dissertation prospectus sample

Want to Get your Dissertation Accepted?

Discover how we've helped doctoral students complete their dissertations and advance their academic careers!

Join 200+ Graduated Students

Get Your Dissertation Accepted On Your Next Submission

Get customized coaching for:.

• Crafting your proposal,
• Collecting and analyzing your data, or
• Preparing your defense.

Trapped in dissertation revisions?

How to write a dissertation prospectus (with outline and examples), published by nicholas tippins on april 30, 2020 april 30, 2020.

Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 05:41 am

Your dissertation prospectus is the first formal document you submit to your dissertation committee outlining your intended study. It is not a long document; usually around 10-20 pages. It should be submitted fairly soon after establishing candidacy.

It is wise to discuss your prospectus with your Chair and committee members before writing it. They will give you valuable pointers about your intended study, and you’ll save yourself the effort of rewriting it after you get their feedback.

In this article, I’ll provide an example outline of a dissertation prospectus, discuss the basics of how to write a dissertation prospectus, and also explore the similarities between writing a prospectus and asking someone on a date.

Dissertation Prospectus: Example Outline 

While every institution will have different requirements (and you should absolutely look at those before writing your dissertation prospectus), there are a few basics that are common to most of them. 

Title : This is more of a labor than you might have anticipated. Gone are the days of last-minute essay titles. The dissertation prospectus title is a hyper-specific description of what you plan to study. It should align with your problem and purpose statements. 

Focus, or Statement of Thesis : This is where you describe what you’ll study. No need to write a ton here–a few sentences or short paragraphs is usually sufficient.

Again, this must be very specific. It’s easiest to think of this section as a central question of your dissertation. Can you distill the focus of your dissertation into one question? If not, chances are your topic is too broad.

Since this section will become your Problem Statement and Purpose statement , it can be helpful to consider “what is the problem I’m trying to solve,” and “with that in mind, what is the purpose of this study?” 

Summary of Existing Literature: What other studies have been done on the subject? This is the very beginning of what will become your Literature Review . It’s important that you’re familiar with the landscape before you dive into studying a subject so that you can be sure that you’re building off of existing knowledge and adding a genuine contribution to the field.

Methodology: Discuss the methods you plan on using. You should know whether your study will be qualitative or quantitative, as well as any theoretical or conceptual frameworks you plan on using.

Outline: Some institutions ask that you provide a brief outline of each chapter. 

Timeline : Some institutions ask for a rough timeline. Make sure to account for time researching existing literature, collecting data, and writing.

Bibliography: Here, you’ll list the sources that you reference in your prospectus. 

How to Write a Dissertation Prospectus

Writing a Dissertation Prospectus Is Like Asking Someone on a Date

One of the most common challenges students have when they begin writing their dissertation prospectus is lack of specificity. The level of specificity required in academic writing is unique, and it often takes students a while to grasp just how specific they need to be.

One (sort of) helpful way to look at this is that it’s like asking someone out on a date. In both a dissertation proposal and a date proposal, you need to communicate the following information:

• Who is involved?
• What are we doing?
• Where are we going?
• When is this happening?

In a date scenario, usually that’s you and me. But maybe two of our mutual friends are coming along for a double date. Or an adult chaperone. Or maybe it’s you and one of my friends who I think would be perfect for you, even though you think he’s an asshole. Do you see how it’s important to know who we’re talking about? 

Knowing who is equally important in a dissertation. And we have to be super-specific here. Not just “branch managers,” but “branch managers at a medium-sized paper company in Pennsylvania.” 

For one of the first dates I went on with my partner, I neglected to tell her that we were going hiking. She showed up in a sundress and pretty little sandals (which I also neglected to notice were not appropriate for hiking). I should also mention that “hiking” for me is more like bush-whacking; it involves following deer trails, climbing over fallen trees, scaling small cliffs, and jumping over streams. 

Despite her attire, we had a blast, and only once did she mention that she “maybe should have brought different shoes.” If I were to do it over again, though, I would tell her what we were doing so she could dress appropriately.

It’s also important to know what you’re studying. What phenomenon, event, etc. Are you studying employee engagement, 

If we’re going on a date, I have to know where to meet you. At a cute local diner or L’etoile? Knowing where we’re going only makes sense. If I plan on taking you to Venice, but you think we’re meeting at our favorite cafe, there might be a problem–no matter how nice Venice is. 

See, knowing where we’re talking about is important. Guess what–the same is true for a dissertation.

Most dissertation studies (at least those with human subjects) involve a limited area. It’s important to know where a study took place in order for future researchers to account for the location when trying to replicate your data. It’s also important to know where in order to interpret the data in context.

For example, upper-level managers in banks in Nigeria have a different context than those in the United States. Women between the ages of 25 and 40 who earn the majority of their household income have a different context depending on whether they’re in Tokyo, rural India, or a medium-sized city in Brazil. Each of these countries has different cultures, laws, economies, and historical events that affect the data you collect.

This is something most people get right when asking someone on a date. It’s hard to meet up if you’re there at different times. However, not everyone gets this right in the dissertation prospectus.

