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Important information for students who have transitioned from the the iPhD program into one of our PhD programs in Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering:

  • A new plan of study must be created, signed, and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies. Even if you already had a plan of study approved in the iPhD program, a new version must still be submitted and approved. This step requires no updates to the content of the plan of study, but it is a required step nonetheless. To receive a copy of a new plan of study for review and signature, contact Jye Shafer, jyeshafer@umkc.edu
  • A statement formally approving the use of any comprehensive exams you took while in the iPhD program toward your new PhD requirements must be signed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies. To receive a copy of this statement for review and signature, contact Jye Shafer, jyeshafer@umkc.edu

 

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.

 

Computer Science PhD Students: the CS PhD program has been selected to pilot the rollout of the School of Graduate Studies' online forms. Certain forms will become available in online versions according to the timeline provided below. However, for the duration of the piloting process, both the online and PDF versions of the form (available below in the "Forms" section) will need to be completed to insure a backup should anything go wrong with the online submissions.

1) Comprehensive Exam Application and Results

2) Plan of Study 

3) Committee Formation

4) Discipline Change

5) Thesis Dissertation approvals and results (will go live April 18th)

6) Course Repeat and Course Validations (will go live April 25th)

 

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. The student, advisor, and DPC must sign.

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.
  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.
  3. Take the comprehensive exam: The student becomes a Doctoral Candidate after passing the Comprehensive Exam and proceeds to conduct dissertation research.

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.

4) Dissertation:
  1. Apply for dissertation defense. Students submit a dissertation draft to the supervisory committee to schedule the defense. The dissertation should align with the approved proposal. 
  2. 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.
  3. Finalize the dissertation. After the defense, students submit the finalized dissertation to the supervisory committee for approval and communicate with the School of Graduate Studies to upload a final copy to ProQuest.
*Please note*: for each current and coming 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.

 

Forms for students in the Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering PhD programs:

Plan of Study *Comp-Sci PhD students: submit both PDF and the online Plan of Study forms

Application for Comprehensive Exams *Comp-Sci PhD students: submit both PDF and the online Comprehensive Exam Application & Results Form

Comprehensive Exam Results

Dissertation Proposal Approval 

Dissertation Defense Application

Dissertation Defense Results

Dissertation Final Report

Plan of Study Change Request 

Change in Status Request

Change in Supervisory Committee