HCC Specifications

See: HCC PhD Course of Study

Thesis Proposal Defense and Dissertation Defense

Georgia Tech requires that "Doctoral students must spend at least two full-time semesters in residence at the Georgia Institute of Technology and ordinarily must complete research for the dissertation while in residence" (Georgia Tech 2014-15 General Catalog).

• Thesis Proposal Defense - All students need to present and defend a written Ph.D. proposal to a thesis proposal committee of at least four members as follows:
  • The student's advisor(s)
  • At least two additional HCC faculty members
  • At least one other faculty from another academic unit in Georgia Tech (outside HCC, typically the minor field) or a committee member external to Georgia Tech

All committee members must have a Ph.D. degree. Committee members external to Georgia Tech need not be affiliated with a university.

We expect all students to defend their thesis proposal by the end of the fourth year of their Ph.D. program. After the proposal is accepted, the student is expected to initiate a meeting with the thesis committee at least once a year to review research progress.

When completed, the dissertation must be publicly defended before a dissertation committee of at least five members (in addition to the four above, at least one committee member must be external to Georgia Tech). Please see Georgia Tech Guidelines for thesis proposals.