The student's supervisory committee must approve the research activities associated with a dissertation. These activities must be performed under the direct and continuing supervision of the supervisory committee chair. If the proposed research involves the use of human subjects, animals or radioactive materials, the student and the research adviser must obtain prior written approval of the proposed research by the appropriate Institutional Review Board, the Animal Care and Use Committee or the Radiation Safety Committee.

For the approval process, the Ph.D. candidate must submit a brief dissertation research proposal. The dissertation proposal shall include the following:

• An abstract.
• A statement regarding the general purpose of the research.
• Background information, including a review of the relevant literature, the rationale for the research and a concise statement of the hypotheses to be investigated and/or the research questions to be answered.
• Methods.
• Appropriate protocol or application if human subjects, animals or radioactive materials are to be used in the research.

This proposal must be approved in writing by all members of the student's supervisory committee and filed with the School of Graduate Studies. It is in the best interest of the Ph.D. student to complete the approval process of the dissertation research proposal before significant progress is made on the completion of the dissertation. Any important changes in the research outlined in the proposal must be approved by the supervisory committee.