You can explore about the causes or the effects of the financial crisis in Rome, but what you discover will differ depending on whether you mean the Roman Empire’s financial crisis of 33 A.D. , or the Italian financial crisis of 2018 . 

How to Write a Dissertation Prospectus: Summary

Your prospectus is usually the first formal document you submit on your way to writing your dissertation . When done well, it can provide you a strong basis for writing your Chapter 1. I encourage you to reach out to your committee before writing it to discuss what your plans are, and again if anything is unclear. You’ll save valuable time by doing this proactively, and you’ll also learn the essential vocabulary of the academic.

Nicholas Tippins

Nicholas has been a dissertation editor since 2015. He founded a dissertation editing firm that served clients around the world. Currently, he manages the editing team at Beyond PhD Coaching.

Related Posts

Dissertation

What makes a good research question.

Creating a good research question is vital to successfully completing your dissertation. Here are some tips that will help you formulate a good research question.  What Makes a Good Research Question? These are the three Read more…

Dissertation Structure

When it comes to writing a dissertation, one of the most fraught questions asked by graduate students is about dissertation structure. A dissertation is the lengthiest writing project that many graduate students ever undertake, and Read more…

Choosing a Dissertation Chair

Choosing your dissertation chair is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make in graduate school. Your dissertation chair will in many ways shape your experience as you undergo the most rigorous intellectual challenge Read more…

Make This Your Last Round of Dissertation Revision.

Learn How to Get Your Dissertation Accepted .

Discover the 5-Step Process in this Free Webinar .

Almost there!

Please verify your email address by clicking the link in the email message we just sent to your address.

If you don't see the message within the next five minutes, be sure to check your spam folder :).

• Doctoral Writing Center
• Doctoral Support

What is a Prospectus?

A dissertation prospectus is a document that shows the researcher’s plan for the dissertation project. This document should provide enough information to verify the need for their study, the way it is situated amongst existing literature, and how the research will be facilitated. A committee will use this document to verify the viability of a study and to start the conversation regarding where the research could go or other potential avenues to explore.

Note: The prospectus is only the initial starting point, so the focus of the study may change as you continue to research and develop your ideas.

In the prospectus, you are primarily responsible for identifying:

• What you are researching
• Why it matters
• What the foundation of the research is

The dissertation will follow the format of the prospectus template . It is primarily modeled after the professional version of APA 7th edition, but does require minor deviations.

The prospectus is generally a minimum of 15 pages, is double-spaced, and includes an extensive reference section. Remember that the prospectus is the initial plan. While a fair amount of information and evidence is necessary to show a firm foundation, it should not be exhaustive. Provide the information that is necessary in a concise and clear manner.

The prospectus will consist of the following sections/components:

The title of your dissertation should be relevant, clear, concise, and informative.

Focus: Can your readers determine the focus and topic of your research?

Approach: Does indicating your approach help the reader to determine the overall impact on your results?

Specificity: Were you specific enough about the factors or aspects studied?

Examples: UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN STUDENT VETERANS DURING THEIR TRANSITION PROCESS FROM THE MILITARY INTO HIGHER EDUCATION: IDENTITY, BELONGING, AND VOICE IN WRITING COURSES AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN OTHER DISCIPLINES (Broding, 2020)

THREE CASE STUDIES IN QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES TO AGROECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT (Baird, 2019)

Problem Background

What is the central problem that your research will address? The existence and extent of this problem should be verified with research.

Context: Explain the depth of the problem with enough information for readers to understand the reason it is an issue

Issue: State the problem clearly and precisely

Importance: Indicate who it influences or what would happen if this problem were not solved.

Objective: Situate your research here. What will you achieve with your research? What is your aim? ( tense: future simple – This study will…. )

Problem Statements

From the context of your problem background, identify specific problems that your research aims to address. These should be stated in a single sentence format (at most two) and be supported with a citation.

Note: The problem statements should link to the research questions

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study will explain, in simple terms, what the point of the study is. You can think of this as identifying the research type, direction, purpose (reason for it), and what the overall goal is.

Begin the sentence with: “The purpose of this (qualitative/quantitative/mixed methods) study is to (insert action verb).

Action verbs for qualitative studies: explore, understand, describe, etc.

Action verbs for quantitative studies: examine, analyze, predict, etc.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

The framework will indicate the structure and basis of your proposed research. For more information on frameworks, see the framework page.

Research Questions

Indicate a research question(s) that derive from the problem statements previously mentioned.

Specific: Does each question focus on one issue/problem?

Clear: Does your reader understand what you are researching?

Legitimate: Is it a question (open-ended) and not a statement?

Answerable: Can you answer the question that you have asked with the resources and time you have available?

Nature of the Study

Explain your proposed method, research design, required data, data collection method, and data analysis methodology.

Note: This is a plan for a future study, so future simple is used.

Method: Qualitative, quantitative, mixed

Research design: Evaluation, action research, correlational, quasi-experimental, grounded theory, phenomenological, etc.

Data: What data is needed? (Primary/secondary?)

