8 - Specific Format and Timing Requirements for Prospectus, Thesis, and Dissertations

8.1 - Prospectus

Instructions for the M.S. and Ph.D. prospectus are given in previous sections. The M.S. prospectus should be no longer than 15 pages and the Ph.D. prospectus no longer than 30 pages (excluding front matter, references, appendices, etc.). It should be formatted consistent with a formal technical report or proposal. Once the prospectus has been approved by the research advisor then it can be uploaded to the BYU graduate progress portal where it can be reviewed by the remaining committee members. As a courtesy, the student should email their committee, and if desired by a committee member, provide a printed copy or updated electronic copy. The committee members, according to department policy, have two weeks to provide feedback and a list of required changes that the student must make before approval can be granted.

M.S. students only require approval from the committee for the written document, consistent with the BYU graduate progress portal.

In contrast, Ph.D. students in Chemical Engineering must also schedule and pass an oral defense of the prospectus. The oral defense cannot be scheduled until all committee members have had an adequate opportunity to view the written document. The day and time of the defense must be chosen in consultation with all committee members. It is common for committee members to make a preliminary assessment of the written document to enable the Ph.D. student to schedule the defense as soon as two weeks from when the prospectus was approved by the advisor and made available to the committee. The committee members then provide to the student a more concrete list of changes that must be made to the written document, given either prior to or at the time of the oral defense.

The Ph.D. prospectus presentation should be no more than 25 minutes long, followed by approximately 30-45 minutes for questions by the committee members. Upon completion of the process the committee votes to approve or disapprove the prospectus and what additional changes might be required. In their deliberations the committee will consider the following questions about the work:

1. Does the prospectus define and state the problem clearly?
2. Does the prospectus include a comprehensive, critical literature review that puts the problem in perspective with the current body of knowledge and justifies its significance?
3. Does the prospectus outline objectives and significance of the work?
4. Does the prospectus describe the methodology and approach that will be taken to solve the problem in sufficient detail to demonstrate that a successful conclusion can be obtained?
5. Does the prospectus identify, in so far as possible, the student's unique and original ideas?
6. Does the prospectus indicate work accomplished to date?

8.2 – Submission of Theses and Dissertations

The policies for submitting and gaining approval of the M.S. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation are identical. Similar to the prospectus, the thesis or dissertation is uploaded to the graduate progress portal once it is approved by the advisor and is ready to be viewed by the remaining committee members. As a courtesy, in the weeks leading up to this step, the student should discuss with committee members expectations and upcoming scheduling constraints. By department policy, committee members are allowed at least two weeks to read the document between when it is made available to them and any scheduled oral defense. Scheduling is done on the graduate school portal. No defense day and time may be chosen until all committee members have been consulted. Committee members perform a preliminary evaluation to determine if the written document is sufficient to allow the oral defense to be scheduled and then provide to the student additional concrete feedback on the written document either prior to or at the time of the defense.

The thesis or dissertation defense takes two hours and consists of an introduction by the advisor, the student presentation for about 30-35 minutes, followed by questioning of the student by the committee. The committee then deliberates and votes on whether to approve the thesis or dissertation and associated defense, to approve the same pending required modifications to the written document, or to not approve.

Final approval by the department, college, and university requires that the student follow the instructions given at the conclusion of the defense, including uploading a properly formatted electronic copy of the document that has incorporated all required changes. In order to graduate in a given semester, all steps must be done before deadlines given by the university, which generally require that the defense is held no later than three weeks before the last day of the semester.

