Online Dissertation Milestones for Doctoral Programs (PhD/EdD/DBA)

Dissertation milestones mark the progress of a doctoral candidate’s progress toward completing the dissertation and are major components that contribute to the completion of a doctoral program (PhD/EdD/DBA).

The submission of all online dissertation milestones must follow registration, good academic standing, and deadlines requirements. Hence, be sure to comply with all requirements such as guidelines, timelines and deadlines for all dissertation milestones. Furthermore, do make sure to include all required documents, as instructed on each dissertation milestone. Incomplete dissertation milestones will be returned.

The Online Dissertation Milestone – Activity Guide is available at https://my.fiu.edu/, under your Student environment, in the Tasks tile. For academic guidance, if you have not done so already, make sure to communicate with your academic advisors and/or Graduate Program Director accordingly.

General Dissertation Milestones described below:

Program for Doctoral Degree and Application for Candidacy

  • Complete all coursework and required number of credits.
  • Pass all comprehensive and qualifying examination(s), as established by each academic department. These may include language requirements or other departmental requirements (if any). If the dissertation is part of candidacy, this must be submitted prior or at the same time. Consult with your academic department.
  • Maintained a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA
  • Cleared any incomplete grade(s)
  • Any transfer of credits must be reflected in the FIU transcript prior to submission of this dissertation milestone.
  • In general, doctoral students advanced to candidacy with a minimum of 60 graduate credits.
  • Approved candidacy is required to commence dissertation credits enrollment.
  • Due at UGS five days prior to the first day of classes in the term in which dissertation credits enrollment will commence.*Program for Doctoral Degree and Application for Candidacy that are “Pending UGS” indicate that these will be approved once the end of the term grades are posted to FIU transcript. Keep in mind that that if there are any issues related to any received online form, the UGS will reach out to the graduate program director or major professor, if applicable.

Appointment of Dissertation Committee

  • Establish dissertation committee by mutual agreement with the student and major professor or co-major professors prior to submission.
  • Must meet the University’s minimum composition requirements, https://policies.fiu.edu/files/780.pdf.
  • Include a 250-Word abstract of your proposed research project (Approximately a one-page, double-spaced document in a Word or PDF format attachment).*
  • Include the expertise of your proposed dissertation committee in relation to your proposed research project (in the “Enter Expertise” fields you must state how their expertise will contribute to your proposed research project).*

* Please make sure to provide the 250-Word Abstract (one-page, double-spaced document) and in the “Enter Expertise” fields clearly explain how your proposed dissertation committee will contribute to your proposed research project. Otherwise, this online form will be returned. You will be able to submit a new Appointment of Dissertation Committee accordingly.

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal

  • Complete original research proposal (5 page maximum plus references).
  • Complete required Responsible Conduct of Research Certification (RCR).
  • If proposal project involves human or animal research, approval memos such as IRB/IACUC/IBC, respectively, are required.
    • At the time of your proposal submission at UGS: IACUC, IRB, IBC approvals must be current and valid for at least one year.
    • Original memo must be attached, and if applicable, amendment/renewal memo attached along with the original. The student’s name must be included in either the original memo or the amended memo.
  • For all information about RCR, online research training, refer to https://gradschool.fiu.edu/rcr/

Preliminary Approval of Dissertation and Request for Oral Defense

  • Written dissertation must conform to the standards of presentations as described in the University Graduate School manual for Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
  • Public Presentation of dissertation to the University Community to be held on a business day during the regular term
  • Due at the UGS by no later than three weeks prior to the proposed date (whichever date is the earliest).

Click Here to Learn about the Request for Oral Request Process: https://gradschool.fiu.edu/oraldefensesubmission/

Final Electronic Dissertation Approval

  • Final written dissertation for preservation in the University’s Digital Commons.
  • For SACS accreditation, a full version of the Curriculum Vitae must be provided (this is different from the 2-page VITA).
  • For PhD candidates, a Certificate of Completion from Survey of Earned Doctorates is required. Complete this at https://sed-ncses.org/login.aspx.

Click Here to Learn about the Final ETD Process: https://gradschool.fiu.edu/the-final-etd-process/

Important –  Please be advised that towards the end of the term (check academic calendar), you will receive an email from us with instructions to upload your final manuscript to Digital Commons. Hence, it is essential to submit your online Final ETD to us by no later than the due date.