Data collection method: Survey, questionnaire, interview, observation, focus group, etc.

Data analysis methodology: exploratory analysis, descriptive analysis, regression analysis, etc.

Consider aspects like: location of study, time frame, participants, sampling, etc.

Significance of the Study

Indicate the potential impact of your study.

Contribution: How will your findings contribute to your field?

Gap: What will your research add to the gap you identified?

Benefit: Who will benefit most from this research?

The references typically span 3-5 pages. All references should be formatted using APA 7th edition. See the APA page for further information on properly formatting your references.

Samples of Prospectuses

When Do I Complete the Prospectus?

The prospectus will be completed in the second year of your doctoral program during the RES721 course.

Can I Start Working on it Before RES721?

For suggestions on what you can be working on now to prepare for your dissertation, please see here .

What if I need help?

For help on the prospectus, you can see the list of services the Doctoral Writing Center provides here .

Search form

• About Faculty Development and Support
• Programs and Funding Opportunities
• Consultations, Observations, and Services
• Strategic Resources & Digital Publications
• Canvas @ Yale Support
• Learning Environments @ Yale
• Teaching Workshops
• Teaching Consultations and Classroom Observations
• Teaching Programs
• Spring Teaching Forum
• Written and Oral Communication Workshops and Panels
• Writing Resources & Tutorials
• About the Graduate Writing Laboratory
• Writing and Public Speaking Consultations
• Writing Workshops and Panels
• Writing Peer-Review Groups
• Writing Retreats and All Writes
• Online Writing Resources for Graduate Students
• About Teaching Development for Graduate and Professional School Students
• Teaching Programs and Grants
• Teaching Forums
• Resources for Graduate Student Teachers
• About Undergraduate Writing and Tutoring
• Academic Strategies Program

The Writing Center

• STEM Tutoring & Programs
• Humanities & Social Sciences
• Center for Language Study
• Online Course Catalog
• Antiracist Pedagogy
• NECQL 2019: NorthEast Consortium for Quantitative Literacy XXII Meeting
• STEMinar Series
• Teaching in Context: Troubling Times
• Helmsley Postdoctoral Teaching Scholars
• Pedagogical Partners
• Instructional Materials
• Evaluation & Research
• STEM Education Job Opportunities
• Yale Connect
• Online Education Legal Statements

You are here

Prospectus writing.

Writing your prospectus is the first step towards completing your dissertation. It represents an opportunity to identify your project goals, create a roadmap for completing your graduate work, and to frame the significance of your work.  Your committee will provide you with feedback on the prospectus.

While different departments and disciplines will have their own requirements, in general, your prospectus will include an abstract, background and significance of research, a literature review, a description of the preliminary work you have completed, an explanation of your method or approaches, potential limitations or issues with the project, a timetable for completion, a conclusion, and a list of references.

The Graduate Writing Lab’s team of writing consultants can help you at any stage of your prospectus drafting, from brainstorming ideas, through early drafts, and polishing a final product. You can make an appointment with a consultant at:  https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/writing/graduate .

• General Guidelines for Writing a Prospectus

The Graduate Writing Lab has collected sample prospectuses from various disciplines for your reference, which are available here as downloadable resources.

• East Asian Languages and Literature  
• Film Studies  
• History of Art and African American Studies  

Social Sciences

• African American Studies 
• Political Science  
• Cell Biology  
• Computational Biology and Bioinformatics  
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology  
• Physiology  

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

Reserve a Room

The Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning partners with departments and groups on-campus throughout the year to share its space. Please review the reservation form and submit a request.

Undergrads can get help with every kind of writing.

Writing Consultations

For graduate students looking for expert advice on planning, drafting, and revising their research paper, dissertation, presentation, or any other writing project.

Ohio State nav bar

Ohio state navigation bar.

• BuckeyeLink
• Search Ohio State

Dissertation Prospectus

A dissertation prospectus is a paradoxical piece of writing. It is not an abstract (which is to say, a summary of a completed dissertation) or an introductory chapter of a dissertation, but rather  an attempt to describe what is planned before it has actually been done. Since it is meant to be submitted soon after completion of the candidacy examination, it need not be a huge document. Indeed, it could be around fifteen double-spaced pages in length (roughly 3500-4000 words) with up to ten further pages of bibliography. As indicated, the prospectus should provide a preliminary description of the proposed dissertation. It should delineate what topic and area the dissertation will explore; discuss why this topic and area merit such exploration; and include a provisional chapter outline and as complete a bibliography as possible. The outline should be as precise as possible, even if it is very likely to be modified in the course of writing the dissertation.

Finding, defining, and communicating a topic that is at once significant and of realistic scope are tasks that require discussion and cooperation between the dissertation writer and faculty members. Therefore, the dissertation writer is encouraged to show drafts of the prospectus to his or her dissertation committee and other faculty members. After these initial consultations, the writer will submit the final version of the prospectus for formal approval by the committee. The committee will then meet collectively with the candidate to discuss the project and its implementation.