8.3 – Graduate Studies Minimum Standards for Submitting Dissertations and Theses

College Standards can be found at: http://www.et.byu.edu/thesisdissertation_guidelines.htm

A. Format Requirements

1. Paper: use 24-pound weight Xerox LX paper (which is acid-free and laser compatible) for all university copies. The required preliminary pages (see section B1) are to be single-sided. Your document should be double-sided if it is over 300 pages in length.
2. Printing: Use a laser or high-resolution inkjet printer with black, letter-quality in a standard size (10, 11, or 12 points only, including titles and headings). Use a standard, easily readable serif typeface such as Times Roman or Palatino. Ornamental typefaces, including script, may not be used. The body of the work should be double-spaced.
3. Margins: 1.5 inches on the bound side; 1 inch on the top, bottom, and unbound side.
4. Page numbering: Preliminary pages are to be counted in the pagination and, where appropriate, numbered with lowercase Roman numerals (see section B5 below). The body of the work should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, beginning with 1 and counting into any appendices (1a, 10c, B1, etc., are not acceptable).

B. Style Requirements

1. The required university pages are to be single-sided and in the standard university-style as illustrated on the attached sample pages. The preliminary pages consist of a title page, a copyright page (optional), a committee approval page, a final reading approval and acceptance page, an abstract, and an acknowledgments page (optional).
2. In the title of your work, use word substitutes for non-Roman-alphabet characters such as formulas, symbols, super- or subscripts, Greek letters, etc.
3. The abstract is to be no more than 350 words (approximately 1.5 pages double-spaced, single-sided). Doctoral students: Because dissertation abstracts are published in Dissertation Abstracts International and in searchable databases, you must include pertinent place names and full names of persons as well as descriptive keywords useful in automated retrieval. UMI editors will shorten your abstract if it is longer than 350 words.
4. The work’s citations, references, and bibliographical style are to be consistent and follow the department’s or the discipline’s style guide.
5. Pages should be numbered according to the following sequence, with a page number included on the page as indicated:
   Title page no number; begin with Roman numeral i, number consecutively
   Copyright page (if included)** no number; but counted
   Graduate Committee Approval no number; but counted
   Final Reading Approval and Acceptance no number; but counted
   Abstract no number; but counted
   Acknowledgements (if included) no number; but counted
   Table of Contents number; continue with lowercase Roman numerals as appropriate
   List of Tables (if included) number
   List of Figures (if included) number
   Body of work and appendices number; begin with Arabic numeral 1, continue consecutively

*"Selected Project" in these instructions refers to the final project required by programs in the departments of Agronomy and Horticulture, Dance, Instructional Psychology and Technology, Nursing, Technology Education and Construction Management, Theatre and Media Arts, and Zoology. Projects in these departments are treated as theses, and the works must be submitted to the library for binding.

**Copyright information is available from the Office of Graduate Studies.

C. Preparing the Work for Departmental Approval

1. Print your entire manuscript, double-sided (except for the university pages), following the format and style requirements specified in sections A and B above. Do not use correction fluid or correction tape.
2. Check each page of the work and, if necessary, reprint and replace pages that are smudged, have correction fluid or tape, have poor print quality, or have misaligned printing. Also correct misordered or missing pages. All pages should be in the order described in section B5.
3. Obtain and complete, “Departmental Approval for Submission of Dissertation, Thesis, or Selected Project,” Form 8d Part 1, and, for ETD submissions, Form 8d Part 2. These forms may be provided by your department and are available online at the Graduate Studies website at http://www.byu.edu/gradstudies/forms.
4. Present your work and the completed Form 8d to each member of your graduate committee and to your department chair for their approval and signatures. Signatures should be in black or blue ink so they copy properly.
5. After obtaining the signatures of your committee and your graduate coordinator or department chair, present your work to the dean or associate dean in your college who is assigned to review and sign the document. Allow enough time to meet the library submission deadline for your intended graduation. Refer to the graduate studies website at http://byu.edu/gradstudies/resources for the latest dates.

D. Preparing and Submitting Copies, Forms, and Fees to the Library

All paper copies of dissertations, theses, and selected projects are to be submitted to the library for binding and retention by the library and/or department. Students who submit ETDs may still be required to submit a hard copy of the work for retention by the department; however, verify this policy with you department. (If your work is a project, do not pay for copying and binding until you have confirmed with your department that you are required to submit copies to the library.)