Deadlines Chart

MILESTONE

DUE AT UGS

Doctoral Degree and Application for Candidacy Five business days before the first day of classes in the term in which dissertation credits enrollment will commence
Dissertation Committee FOUR semesters before the anticipated graduation term
Dissertation Proposal THREE semesters before the anticipated graduation term
Preliminary Approval and Request for Oral Defense THREE weeks before the proposed defense date or by the deadline (whichever is earlier)
Final Electronic Dissertation Approval Refer to the last day to submit on UGS website deadlines

Quick Login Access Instructions for Online Dissertation Milestones

For Major Professors, Graduate Program Directors, and College Deans


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Step 1 – Log into PantherSoft to access online dissertation milestones

• Log into your Campus Solutions at: https://mycs.fiu.edu/psp/stdnt/?cmd=login and select your FACULTY Environment.

Step 2 – Click on the Approvals Tile to access any online dissertation milestone available for your review

• Make your decision by either selecting the Approve button OR to return, click on the Send Back to Student button (For Major Professors) or Return to Major Professor button (For GPDs and Deans)

Please note that returning online dissertation milestones will restart the review/approval process. The information entered won’t be lost as it will be available for edits.

Important:

• For your convenience, any online dissertation milestone available for your review is listed in the menu on the left side of the screen. If you have more than one, click on the one you wish to select.

• Note that the selected online dissertation milestone will appear in the center of the screen.

• Click on the down arrow at the top right of the screen to view a history of the online dissertation milestones you may have approved.

For Doctoral Students


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Step 1 – Log into your my.fiu.edu to initiate your Online Dissertation Milestones (Please see Screenshots on pages 1 and 2 of the manual, as well as how to navigate online dissertation milestones).

• Log into: https://my.fiu.edu/ – Please make sure to select your Student environment
• Select Tasks tile and under the To Do List, click on any of the PENDING dissertation milestones (i.e. Diss Committee / Diss Proposal / App for Candidacy / Diss Req Oral Defnse / ETD Approval) that you wish to initiate
• Click on prompt, Proceed to Dissertation Activity Guide, to begin your online dissertation milestone

Step 2 – Review populated information to ensure accuracy.

• Please keep in mind that you can either Save or Submit your online dissertation milestone
• To navigate across all forms, click on the Previous or Next buttons at the top right
• To exit, click on the Exit prompt at the top left

Step 3 – To submit, click the Submit button at the top, and it will be routed to the next level of approver. Otherwise, use the Save button, to save your dissertation milestone form until is ready for submission.

Step 4 – Please do keep track of your online dissertation milestone(s) by checking your To Do List. It is your responsibility to ensure that your online dissertation milestones are received on a timely manner.

Important: Please be advised that if you filed a hard copy milestone form, and it shows as approved on your To Do list, this will not be reflected in the current online dissertation milestones. Should you need a copy of any previously filed dissertation form, please reach out to your academic department.

For Committee Members


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Step 1 – Log into PantherSoft to access online dissertation milestones

• Log into your Campus Solutions at: https://mycs.fiu.edu/psp/stdnt/?cmd=login and select your FACULTY Environment.

Step 2 – Click on the Approvals Tile to access any online dissertation milestone ready for your review

• Make your decision by selecting the Approve button

Please note that returning online dissertation milestones will restart the review/approval process. The information entered won’t be lost as it will be available for edits.

Important:

• For your convenience, any online dissertation milestone ready for your review is listed on the left side menu of the screen. If you have more than one, click on the one you wish to work on.

• Note that the selected online dissertation milestone will appear in the center of the screen.

• Click on at the top right of the screen to view a history of the online dissertation milestones you may have approved.

Processing Appointment of Non-FIU members:

• Processing the appointment of non-FIU committee members does require additional time. Upon receipt of an Appointment to Dissertation Committee that includes a Non-FIU member, UGS will contact the FIU Human Resources (HR) and FIU Division of Information Technology (IT) directly to request a Panther ID and access to Campus Solutions.

• Be advised that it takes approximately 4-5 weeks to receive this access from HR and IT. Once they provide these approvals and access, the UGS will email IT credentials to Non-FIU committee member(s). Once this is completed, the workflow approvals of the appointment of dissertation committee will commence.

Should you have any questions, please contact the UGS at ugs@fiu.edu or (305) 348-2455.