There is no single recipe for a good dissertation prospectus. But all writers should answer, to the best of their abilities at this early stage of research, certain fundamental questions:

·         What is the central problem that the dissertation will address? This problem can be theoretical, critical, or historical; but it should, in most cases, be presented as a question or related set of questions to which the dissertation will attempt to find answers. It is important that the problem and hypothetical answers be stated from the outset, so that your research will not risk becoming random, and your exposition will not lapse into mere description. The sense that an argument is being made should be constantly kept in mind.

·         To persuade your reader that you are not just reinventing the wheel or restating what has already been said, you should include a brief review of the present “state of the art” with respect to your topic. Has this topic been treated before?  How does your approach differ from earlier ones?  Has new evidence appeared (for example, a new primary source) since previous treatments?

Outlining a sequence of potential chapters will help you clarify the argument of your dissertation and check the balance of its parts in relation to one another. A chapter should be conceived as approximately 30-40 double-spaced pages. If the major sections of your dissertation seem likely to exceed this length, plan to subdivide them. A finished dissertation is generally 200-300 pages long. You will find that developing an outline helps your thinking to move forward substantially, so that the actual writing of the dissertation is more clearly focused.

Once you have drafted your prospectus under the guidance of your dissertation committee, you might want to have it read by someone who knows nothing about your topic, to see whether you have clearly set out your problem and defined a workable method.  Seeking out a general reader right at the start is a good reminder that although you may be writing on a specialized topic, your dissertation should be written in clear, intelligible prose. Make sure you define the theoretical categories you are introducing, and try to avoid technical jargon unless it is necessary to the intricacies of your argument.

Prospectuses and dissertations tend to either lose themselves in detail, or to be too general. To avoid this, try to do what you would in any paper you write: make sure that your main argument remains clearly above ground, and that each paragraph has a clear connection with the ones preceding and following it. The prospectus is not a mini-dissertation, and need not involve more time in writing and revising than another paper of comparable length. Yet enough care and stylistic grace should be exercised so that the prospectus clearly and concisely articulates the project, its arguments, methods, and special considerations in a manner that anyone in interdisciplinary studies can grasp.

Dissertation Prospectus and Proposal Writing

• Useful Resources and Media

Writing Support

• LibGuide - Managing Writing Projects Emory LibGuide for managing writing projects, including Word tips and tricks and information on citation management.
• Online Writing Support for Graduate Students Emory Writing Center offers some useful online resources for graduate student writing.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Writing Center: Tips and Tools UNC's Writing Center offers a ton of helpful resources, guides, and media for all kinds of writing projects.
• UNC's Writing Center, Tips and Tools: Dissertations UNC's Writing Center's tips and tools for dissertation writing.
• Yale, Poorvu Writing Center: Prospectus Writing Yale's Poorvu Writing Center provides some useful advice for writing a prospectus, including sample prospectuses from a range of disciplines.

Writing Center

Want help with your writing? Emory's Writing Center caters to all stages of writing, to all sizes of project, and to all fields. It is located at  Callaway N212 .  Make an appointment here:

• Emory Writing Center

Below are some useful texts from Emory's catalog on prospectus, proposal, and dissertation writing. While some focus primarily on the dissertation itself, they typically have sections explicitly regarding the prospectus and proposal stage, and regardless, the advice therein is relevant and important.  

• << Previous: Home
• Next: Useful Resources and Media >>
• Last Updated: Jul 18, 2022 10:00 AM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.emory.edu/c.php?g=1220626

Writing a Prospectus: Home

Library resources.

Sample Lists of texts in J. Willard Marriott Library

Dissertation   proposal  guidebook :  how   to   prepare   a  research  proposal  and get it accepted ( LB2369 .G26)

Theses   and   dissertations  : a  guide   to   writing  in the social  and  physical sciences ( LB2369 .T44 1997)

Theses   and   dissertations  : a  guide   to  planning, research,  and   writing ( LB2369 .T458 2000)

Completing   dissertations   in   the   behavioral  sciences and education ( LB2369 .L65 1985)

Proposals   that   work  : a guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals ( Q180.55.P7 L63 2007)

Dissertation   solutions  : a concise guide to planning, implementing, and surviving the  dissertation  process ( LB2369 .A94 2012)

Avoiding thesis and  dissertation  pitfalls : 61 cases of problems and solutions ( LB2369 .T457 2001)

Prospectus Guide

Writing a Prospectus

There are many different kinds of prospectuses for different purposes. Ph.D. students are asked to submit dissertation prospectuses to their committees; most research grant applications require them; academic job candidates often include short prospectuses with their application materials; and book publishers request them as part of the process of considering a manuscript for publication. Editors of journals and essay volumes may also request a prospectus of a proposed article. These different kinds of prospectuses differ mostly in regard to the length and detail with which the project is described. Dissertation prospectuses can run anywhere from 5 to 30 pages, depending on the amount of detail requested of the student, while grant and job applications generally require brevity (1-2 single-spaced pages for a job application; 3-5 single-spaced pages for many grants). It is highly likely that before a major project is published, 3 or 4 different kinds of prospectuses will have been written for it. 