1. Submit the copies (required by the library and/or your department) of you work to the library. These copies do not have to be the original printed copy, and the signature pages may be photocopies of the originals. However, all required copies must be clean and clear, in black print, on 24-pound weight Xerox LX paper, with the required preliminary pages single-sided.
2. Do a final check of each page of all required university copies, replace poorly printed pages if necessary, and ensure all pages are present and in the order described in section B5.
3. Make additional copies of your work that you want for yourself. These copies need not be on bond paper.
4. Master's students: Make an additional copy, for the library, of both the title page and the abstract. Doctoral students: Make two additional copies each of both the title page and the abstract, one set for the library and the other for Dissertation Abstracts International.
5. Using a pencil, mark the upper right-hand corner of the title page of each copy with the appropriate abbreviation:
   

   L1	Library copy
   L2	Library copy
   CC	Committee chair copy
   DC	Department copy
   P1, P2, P3, etc.	Personal copies

   NOTE:

   For students who submit their dissertation, thesis or selected project electronically as ETDs, the library does not require any copies for binding. The library will print a single copy from the ETD submitted PDF file, bind it, and deposit that copy in Special Collections (Archives). There will not be a bound copy on the library shelves for check out.

6. Put each copy in a manila envelope and stack the envelopes so that the university copies are on top (ordered L1, L2, CC, and DC), with personal copies on the bottom.
   
   1. Doctoral students: Complete and sign UMI's Doctoral Dissertation Agreement Form in the booklet "Publishing Your Dissertation." Attach a copy of your abstract and your title page to this form. If you wish UMI to register your copyright, read and sign the reverse side of the Agreement Form. Place the signed Form 8d, one title page, one abstract, and the Agreement Form (with the second title page and abstract attached) on top of your stack of envelopes, and then secure everything together with a large rubber band.
   2. Master's students: Place the signed Form 8d, the extra title page, and the extra abstract on top of your stack of envelopes; then secure everything together with a large rubber band.
7. Deliver your packet to the Library Administration Office, 2060 HBLL (2-2905), and pay the required fees. Even if you are not having any copies bound (submitting ETD), you must still deliver Form 8d, the title page, and the abstract to the library.

Deadlines for Submitting Dissertations, Theses, and Selected Projects are available on the Graduate Studies web page.

Sample Title Page

Sample Copyright Page

Sample Committee Approval

Sample Reading Approval and Acceptance

Sample Abstract

Sample Acknowledgement

8.4 - Copyright Information

General Policy Information

What is Copyrighted: The Copyright Act of 1976 provides automatic copyright coverage as soon as a work (a book, article, poem, lecture, database, or drama) is created in tangible form, whether or not the work is ever published or the copyright registered. Copyright protection is given to all unpublished works regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author.

What “Publication” Means: Publication consists of the distribution of copies of a work for sale to the public. Dissertations submitted to UMI Dissertation Services are published; theses that are intended for inclusion in library holdings or for personal use are considered unpublished.

Registration of the Copyright: The copyright on unpublished works does not have to be registered. Mandatory deposit provisions apply to published works, in that two copies of the best edition must be deposited in the Copyright Office within 3 months of publication. If the proper form and application fee accompany the deposit, the copyright can be registered at the same time.

Copyright Notice: Copyrighted works are not required to carry a formal notice in order to have copyright protection, although most publishers continue to prove the notice to prevent infringement based on ignorance. The usual notice consists of the word “Copyright” or the symbol ©, the year the book is published, and the name of the copyright owner, in these cases, the author. The phrase “all rights reserved” is usually added because it gives some protection in countries that are not part of any world-wide copyright convention.

Advantages of Copyright Registration: Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim, and a copyright that is registered allows the copyright holder certain advantages in the case of infringement suits. The registration establishes prima facie evidenced in courts of the validity of the copyright, and statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to the copyright holder in court actions.

Non-Literary Works: Copyright is also given to musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, to pantomimes, and to pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work. For information on copyright law, including rights of reproduction, display, or performance of the work, refer to Circular 1 of the Copyright Office, “Copyright Basics,” and to Circular 40, “Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts,” available in the Office of Graduate Studies.

