All PhD candidates must conduct scholarly, independent, original research that contributes new knowledge to the field. The candidates develop and conduct research projects under the direction of their Dissertation Advisor and Committee. At the conclusion of the research, students write a Dissertation, i.e. a scholarly written presentation of their research. The Dissertation may use a traditional format or a multiple manuscript format, as determined by the student in consultation with their Advisor and Dissertation Committee. The student’s Dissertation Committee then conducts a Final Examination to assess the student’s ability to orally present their dissertation in a seminar format and defend their research and dissertation.
Performance on the Dissertation Defense is based on the PhD in Nutritional Sciences Program Comprehensive Dissertation Defense Rubric. The student’s advisor is responsible for ensuring that the PhD in Nutritional Sciences Program Dissertation Defense Rubric Form is distributed to and collected from committee members at the time of the exam. If the committee agrees that the performance met or exceeded their expectations, then the student will have passed the Dissertation Defense. If the committee agrees that the exam performance was not strong (i.e., did not meet or marginally met expectations), then the student will not have passed the Dissertation Defense. The student’s advisor collects the completed PhD in Nutritional Sciences Dissertation Defense Rubric Forms from each member of the Advisory committee and tabulates the scores (per instructions on bottom of the Form). Completed PhD in Nutritional Sciences Program Dissertation Defense Rubric Forms must be submitted to the PhD in Nutritional Sciences Program Graduate Chair no more than 2 days after the examination.
The final exam is repeatable once after successful petition to the Graduate Chair and the Graduate Dean. The final exam criteria and procedures will conform to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Office of Graduate Education standards for all Mānoa doctorate programs.