A dissertation prospectus is a Ph.D. students attempt to describe a dissertation project, including the central problem, puzzle or question to be addressed, the existing literature, and how the project might add to that literature. 

Below you will find general information. When in doubt you should always consult your department and faculty advisors. Academic writing is discipline specific, so one size definately doesn't fit all. 

A prospectus should answer the following questions: 

• What is the subject of the study? How is the subject defined (is there any special use of terminology or context)? What are the main research questions the study aims to answer?
• Why is the author addressing this topic? What have other scholars written about this subject, and how is this author's approach, information, or perspective different? What need or gap does this proposed study fill in the scholarly conversation? What new approach to a familiar topic does it propose to offer? What will be the study's original and special contributions to this subject?
• What are the main sources that will be used to explore this subject? Why are these sources appropriate?
• What is the proposed organization of the study?
•  Does the author have any special needs in order to complete this study? In particular, does s/he need funding to travel to archives, gain access to collections, or acquire technical equipment? Does s/he have the special skills (languages, technical expertise) that this project might require?

Organization: 

• Title: it should be informative and helpful in pinpointing the topic and emphasis of your study
• The body of the prospectus: this section should concentrate on addressing questions 1-3 above. The goal of this section is both to describe the project and to "sell" the reader on its potential interest and scholarly significance.
• A chapter breakdown: This can either be a formal section, in which each chapter is described in turn in about a paragraphâs worth of text, or it can be done more narratively, in which the whole project is outlined as a more seamless story. Either way, it should address question #4, above.
• (for grant applications, if applicable) a brief paragraph at the end addressing question #5.
• (for dissertation prospectuses) a bibliography is usually required.
• (for book prospectuses) a table of contents is usually requested.

Some further considerations:

Think about your audience. Most of the members of your dissertation committee will know a lot about your area of research. But this may not be true, for example, of committee members from outside the department. It is even less likely that readers of job or grant applications or book editors will be familiar with the particular area of scholarship in which you work. It is therefore important that your prospectus convey its subject matter in as clear a fashion as possible, and that it not make too many demands upon its readers in regard to knowing specialized terminology or about debates within a given field. Your prospectus should be meaningful and interesting to an intelligent general reader.  What readers look for in a good prospectus. In most cases, prospectuses are being reviewed because people are considering entrusting you with something: the freedom of advancing to candidacy; a job; grant money; a book contract. They need to know if their trust will be well placed, and that you are a good bet to follow through on your proposed work. Questions that often arise in this regard are as follows:

• How interesting and important is this study? (will we have helped make an important contribution if we support this work?)
• Is the study feasible? Can it be done in a reasonable time frame?
• Can this author produce an excellent dissertation/book? (nobody wants to back a shoddy effort)

Your prospectus should address the first of these concerns head-on and show the reader exactly why your project is important, interesting, and, if possible, relevant to broad (human/social/political/cultural) concerns. The second two questions are a little tougher to address. Often, they emerge because the project appears to be too broad or ambitious in scope or not yet completely formulated. Or perhaps the readers have concerns about the author's scholarship. If you are concerned that your dissertation prospectus describes a project that appears too big to be successfully completed, you should discuss this with your dissertation director; this might be a signal that you need to reconsider your project's structure. As for the scholarship issue, you can best address this by making sure to show that you are completely in charge of the scholarly apparatus of your project: you know what you're talking about in regard to the scholarly debates, and you give sufficient (and the right) citations. (A negative example: if you say you're the first person to study a particular topic, you had better be right!)  Dissertations are works in progress. If you have read these suggestions in preparation for writing a dissertation prospectus, you may be feeling overwhelmed. Perhaps you worry that you don't know how to address all the issues raised in the five key questions outlined above. This is probably because your dissertation topic and/or organization has not been thoroughly worked out yet. Indeed, many students find it hard to be decisive about the shape, topic, and issues in a dissertation until they are well into the writing (which is why more advanced students tend to write better prospectuses than those just starting their research, and, not coincidentally, compete better for jobs and grants). If your dissertation is still in its early stages, you may have to bluff a little to produce a cogent prospectus, and even resign yourself to remaining a bit speculative in places about features of your project. But you should also see whatever difficulties you have in writing your prospectus as diagnostic of the work have yet to do in planning your dissertation: if you are having trouble articulating the topic, you probably need to think it through more thoroughly; if you are uncomfortable with your rationale for undertaking the project, perhaps you need to do more research on previous approaches; if you have trouble summarizing your chapters, perhaps you need to spend some time on either the organization of the dissertation or on the content of the individual chapters. This exercise is worth the effort: a dissertation prospectus will probably be the first draft of all the other prospectuses to follow.

Subject Guide

Need help? Contact us

Phone: 801-581-6273 Email In-Person Schedule a Research Consultation More Subject Guides

Some online publications on this topic

• Last Updated: Apr 14, 2020 3:55 PM
• URL: https://campusguides.lib.utah.edu/prospectus

• Utility Menu

• Dissertation Prospectus

In the third year doctoral students prepare a dissertation prospectus and present it at the prospectus conference, which is held yearly during the third week in January.

