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))

※ In Principle, students who have not earned the regular course and seminar course (except for Research Seminar III) credits required for the completion of the doctoral program cannot proceed to the doctoral dissertation review. (Applied to students admitted in autumn AY2020 or later)

Doctoral Dissertation Review Procedure (AY2024 Spring)

1. Determination of doctoral dissertation titles and establishment of the Dissertation Review Committee and Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review
Submission deadline ─── by Monday, May 13, 2024
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
  • 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.
[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.
  • Two or more co-referees shall 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 deadline ─── by Monday, May 27 2024~ 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.
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
  2. Abstract of Dissertation (Students are encouraged to submit abstracts in Japanese as well, if possible.)
  3. List of publications
  4. Curriculum vitae
  5. Copies of publications, etc.
  6. Completed dissertation
    * Dissertations shall be written in English. No particular number of pages is specified. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  7. Copy of the Research Progress Report Presentation Implementation Report
  8. Record of Change of Doctoral Dissertation PDF / Word
    * Only if a change of the title was made. A change of the title after this point will not be permitted. However, changes found to be minor by the GSAAC will be allowed.
  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.
3. Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review
The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the preliminary review.

Period of the preliminary review ─── Monday, 10 June, 2024 ~ Friday, 18 October 2024
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.
《Assessment Criteria》
  • Research progress
  • Submission of academic papers (Students are required to have one or more papers submitted to a major academic journal during the enrollment in the doctoral program with a peer review result of accepted, conditionally accepted, or requiring minor revisions. Students must be the primary author (main contributor) of the paper(s).)
  • Basic academic ability
  • English competency

(Notes)The student in question must be the sole primary author of papers used to satisfy doctoral degree requirements. However, if the authors of any of these papers are listed in alphabetical order or any order other than contribution level, and a sole primary author cannot be identified, students shall submit evidence that they are the sole primary author of said paper. Based on the evidence submitted, the GSAAC will determine the usability of the paper for this purpose.

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, and the expected date of final review to the Dean of the Graduate School. Submission deadline ─── by Friday, October 25, 2024
To whom to submit ─── Student Affairs Division
  • 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 deadline ─── by Friday, December 13, 2024
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
Documents to be submitted
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Review PDF / Word
  2. Abstract of Dissertation (Students are encouraged to submit abstracts in Japanese as well, if possible.)
  3. List of publications
  4. Written reply to matters pointed out during the preliminary review
  5. Manuscript of the doctoral dissertation
    * The final draft shall be English. There is no particular limit to the number of pages. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  6. Other final review 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
6. Doctoral Dissertation Final Review
The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the final review.
Period for the final review ─── Monday, January 6 - Thursday, January 9, 2025
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.
《Assessment Criteria》 (Based on the Diploma Policy, the following items will be assessed comprehensively.)
  • Contents of the doctoral dissertation (Novelty, contributions to the research field, etc.)
  • Response regarding matters pointed out at the preliminary review
  • Presentations and answers to questions must be logical and clear
  • Papers accepted for or published in academic journals or conference proceedings, and/or papers presented at academic conferences.
    Students must satisfy the following requirements prior to the judgement of the final review.
    • Doctoral dissertations must contain at least two contributions by the student on the theme correlated with the content of the doctoral dissertation. In other words, a doctoral dissertations must cite at least two papers accepted or published of major journal papers submitted during their enrollment in the doctoral program with the student in question as the primary author (main contributor), in principle.
    • In the event the student is the primary author (main 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 primary author (main 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 primary author (main contributor) of at least two peer- reviewed papers published in major conference proceedings. In this case, the conference papers must jointly contain a contribution distinct from that in the major journal paper.
      In both cases, Dissertation Review committee must clearly explain the relationship between the contributions in the doctoral dissertation and the accepted/published papers.

(Notes)

*The student in question must be the sole primary author of papers used to satisfy doctoral degree requirements. However, if the authors of any of these papers are listed in alphabetical order or any order other than contribution level, and a sole primary author cannot be identified, students shall submit evidence that they are the sole primary author of said paper. Based on the evidence submitted, the GSAAC will determine the usability of the paper for this purpose.

*Peer-reviewed non-major journals in these guidelines refer to journals listed in academic journal databases (Scopus, etc.). In addition, the two papers published in peer-reviewed major conference proceedings must share no more than one third of their content described in b) above, and the content of previously published conference papers must be cited in conference papers written later. These Notes shall apply to students who enrolled in AY2019 and after.

