Doctoral Dissertation

Changes in Procedures for Reviewing Doctoral Dissertations

※ Assessment criteria and review schedule of Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF 　New Form PDF （Applied to students who plan to complete in AY2022 Spring (March, 2023)）

※ Students who have acquired all the credits in the specialized subjects and seminar subjects (except Research Seminar III) required for completion as stipulated in the course requirements may proceed to the examination of the doctoral dissertation.　(Effective from the autumn enrollment of AY2020)

Doctoral Dissertation Review Procedure (AY2023 Autumn)

1. Determination of doctoral dissertation titles and establishment of the Dissertation Review Committee and Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• Submission period ─── by Friday, November 4, 2022

• To whom to submit ─── the Dean of the Graduate School (by way of the Student Affairs Division)
• Documents to be submitted
  
  • Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
• Doctoral Dissertation titles
  
  • Research advisors (and sub research advisors) shall determine the dissertation titles in consultation with relevant students
  • The chief referee of the Dissertation Review Committee submits a written Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review with his/her signature.
• Doctoral Dissertation Review Committee
  
  • Members ─── one chief referee, and at least three co-referees
  • The chief referee must be a Doctoral "Maru Go" faculty member.
  • At least two referees must be Doctoral "Maru Go" faculty members.
• Period of the Doctoral Dissertation Review
  
  • Research advisors shall propose the Doctoral Dissertation titles, establishment of the Dissertation Review Committee and the period of the Doctoral Dissertation Review to Dean of the Graduate School by submitting the Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

2. Submission of the documents for the Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• Submission period ─── by Friay, December 16, 2022~ At any time up to two weeks before the preliminary review
• Number of copies to be submitted ───one to each referee (a copy), and one to the Student Affairs Division (an original copy)
  * Students should submit the original documents to Student Affairs Division, also upload the electrical version into the designated directory by the final deadline (Friday, April 21, 2023).
• Documents to be submitted
  
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
  2. Dissertation abstract (Encouraged to submit abstract in Japanese as well.)
  3. Curriculum Vitae
  4. List of publications
  5. Copies of publications
  6. Finished dissertation
     * The dissertation shall be written in English. The number of pages is not specified. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  7. Copy of progress report
  8. Record on a Change of a Doctoral Dissertation Title PDF / Word
     * This shall be submitted only in case of a change of the title made. A change of the title thereafter is not permitted. However, permission to make minor change shall be given by the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee.
  9. Submission of an electronic version of the file Copy the electronic files of item 1 to 8 in PDF format to the following directory.
     /home/thesis/DDissertation-Review/Preliminary/(your student ID)

3. Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the preliminary review.
• Period of the preliminary review ─── Friday, January 6 ~ Friday, April 14, 2023
• Style of the preliminary review
  
  • Oral presentation of about fifty minutes, followed by an oral examination of about fifty minutes per student
  • Presentations must be done in English.
• Review items
  
  • Research progress (Copy of progress report)
  • o Submission of academic papers (Students are required to have one or more papers accepted or conditionally accepted or required for minor revisions by major academic journals based on the achievements during the enrollment in the Doctoral Program. Students must be the first author (primary contributor) to the paper(s).)
  • Basic scholastic achievements
  • English language competency

4. Judgment regarding the Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• In order to pass the preliminary review, two-thirds or more of the Dissertation Review Committee members must approve.
  [Pass]
  • The student is allowed to prepare for the final review.
  • Problems to be solved by the time of the final review and items pointed out must be clearly shown to the successful student.

[Fail]

• The student is not allowed to prepare for the final review.
• Advice on the research thereafter must be clearly given to the student.
• The student who failed is allowed to have another preliminary review which will be held based on the dissertation review schedule six months later.
• Dissertation Review Committees shall report in writing on the review results including matters pointed out, an expected date of final review to the Dean of the Graduate School. (by Friday, April 21, 2023)
• Report on Results Regarding Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
• The review results are to be deliberated and authorized by the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee
• The review results are to be notified to students by way of chief referees.

5. Submission of the documents for the Doctoral Dissertation Final Review

• Submission period ─── by Monday, May 29, 2023
• Number of copies to be submitted ─── one to each referee (a copy), and one to the Student Affairs Division (an original copy)
• Documents to be submitted
  
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Review PDF / Word
  2. Dissertation abstract (Encouraged to submit Japanese abstract as well.)
  3. List of publications
  4. Written reply regarding the issues pointed out at the preliminary review
  5. Final draft of the doctoral dissertation
     * The final draft shall be English. The number of pages is not specified. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  6. Other materials, etc.
  7. Submission of an electronic version of the file Copy the electronic files of item 1 to 6 in PDF format to the following directory,
     /home/thesis/DDissertation-Review/Final/(your student ID)

6. Doctoral Dissertation Final Review

• The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the final review.
• Period for the final review ─── Monday, June 12 - Thursday, June 15, 2023
• Style of the final review
  
  • Oral presentation of about fifty minutes, followed by an oral examination of about fifty minutes per student
  • Presentations must be done in English.
• Review items (Based on the Diploma Policy, below items will be assessed comprehensively.)
  
