What is the dissertation prospectus and when should it be approved or submitted?
The exact nature of the prospectus should be worked out by you and your major professor. Generally it should be a document of some 10 to 25 pages in length that contains the following elements: a discussion of relevant primary sources and historiography; an overview of the proposed dissertation; the contents and working hypothesis and/or argument of the dissertation; and a bibliography of primary and secondary literature. You should seek approval of your prospectus from your major professor by the end of the semester following the semester in which you passed the Comprehensive Examinations. You should also submit the prospectus to your other dissertation committee members during that same semester; but approval by the other committee members is not required at that time.. If you do not have your prospectus ready by the end of the semester following the semester you passed the Comprehensive Examinations, you will not be deemed to be making satisfactory progress toward the completion of