To Register a Copyright: Doctoral students are required to have their dissertations published by UMI Dissertations International, a publishing service that will also arrange to have the copyright registered. For a fee of $35, UMI will prepare the necessary forms and copies of the dissertation for submission to the Copyright Office. This process is explained in the booklet “Publishing Your Dissertation,” which is included in the oral defense packet.

If you wish, you may register your won copyright at any time following the creation of the work. To register a work, send the following three elements in the same envelope or package to:

1. A properly completed application form (available in the Office of Graduate Studies)
2. A nonrefundable filing fee of $20* for each application
3. A nonrefundable deposit of the work being registered:
   
   1. If the work is unpublished, one complete copy (does not have to be bound, but should be firmly secured)
   2. If the work is published, two complete copies of the best edition

*Filing fees are effective through June 30, 1999. After that date, the fee is subject to change.

For more information or answers to questions concerning copyright policies and procedures, contact the General Counsel's Office, A-350 ASB, (801) 422-4722

8.5 - Opportunity for Graduate Students to Register for Religion Courses for No Cost and No Credit

In the past, graduate students have not been allowed to enroll in religion courses without paying increased tuition. Graduate students are now eligible to audit religion courses on a space-available basis without incurring any additional tuition costs (Approved by the President's Council, 10/14/96). Details about such registrations are available from the Office of Graduate Studies, B-356 ASB, (801) 422-4091.

1. Eligibility Requirements:
   To be eligible to register for no-cost, no-credit religion courses, students must:
   
   1. Be in a graduate degree seeking program
   2. Be enrolled for a minimum number of 2.0 credit hours during the semester of 1.0 credit hour during the term
2. Conditions
   
   1. Registration is for audit only--no credit is granted
   2. Registration is available on a space-available basis as approved by instructor
3. Procedure
   
   1. Students pick up Request for No-Cost/No-Credit Religion Course form from the Office of Graduate Studies (OGS), B-356 ASB. (OGS retains a copy of the form to track number of requests)
   2. Student requests approval from the Religion instructor (during the first ten class days of a semester; six days of a term)
   3. If the request is approved, either the student or the instructor mails or takes the card part of the form to the OGS

8.6 Courses that are or are not accepted for the PhD Math and Statistics requirement

List of Courses that Satisfy the Quantitative Core Requirement

* Classes that are commonly taken by ChEn PhD students

List of Courses that Do Not Satisfy the Requirement

Comments

• The quantitative core course requirement is 6 credits from the above list. These credits must satisfy the University's credit policies for a graduate student outlined here: https://gradstudies.byu.edu/page/policies-and-procedures-b, see "Credit Policies".
• The core quantitative concepts include: (i) probability, statistics, and data analysis, (ii) analytical mathematics (e.g. PDEs), and (iii) numerical methods, algorithms, and programming.
• In the event of extenuating circumstances, we encourage a student’s thesis committee to submit a petition to accept a course that is not found on the list of acceptable courses. However, because the graduate committee considers fundamental math concepts to be part of the chemical engineering core, a petition making the generic argument that the student’s “research does not concern fundamental math concepts” is less likely to be granted.
• To guide future decisions and petitions, the list of acceptable courses was based on the following principles:
  
  • Graduate courses only (no courses less than 500 level).
  • Only “rigorous” courses cover significant portions of math material at a graduate level for an engineer, where rigorous is defined as a course that extends a student’s general mathematical knowledge of new concepts.
  • The topic of the course should contain significant mathematics or statistics rather than the application of quantitative concepts to another discipline or a specific solution method. For example, Chem 567 (Statistical Mechanics) uses math to study statistical mechanics and does not principally focus on general mathematical principles. Another example of a course that is inappropriate is Stat 624 (Statistical Computation), which focuses principally on using or running software as opposed to understanding the general mathematical principles built into such software.
  • No “literature survey”, seminars, or special (unnamed) topics courses.