The conference is a forum in which students share their ideas with faculty and colleagues, and receive suggestions as they begin to research and write their dissertation.

Following the conference, advisors may either approve the prospectus, or ask the student to revise it. It is suggested that students begin working on the prospectus immediately after passing the general exam , so that they are adequately prepared.

A typical prospectus includes the following:

Statement of thesis.

What is the problem you wish to study and what is its interest or significance in current historical thinking? State clearly and concisely how you presently conceive this problem and how you suppose it can be resolved.

Historiographical Context

What work has, and has not, been done in this field and on this problem? Discuss relevant scholarship critically. It is not necessary to criticize specific failings; but show what is understood to be the merits and limitations of relevant works. How do you propose to develop, challenge, or depart from existing positions or themes in historical literature?

Method and Theory

Outline an approach to the subject. If the conception has theoretical aspects, discuss them critically. Have scholars in other fields developed concepts of potential interest to the topic? Think about method and theory, even if there is a decision not to engage much with external perspectives and theory. The faculty neither encourages nor discourages such engagement, but cautions that original historical work should not simply illustrate other people's ideas.

Give an account of the sources for the subject. Stress primary sources, the difficulties they present, their location (print, manuscript, or any other form), and their accessibility. Identify the principal libraries and repositories as well as other locations and persons. Do not overlook unpublished doctoral or master's research.

Draft a tentative chapter outline and schedule of tasks and stages for the writing of the dissertation. Allow time for research, travel to collections, writing, and revision.

Bibliography

List the primary and secondary sources used to develop the prospectus.

About the Prospectus Conference

Presentations last for 30 minutes. For the first 15 minutes students present their prospectus, and the remaining 15 minutes are reserved for questions from the audience. By December 2nd, the graduate coordinator will ask for three pieces of information as a prelude to the conference:

1.   Provisional title of the presentation 2.   Requests for audio/visual equipment 3.   Names of faculty members who should be invited to the presentation.

By January 13 candidates will submit a 15-20 page written prospectus to the graduate coordinator that forms the basis of the presentation. The prospectus should include a select bibliography and the names of archives in which research will be conducted. For examples of last year's conference see the  Graduate Student Resources site.

About the Prospectus Approval

Before spring break in the G3 year, and after the G3 conference has occurred, the graduate student will initiate a meeting of their dissertation committee. The goal of this meeting is to generate additional feedback on the prospectus and set norms and milestones for the research and writing of the dissertation. If necessary, the chair of the dissertation committee may ask for revisions of the prospectus. The final version of the prospectus must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator no later than June 30 (preferably much earlier) along with the approval form signed by the advisor.

• Undergraduate Program
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Orientation & Registration
• Languages & Past Exams
• General Exam
• Student Progress
• Dissertation
• Traveling Scholar / Non-Residency
• Visas for International Students
• Degree Withdrawal & Readmission
• Health Insurance
• Financial Aid & Fellowships
• Graduate Program Workshops
• Library Privileges

Dissertation Prospectus Template

A Microsoft Word template is provided:

Rhetoric and Composition

Georgia state university.

Dissertation Prospectus

Thesis and Dissertation Forms (English Dept. Graduate Studies Office)

Resources for Thesis & Dissertation Writing   (list compiled by WPA-listserv)

What is the Prospectus?

The prospectus, either for the M.A. Thesis or Ph.D. Dissertation, is a written plan for the research the student intends to complete. At the Ph.D. level, students must defend the prospectus in an oral examination after passing the Ph.D. exams.

Goal:  To position yourself within an academic conversation and define the methods for your research project. Your stance and voice dominate the entire discussion, including the literature review. Entering the conversation, or facilitating a new one, is the key, and having questions to ask, if not answers you hope to find.

Length:  20 – 25 pages of text, including a working bibliography, chapter outline, and timeline for completing the work.

Introduction:

• Why this research is important or necessary
• Focus of the project and / or specific research questions addressed by the research
• What you hope to discover, presented as a thesis statement or a hypothesis

Literature Review:  Much of the prospectus should review the scholarly literature, whether divided into topical / thematic sections or as an ongoing discussion from theory to application, specific analyses to general reception, historical contexts to specific texts, or another organizational structure.

Methodology:  How do you plan to conduct the research? Describe theoretical frameworks or the philosophy that underlies your methods. Then name your specific methods for analysis and/or data collection. Many projects use a mix of specific methods and draw upon specific inspirational sources as models.

Chapter Outline:  Parse out the sections of the dissertation project based on specific texts, theoretical frameworks, themes, or topics to be addressed. Having logically distinct sections for completing your work allows you to shift from one section to another if you become stuck.

Schedule:  A basic plan for when you plan to complete each section of work. This plan can be as detailed as the writer or committee thinks is necessary.

Working Bibliography:  List the sources that directly support the literature review and models for your methodology, but include everything consulted at this point, not just those cited in the prospectus. Some projects separate the sources into sections that indicate which sources supports specific themes, topics or methods.