  • Details of the Dissertation (Novelty, and contributions to the relevant research field, etc.)
  • Papers accepted or published by academic journals and conference proceedings
    The student must satisfy following requirements prior to the final dissertation review.
    
    • The doctoral dissertation must contain at least two contributions by the student on the same theme correlated with the contents of the doctoral dissertation. This, in principle, requires the student to be the first author (primary contributor) of two or more accepted or published major journal papers.
    • In case the student is the first author (primary contributor) of only one accepted or published major journal paper, either of the requirements below ('a' or 'b') must be satisfied;
      a) The student is also the first author (primary contributor) of at least one additional peer-reviewed non-major journal paper. In this case, the non-major journal paper(s) must contain at least one contribution distinct from that in the major journal paper.
      b) The student is also the first author (primary contributor) of at least two peer- reviewed papers published in proceedings of major conference. In this case, the conference papers must jointly contain a contribution distinct from that in the major journal paper.
      In both cases, the committee must clearly explain the correlation between the contribution(s) to the dissertation and the　accepted/published paper(s).
      [Note]Non-major journals in this guideline shall refer to journals listed in academic journal databases (Scopus, etc.). In addition, contents commonly used in at least two peer-reviewed conference papers described in b) must be less than one-third, and the contents previously published in the conference paper must be cited in the conference paper(s) written later. Items described here in "Note" shall apply to students who enrolled in AY2019 and after.
  • Response to the items pointed out at the preliminary dissertation review
  • Logical and clear presentations and answers to the questions

7. Judgment regarding the Doctoral Dissertation Final Review

• In order to pass a dissertation review, two-thirds or more of the Dissertation Review Committee members must approve.
  [Pass]
  • In the case that the student's dissertation requires some modification, document indicating items to be modified must be prepared.

[Fail]

• The items pointed out must be clearly shown to the student.
• Students who failed can undergo a dissertation review again six months later without undergoing another preliminary review according to the dissertation review schedule.
• The Doctoral Dissertation Review Committee reports to the Dean of the Graduate School (Student Affairs Division), in writing, of review results including points advised by referees. (by Monday, June 26, 2023)
• Report on Results Regarding the Final Doctoral Dissertation Review PDF / Word
• The final review results are to be deliberated on and authorized by the Graduate School Faculty Assembly, conditional to agreement by at least two thirds of the members in attendance at the Graduate School Faculty Assembly meeting satisfying the quorum of two-thirds of all members.
• The chief referees of the Dissertation Review Committees shall notify relevant students of review results.

8. Dissertation Presentation

• Submission of the materials for the presentation ─── Wednesday, August 2, 2023
• Dissertation presentation date ─── Wednesday, August 9, 2023
  
• The presentation meeting is open not only to those related to the University of Aizu, but also to the general public.

9. Submission of finalized Dissertations and their abstracts

• Submission deadline ─── by Tuesday, August 15, 2023
• To whom to submit ─── the Dean of the Graduate School (Student Affairs Division) through the chief referee
• Style of the dissertation abstract ─── The dissertation abstract shall be written in English. A Japanese version must also be prepared to be handed out at the opening of the presentation session. Each version of the abstract must not exceed four A-4 size pages
• Submission of an electronic version of the file ─── copy the electronic file of the final manuscript in PDF format to the designated directory,
  home/thesis/DDissertation2023-Sep/ and store it in the directory of your ID.
  ⇒ home/thesis/DDissertation2023-Sep/d8xxxxxx.pdf
• Those who are unable to submit finalized Dissertations are required to postpone conferment of the academic degree accordingly.

10. Submission of the Abstracts of the Results Regarding the Final Doctoral Dissertation Review

• Submission deadline ─── by Tuesday, August 15, 2023
• To whom to submit ─── the Dean of the Graduate School (Student Affairs Division) through the chief referee

11. Submission of Confirmation of Online Publication (Repository Listing) of Dissertation Form

• Submission deadline ─── by Tuesday, August 15, 2023
• To whom to submit ─── The Director of the Information Systems and Technology Center of the University of Aizu (Student Affairs Division submit to the University Library) Refer to　"Registration of doctoral dissertations" on University of Aizu Academic Repository and submit the "Confirmation of Online Publication (Repository Listing) of Dissertation Form(Form2）"

12. Submission of the Application Form for the Academic Degree

• Submission deadline ─── by Tuesday, August 15, 2023
• To whom to submit ─── The University President (Student Affairs Division)
• Application Form for the Academic DegreePDF / Word
• Deliberation on Conferment of Academic Degrees

-Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee-Graduate School Faculty Assembly

Doctoral Dissertation Review Procedure (AY2023 Spring)

1. Determination of doctoral dissertation titles and establishment of the Dissertation Review Committee and Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• Submission period ─── by Monday, May 15, 2023

• To whom to submit ─── the Dean of the Graduate School (by way of the Student Affairs Division)
• Documents to be submitted
  
  • Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
• Doctoral Dissertation titles
  
  • Research advisors (and sub research advisors) shall determine the dissertation titles in consultation with relevant students
  • The chief referee of the Dissertation Review Committee submits a written Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review with his/her signature.
• Doctoral Dissertation Review Committee
  
  • Members ─── one chief referee, and at least three co-referees
  • The chief referee must be a Doctoral "Maru Go" faculty member.
  • At least two referees must be Doctoral "Maru Go" faculty members.
• Period of the Doctoral Dissertation Review
  
  • Research advisors shall propose the Doctoral Dissertation titles, establishment of the Dissertation Review Committee and the period of the Doctoral Dissertation Review to Dean of the Graduate School by submitting the Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

2. Submission of the documents for the Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• Submission period ─── by Monday, May 29 2023~ At any time up to two weeks before the preliminary review
• Number of copies to be submitted ───one to each referee (a copy), and one to the Student Affairs Division (an original copy)
  * Students should submit the original documents to Student Affairs Division, also upload the electrical version into the designated directory by the final deadline (Friday, 27 October, 2023).
• Documents to be submitted
  
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
  2. Dissertation abstract (Encouraged to submit abstract in Japanese as well.)
  3. Curriculum Vitae
  4. List of publications
  5. Copies of publications
  6. Finished dissertation
     * The dissertation shall be written in English. The number of pages is not specified. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  7. Copy of progress report
  8. Record on a Change of a Doctoral Dissertation Title PDF / Word
     * This shall be submitted only in case of a change of the title made. A change of the title thereafter is not permitted. However, permission to make minor change shall be given by the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee.
  9. Submission of an electronic version of the file Copy the electronic files of item 1 to 8 in PDF format to the following directory.
     /home/thesis/DDissertation-Review/Preliminary/(your student ID)

3. Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the preliminary review.
• Period of the preliminary review ─── Monday, 12 June, 2023 ~ Friday, 20 October 2023
• Style of the preliminary review
  
  • Oral presentation of about fifty minutes, followed by an oral examination of about fifty minutes per student
  • Presentations must be done in English.
• Review items
  
  • Research progress (Copy of progress report)
  • o Submission of academic papers (Students are required to have one or more papers accepted or conditionally accepted or required for minor revisions by major academic journals based on the achievements during the enrollment in the Doctoral Program. Students must be the first author (primary contributor) to the paper(s).)
  • Basic scholastic achievements
  • English language competency

4. Judgment regarding the Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review

• In order to pass the preliminary review, two-thirds or more of the Dissertation Review Committee members must approve.
  [Pass]
  • The student is allowed to prepare for the final review.
  • Problems to be solved by the time of the final review and items pointed out must be clearly shown to the successful student.

[Fail]

• The student is not allowed to prepare for the final review.
• Advice on the research thereafter must be clearly given to the student.
• The student who failed is allowed to have another preliminary review which will be held based on the dissertation review schedule six months later.
• Dissertation Review Committees shall report in writing on the review results including matters pointed out, an expected date of final review to the Dean of the Graduate School. (by Friday, 27 October 2023)
• Report on Results Regarding Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
• The review results are to be deliberated and authorized by the Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee
• The review results are to be notified to students by way of chief referees.

5. Submission of the documents for the Doctoral Dissertation Final Review

• Submission period ─── by Friday, December 15, 2023
• Number of copies to be submitted ─── one to each referee (a copy), and one to the Student Affairs Division (an original copy)
• Documents to be submitted
  
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Review PDF / Word
  2. Dissertation abstract (Encouraged to submit Japanese abstract as well.)
  3. List of publications
  4. Written reply regarding the issues pointed out at the preliminary review
  5. Final draft of the doctoral dissertation
     * The final draft shall be English. The number of pages is not specified. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  6. Other materials, etc.
  7. Submission of an electronic version of the file Copy the electronic files of item 1 to 6 in PDF format to the following directory,
     /home/thesis/DDissertation-Review/Final/(your student ID)

6. Doctoral Dissertation Final Review

• The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the final review.
• Period for the final review ─── Friday, January 5 - Thursday, January 11, 2024
• Style of the final review
  
  • Oral presentation of about fifty minutes, followed by an oral examination of about fifty minutes per student
  • Presentations must be done in English.
• Review items (Based on the Diploma Policy, below items will be assessed comprehensively.)
  
