Note: Students in one of our Natural Sciences PhD programs may find further information on their program and relevant forms at the School of Graduate Studies' website

 Natural Sciences PhD Info

A Basic Timeline of the PhD Programs in Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering:

1) Develop the plan of study (to be completed in year 1): The student should work with their research advisor to create a plan of study that aligns with the degree requirements. The plan must explicitly address residency requirements and, if applicable, outline the full admission requirements for those with provisional admission. Contact sse@umkc.edu to have the "Plan of Study" form initiated in GradProRoo. Alternatively, the primary advisor may directly initiate the form in GradProRoo.

2) Comprehensive Exam (to be completed in year 2 or 3):

1. Form the supervisory committee: The student should work with their Ph.D. advisor to form a supervisory committee of at least four members, with at least three holding doctoral faculty status in the student's discipline. The committee is officially appointed using the "Graduate Supervisory Committee Assignment" form found in GradProRoo. This form is to be initiated by the student.
2. Apply for the comprehensive exam: Students must meet requirements to hold the comprehensive exam, including an approved plan of study, full admission status, residency requirements, and GPA requirements of the coursework. Contact sse@umkc.edu to have the "Comprehensive Exam Application & Results" form initiated in GradProRoo. Alternatively, the primary advisor may directly initiate the form in GradProRoo.
3. Take the comprehensive exam: The student becomes a Doctoral Candidate after passing the Comprehensive Exam and proceeds to conduct dissertation research. The results are reported on the same form initiated in step 2b, above.

3) Dissertation Proposal (to be completed at least 7 months before the dissertation defense. For Computer Science students, the program expects 1 year between proposal and defense, i.e., if the proposal is approved in spring 2025, the earliest defense date would be sometime in spring 2026): Students write a dissertation proposal and present it to the supervisory committee for approval. Use "PhD 5-Dissertation Proposal Approval" to complete this step. Instructions for how to complete and submit the form are found in the form itself.

4) Dissertation:

1. Submit dissertation for preliminary approval:
   • Complete the "Preliminary Approval of Thesis or Dissertation" form (initiated by the student in GradProRoo)
   • Complete the "MOspace License Agreement" form (initiated by the student in GradProRoo)
   • Student emails a Microsoft Word copy of the dissertation to the School of Graduate Studies in accordance with posted deadlines. Note that the deadline for submission for initial format review is generally 6 weeks before the graduation date (check the link above for specific dates). For more information on submitting your dissertation for review, visit SGS' page "Submitting Your Thesis or Dissertation for Review"
2. Apply for dissertation defense. In cooperation with the primary advisor and committee, set a date, time, and location for the final defense. The dissertation should align with the approved proposal. 
3. Conduct dissertation defense. The complete dissertation should be submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the defense. The defense announcement should be publicized two weeks in advance. Student's primary advisor must initiate the "Thesis or Dissertation Defense Results" form in GradProRoo
4. Finalize the dissertation. After the defense, the student will make all necessary changes to the dissertation document. The final approval of each committee member must be recorded using the "Thesis or Dissertation Final Approvals" form, which must be initiated by the primary advisor in GradProRoo.

*Please note*: each semester, the School of Graduate Studies posts a list of dates and deadlines (see the table "Thesis/Dissertation Deadlines") by which the above steps must be completed for those planning to graduate. It is critical that you keep yourself informed of the relevant deadlines for your intended semester of graduation.

All online forms are available via GradProRoo. Please reference the information in the "Basic Timeline" section above to see which forms pertain to which portions of your progress through the degree.

Access GradProRoo

For forms listed as "unit-initiated," please contact sse@umkc.edu and an advisor will be in touch to begin the process.