The Oral Defense (for dissertations):  In a separate document, outline your talking points, select visuals or other examples, and anticipate challenges during the research process. Plan to explain these in a 15- or 20-minute presentation during the prospectus defense. A tentative writing schedule will be discussed so that the committee knows how the project will proceed and who will read which sections. You might end with questions or concerns to offer the committee.

Explanation from a Sample Dissertation Prospectus

Introduction  sets the stage by identifying a “lack of conversation” and “dissonance” among scholarly discussions from Writing Center studies, Composition Pedagogy, professionalization literature, and pedagogical practices when she chose to focus on the lived professional and educational experiences of graduate student tutor / teachers. The writer first examines issues of definitions and words that fail to encompass the complexity of graduate students within their multiple professional identities and pedagogical spaces. This discussion leads to a key term, “reflexive reflection” that incorporates discourse communities and complicates current descriptions of what we think of as “good” pedagogical theory and goals.

Literature Review:  Still within the Introductory section, these definitional research problems lead immediately to a review of literature about discourse communities and communities of practice in order to gather the strands or fragments that will be brought together in this new conversation about a subject that challenges and disrupts the individual bodies of scholarly conversation. The writer’s strategy is an organic one, with the literature discussed throughout her argument, that then forces scholars to talk to one another in a kind of musical retuning into counterpoint harmony. The introductory section offers many of the specific argument moves in miniature, within and against the literature, which will be developed and expanded by the empirical evidence collected during the research process.

Methodology  makes the case for lore as a flexible, experience-based, narrative methodology and takes on the scholarly debates about lore’s value and how it supports the goals of the project to examine reflection and reflexivity in more fluid, community-based ways. The writer then moved into describing the specific methods, which are the specific tools for empirical and ethnographic teacher research: surveys, interviews, teaching portfolios and observations. Each stage of data collection is described and the planned sequence builds toward the necessary triangulation of data and the goals of building an interpretation.

Chapter Outline  reminds us that the dissertation will take on scholarship throughout as it builds an argument based on the evidence collected about graduate student tutor/teachers. The Introductory chapter will answer the broad research questions by using a literature review as well as some of the research results. This chapter and all the subsequent chapters are driven by specific research questions that have data collection tools associated with them. Here’s where we find a specific statement of what the writer is planning to find, stated as hypotheses that will tested and proven by the data collected:

I believe these questions will lead me to find that graduate students develop the ability to reflexively reflect on teaching practices when they have a tutoring background and that teaching informs tutoring practices as tutoring informs teaching practices. Further, this study seeks to establish that a greater depth of professional development occurs when graduate students embody spaces of teaching and tutoring, as opposed to embodying one or the other throughout their graduate experience. Finally, the data collected will, theoretically, illustrate that a greater understanding of composition theory and pedagogy occurs when graduate students also act as tutors and also that a greater understanding of practitioner-researcher methodology occurs when graduate students function as both teacher and tutor during the graduate experience.

The subsequent chapters are thematic in terms of these expected findings: Teacher Education Theory, Teaching and Tutoring Practices Informing Each Other, Professional Development, Enactment/Embodiment of Multiple Spaces, and Implications for Research.

Subscribe By Email

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.

Your Email Leave this field blank

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Finance and Business
• Business Skills
• Business Writing

How to Write a Prospectus

Last Updated: February 5, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Jennifer Mueller is a wikiHow Content Creator. She specializes in reviewing, fact-checking, and evaluating wikiHow's content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. Jennifer holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 136,969 times. Learn more...

A prospectus is, in effect, a research proposal. The purpose of this document – be it a single page or dozens of pages long – is to sell your idea to the appropriate professor or research committee. You may be writing a prospectus for an undergraduate research project, a grad school study, or a doctoral dissertation. A prospectus also is used to apply for grants or other funding from universities or nonprofit organizations. [1] X Trustworthy Source Investor.gov Website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commision’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy providing free resources about investing. Go to source

Things You Should Know

• State your topic of study and the questions you intend to answer; then, explain how and why your study will answer those questions.
• Outline the chapters of your prospectus and each stage of research, and include an estimate of the project's costs and timeline.
• Use standard formatting unless otherwise instructed, with a table of contents and bibliography.
• Carefully proofread your prospectus before submitting it for evaluation.

Describing the Goals of the Study

• Your topic isn't as broad as an entire subject such as history or sociology. Rather, you're going to list a specific aspect of that subject, such as "The Causes of World War II" or "The Impact of Globalization in Latin America."
• This topic generally would be far too broad to write a single paper (or even a single book) about and even begin to cover it in a more than superficial manner.
• In a shorter prospectus, such as for an undergraduate research paper, you typically won't need to devote more than a sentence to your topic before moving on to your research questions.

• Before you start formulating your questions, you may want to look at other research projects in your discipline to get a good idea of the types of questions typically asked.
• For example, a history question may involve extensive research and synthesis of that research to discover any patterns that may emerge.
• In contrast, questions in the social sciences such as political science may be based more on data gathering and statistical analysis.
• In a short prospectus, this may simply be a bullet-point list of specific questions you expect to address through your research.
• A longer prospectus, such as a grant proposal or dissertation prospectus, typically devotes several pages to discussing the specific questions that your research will address.

