Thesis Guidelines
The Thesis Committee will consist of the thesis advisor, three other members of the Brown faculty and a reader external to Brown. The written thesis should represent a comprehensive summation of the student's total research effort. With this goal in mind, the document should contain the following elements:
- Abstract of less than 350 words summarizing the thesis problem, methods used, results and conclusions.
- Introduction that provides a comprehensive review of the field and reasons for performing the research.
- Methods used and Results obtained during the performance of the thesis research.
- Discussion of the major findings (how they were interpreted and their significance), and future directions.
Portions of the student's work which have progressed to manuscript form can be incorporated into the above format e.g. a manuscript may form a chapter or part of a chapter within the Methods and Results section. For all co-authored manuscripts included in the thesis, the candidate should explicitly state his/her contribution to the work. Detailed instructions on preparation and format of the Ph.D. dissertation should be obtained from the Graduate School and are posted on their website. It will also be the student's responsibility to provide a copy of the final version of the thesis submitted to the Graduate school to each member of the Thesis Committee.
After submission of the thesis, the student will defend it at an open presentation, following which will be an examination attended by members of the Thesis Committee and other faculty members who choose to participate. Faculty members are encouraged to read each thesis submitted and to participate in the defense and examination.