  • Details of the Dissertation (Novelty, and contributions to the relevant research field, etc.)
  • Papers accepted or published by academic journals and conference proceedings
    The student must satisfy following requirements prior to the final dissertation review.
    
    • The doctoral dissertation must contain at least two contributions by the student on the same theme correlated with the contents of the doctoral dissertation. This, in principle, requires the student to be the first author (primary contributor) of two or more accepted or published major journal papers.
    • In case the student is the first author (primary contributor) of only one accepted or published major journal paper, either of the requirements below ('a' or 'b') must be satisfied;
      a) The student is also the first author (primary contributor) of at least one additional peer-reviewed non-major journal paper. In this case, the non-major journal paper(s) must contain at least one contribution distinct from that in the major journal paper.
      b) The student is also the first author (primary contributor) of at least two peer- reviewed papers published in proceedings of major conference. In this case, the conference papers must jointly contain a contribution distinct from that in the major journal paper.
      In both cases, the committee must clearly explain the correlation between the contribution(s) to the dissertation and the　accepted/published paper(s).
      [Note]Non-major journals in this guideline shall refer to journals listed in academic journal databases (Scopus, etc.). In addition, contents commonly used in at least two peer-reviewed conference papers described in b) must be less than one-third, and the contents previously published in the conference paper must be cited in the conference paper(s) written later. Items described here in "Note" shall apply to students who enrolled in AY2019 and after.
  • Response to the items pointed out at the preliminary dissertation review
  • Logical and clear presentations and answers to the questions

7. Judgment regarding the Doctoral Dissertation Final Review

• In order to pass a dissertation review, two-thirds or more of the Dissertation Review Committee members must approve.
  [Pass]
  • In the case that the student's dissertation requires some modification, document indicating items to be modified must be prepared.

[Fail]

• The items pointed out must be clearly shown to the student.
• Students who failed can undergo a dissertation review again six months later without undergoing another preliminary review according to the dissertation review schedule.
• The Doctoral Dissertation Review Committee reports to the Dean of the Graduate School (Student Affairs Division), in writing, of review results including points advised by referees. (by Friday, January 19, 2024)
• Report on Results Regarding the Final Doctoral Dissertation Review PDF / Word
• The final review results are to be deliberated on and authorized by the Graduate School Faculty Assembly, conditional to agreement by at least two thirds of the members in attendance at the Graduate School Faculty Assembly meeting satisfying the quorum of two-thirds of all members.
• The chief referees of the Dissertation Review Committees shall notify relevant students of review results.

8. Dissertation Presentation

• Submission of the materials for the presentation ─── Thursday, February 8, 2024
• Dissertation presentation date ─── Thursday, February 15, 2024
  
• The presentation meeting is open not only to those related to the University of Aizu, but also to the general public.

9. Submission of finalized Dissertations and their abstracts

• Submission deadline ─── by Thursday, February 22, 2024
• To whom to submit ─── the Dean of the Graduate School (Student Affairs Division) through the chief referee
• Style of the dissertation abstract ─── The dissertation abstract shall be written in English. A Japanese version must also be prepared to be handed out at the opening of the presentation session. Each version of the abstract must not exceed four A-4 size pages
• Submission of an electronic version of the file ─── copy the electronic file of the final manuscript in PDF format to the designated directory,
  home/thesis/DDissertation2023-Mar/ and store it in the directory of your ID.
  ⇒ home/thesis/DDissertation2023-Mar/d8xxxxxx.pdf
• Those who are unable to submit finalized Dissertations are required to postpone conferment of the academic degree accordingly.

10. Submission of the Abstracts of the Results Regarding the Final Doctoral Dissertation Review

• Submission deadline ─── by Thursday, February 22, 2024
• To whom to submit ─── the Dean of the Graduate School (Student Affairs Division) through the chief referee

11. Submission of Confirmation of Online Publication (Repository Listing) of Dissertation Form

• Submission deadline ─── by Thursday, February 22, 2024
• To whom to submit ─── The Director of the Information Systems and Technology Center of the University of Aizu (Student Affairs Division submit to the University Library) Refer to　"Registration of doctoral dissertations" on University of Aizu Academic Repository and submit the "Confirmation of Online Publication (Repository Listing) of Dissertation Form(Form2）"

12. Submission of the Application Form for the Academic Degree

• Submission deadline ─── by Thursday, February 22, 2024
• To whom to submit ─── The University President (Student Affairs Division)
• Application Form for the Academic DegreePDF / Word
• Deliberation on Conferment of Academic Degrees

-Graduate School Academic Affairs Committee-Graduate School Faculty Assembly

Dissertation Abstracts and Summaries of the Dissertation Review Results

※Regarding the Dissertations after the Autumn Completion in 2014, please access to "University of Aizu Academic Repository".

• University of Aizu Academic Repository: https://u-aizu.repo.nii .ac.jp/