Following successful completion of the qualifying exam, students apply to advance to candidacy. In order to advance to candidacy, students must identify a doctoral dissertation committee of at least four members in consultation with their faculty supervisor.
- The committee is comprised of four or five people who have agreed to serve on your dissertation committee.
- Identify your supervisor, and co-supervisor if applicable. Your supervisor will be the chair of your dissertation committee. Your supervisor must be a member of the BME Graduate Studies Committee (GSC).
- At least two people other than your supervisor must be members of the BME GSC. In other words, a minimum of three people (including your supervisor) must be members for the BME GSC.
- At least one person must be from outside of the BME GSC.
- If any of your committee members are not at UT Austin, you must provide a copy of the member's CV to The Graduate School. As of fall 2017, no cost letters are no longer required for non-UT committee members.
- Changes to the dissertation committee require special approval. Take special care to verify your committee is complete and all members have agreed to serve on your committee before proceeding to avoid requesting changes later.
Upon the Graduate School's approval of your application for candidacy, you will be able to register for dissertation courses. You may enroll in dissertation hours during the same semester that you advance to candidacy or the following semester. If you plan to enroll in dissertation hours during the same semester that you plan to propose, please notify the Graduate Coordinator at the beginning of the semester to ensure all deadlines are met.
Registering for Dissertation Courses
- Register for the Dissertation "R" course, BME X99R (399R, 699R, or 999R), only once. This course only shows on your transcript once in the semester during or immediately following your approved application for candidacy.
- Register for the Dissertation "W" course, BME X99W (399W, 699W, or 999W), for all subsequent semesters after BME X99R until you graduate. You must maintain continuous enrollment in the dissertation course once you have advanced to candidacy in order to graduate.