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.
Dissertation Review Committees shall submit a report on the review results to the Dean of the Graduate School.
Submission deadline ─── Thursday, January 16, 2025
To whom to submit ─── Student Affairs Division
  • 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 6, 2025
Dissertation presentation date ─── Thursday, February 13, 2025
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 20, 2025
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. 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 20, 2025
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 20, 2025
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 the 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 20, 2025
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 (AY2025 Autumn)

1. Determination of doctoral dissertation titles and establishment of the Dissertation Review Committee and Application for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review
Submission deadline ─── by Monday, November 11, 2024
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
  • 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.
[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.
  • Two or more co-referees shall 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 deadline ─── by Friday, December 13, 2024~ 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.
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review PDF / Word
  2. Abstract of Dissertation (Students are encouraged to submit abstracts in Japanese as well, if possible.)
  3. List of publications
  4. Curriculum vitae
  5. Copies of publications, etc.
  6. Completed dissertation
    * Dissertations shall be written in English. No particular number of pages is specified. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  7. Copy of the Research Progress Report Presentation Implementation Report
  8. Record of Change of Doctoral Dissertation Title PDF / Word
    * Only if a change of the title was made. A change of the title after this point will not be permitted. However, changes found to be minor by the GSAAC will be allowed.
  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.
3. Doctoral Dissertation Preliminary Review
The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the preliminary review.

Period of the preliminary review ─── Monday, January 6 ~ Friday, April 11, 2025
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.
《Assessment Criteria》
  • Research progress
  • Submission of academic papers (Students are required to have one or more papers submitted to a major academic journal during the enrollment in the doctoral program with a peer review result of accepted, conditionally accepted, or requiring minor revisions. Students must be the primary author (main contributor) of the paper(s).)
  • Basic academic ability
  • English competency

(Notes)The student in question must be the sole primary author of papers used to satisfy doctoral degree requirements. However, if the authors of any of these papers are listed in alphabetical order or any order other than contribution level, and a sole primary author cannot be identified, students shall submit evidence that they are the sole primary author of said paper. Based on the evidence submitted, the GSAAC will determine the usability of the paper for this purpose.

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, and the expected date of final review to the Dean of the Graduate School.

Submission deadline ─── by Friday, April 18, 2025
To whom to submit ─── Student Affairs Division
  • 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 deadline ─── by Monday, May 26, 2025
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
Documents to be submitted
  1. Request for Doctoral Dissertation Review PDF / Word
  2. Abstract of Dissertation (Students are encouraged to submit abstracts in Japanese as well, if possible.)
  3. List of publications
  4. Written reply to matters pointed out during the preliminary review
  5. Manuscript of the doctoral dissertation
    * The final draft shall be English. There is no particular limit to the number of pages. Doctoral Dissertation TemplatePDF / Word/ Latex
  6. Other final review 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
6. Doctoral Dissertation Final Review
The chief referee and co-referees must be present at the final review.
Period for the final review ─── Monday, January 6 - Thursday, January 9, 2025
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.
《Assessment Criteria》 (Based on the Diploma Policy, the following items will be assessed comprehensively.)
  • Contents of the doctoral dissertation (Novelty, contributions to the research field, etc.)
  • Response regarding matters pointed out at the preliminary review
  • Presentations and answers to questions must be logical and clear
  • Papers accepted for or published in academic journals or conference proceedings, and/or papers presented at academic conferences.
    Students must satisfy the following requirements prior to the judgement of the final review.
    • Doctoral dissertations must contain at least two contributions by the student on the theme correlated with the content of the doctoral dissertation. In other words, a doctoral dissertations must cite at least two papers accepted or published of major journal papers submitted during their enrollment in the doctoral program with the student in question as the primary author (main contributor), in principle.
    • In the event the student is the primary author (main 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 primary author (main 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 primary author (main contributor) of at least two peer- reviewed papers published in major conference proceedings. In this case, the conference papers must jointly contain a contribution distinct from that in the major journal paper.
      In both cases, Dissertation Review committee must clearly explain the relationship between the contributions in the doctoral dissertation and the accepted/published papers.

(Notes)

*The student in question must be the sole primary author of papers used to satisfy doctoral degree requirements. However, if the authors of any of these papers are listed in alphabetical order or any order other than contribution level, and a sole primary author cannot be identified, students shall submit evidence that they are the sole primary author of said paper. Based on the evidence submitted, the GSAAC will determine the usability of the paper for this purpose.

*Peer-reviewed non-major journals in these guidelines refer to journals listed in academic journal databases (Scopus, etc.). In addition, the two papers published in peer-reviewed major conference proceedings must share no more than one third of their content described in b) above, and the content of previously published conference papers must be cited in conference papers written later. These Notes shall apply to students who enrolled in AY2019 and after.

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.
Dissertation Review Committees shall submit a report on the review results to the Dean of the Graduate School.
Submission deadline ─── Monday, June 23, 2025
To whom to submit ─── Student Affairs Division
  • 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, July 31, 2025
Dissertation presentation date ─── Thursday, August 7, 2025
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 Wednesday, August 13, 2025
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. 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 Wednesday, August 13, 2025
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 Wednesday, August 13, 2025
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 the 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 Wednesday, August 13, 2025
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 "the University of Aizu Academic Repository".

2014 Spring Autumn
2013 Spring Autumn
2012 Spring Autumn
2011 Spring Autumn
2010 Spring Autumn
2009 Spring Autumn
2008 Spring Autumn
2007 Spring Autumn