis/Dissertation Proposal Defense Form
Final Dissertation Defense
Following successful completion of the prospectus defense, students conduct their dissertation research under the guidance of their dissertation chair and committee. Throughout this process, students will develop, revise, and refine their dissertation while working closely with their committee to prepare the document for final review. Research involving human participants must receive Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval before data collection begins.
Once the dissertation has been approved for defense by the committee, students will participate in a public oral defense of their research. During the defense, students present their dissertation and respond to questions from the committee regarding the research, methodology, findings, and scholarly contribution of the study.
For complete information regarding dissertation preparation, defense procedures, formatting requirements, Graduate School expectations, and post-defense revisions, please review the Final Dissertation Defense Policies.
Following completion of the dissertation defense, students must submit the Thesis/Dissertation Final Defense Form to document completion of this milestone with the Graduate School:
Thesis/Dissertation Final Defense Form
Graduation
Students should begin preparing for graduation during the semester in which they intend to graduate. Before the published Graduate School deadline, students must submit a Graduation Application and complete all remaining Graduate School requirements for degree conferral.
Students are encouraged to review Graduate School graduation deadlines and requirements early in their final semester to ensure all required forms, dissertation submissions, and degree requirements are completed on time.
For complete information regarding graduation procedures, application deadlines, dissertation submission, commencement, and degree conferral, please visit the Graduate School Graduation Information page.