• The more advanced you are in your discipline, the more crucial this portion of your prospectus is going to be.
• If you're writing a prospectus for a research project in an undergraduate course, your professor likely won't expect you to contribute something new or profound to the field. However, graduate research and dissertations typically attempt to make a unique contribution to the area.
• You may need to do some preliminary research before you can write this portion of your prospectus, particularly if you believe you are the only person ever to do research seeking specifically to answer the questions you've listed.
• Any statement you make regarding the importance of your research should be supported by research, and you should be able to defend those assertions to the people reviewing your prospectus.

• You want your thesis statement to be as clear as possible. If you find it difficult to craft a clear answer to the questions you've presented, it may be that your questions aren't as clear as they could be.
• Keep in mind that if your question is vague or muddled, you're going to have a hard time coming up with a clear, definitive thesis statement.

• At this level, you're not just selling your idea, you're also selling your own knowledge, passion, commitment, and skills as a researcher to find the answers you seek.
• For grant applications, information about yourself as a person and your personal interest in the topic you plan to research also can be important. When deciding which projects to fund, having a personal commitment or dedication to a particular issue may give you an edge.
• Depending on the type of research you plan to do, you also may have to outline your position and your access or ability to gather various types of information, such as archives or classified documents.

Explaining the Organization of the Study

• Keep in mind that this is just a plan – nothing's set in stone. At this early stage, your paper likely will change as you get into your research or start gathering the data and crunching numbers to work on your project.
• You can create specific paragraphs or an outline, or you can write this section in a single seamless narrative. For shorter papers, that's probably all this section will be – essentially a couple of paragraphs that tell the readers how you anticipate you'll organize the final report on the project.

• For example, if you're doing a statistical analysis, you must first gather the data, then compile statistics from that data, then analyze the statistics you create.
• For scientific experiments, this is the place where you'll describe the steps in the experiment.
• If you're doing a project in the humanities, the stages of your research may not be as clear-cut as they would be if you were doing a research project for a more scientific discipline.

• For graduate research projects or dissertations, the timeframe may be more open-ended. In these situations, you should provide an estimate in your prospectus of when you believe your project will be completed.
• Coming up with a timeline and ultimate deadline of when the research will be completed is particularly important if you're applying for a grant.
• How long you think it will take to complete your research affects the feasibility of the project, which is ultimately how your prospectus will be evaluated. Be realistic in what you can do within the time constraints you have.
• Keep in mind that while you may be able to get an extension if your research ends up taking longer than you anticipated in your prospectus, you also may be expected to justify the reasons you need more time or explain why the initial estimate in your prospectus was incorrect.

• This is especially important if you're applying for a grant, as the people who review your prospectus will want a detailed breakdown of what you intend to do with the money if you're awarded the grant.
• Typically you'll need to include expenses such as fees for access to archives or for copying, any costs for data collecting, and rentals of lab or other equipment.
• You also should include a list of any resources you plan to use for which you anticipate there being no cost, such as use of the university library or computers and employment of student volunteers.

Formatting Your Prospectus

• The guidelines also typically will include details on which citation method you should use, and may include details on using a particular style guide that will govern word usage, grammar, and punctuation rules.
• Your assignment information also may specifically state how long each section is supposed to be, and which sections must be included.

• Type your prospectus in a standard, legible font such as Times New Roman or Helvetica.
• Typically you'll have one-inch margins on all sides of the paper, and your text will be double-spaced. Include page numbers if your prospectus is more than one page.
• Follow the guidelines from your professor or department in regard to creating a cover sheet or using special formatting or headers on the first page.
• If footnotes or end notes are required, set these up in your word processing app before you start working on your prospectus.

• The table of contents essentially is a list of chapters for your final report, and gives the readers of your prospectus an idea of what the final report will look like and how long it will be.

• Some professors or departments require an annotated bibliography, in which you not only cite the sources you plan to use but provide a detailed description of what the source is and how it fits into your research.
• Check the guidelines from your professor or department to make sure you're using the correct citation method for your bibliography.

• Reading your prospectus backwards is a good way to proofread and catch errors you might have missed otherwise.
• In addition to editing for grammar and punctuation, you also should check your language carefully. Make sure everything is written in a formal, professional tone.
• Keep your audience in mind as you edit. While you may be writing your prospectus for professors or a department committee that has full understanding of your project's topic, you shouldn't assume any particular level of understanding. Rather, your prospectus should be written so that it can be understood by a generally intelligent person without any special knowledge in your field.

Expert Q&A

• Be realistic about what you can accomplish through your research. Writing a prospectus that seems narrow in scope, but feasible, is better than writing a prospectus that seems overly ambitious and impractical. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Don't worry if your final paper or study ends up deviating from your prospectus. This often happens when you get further into your research, and is to be expected. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/prospectus
• ↑ https://www.wichita.edu/academics/fairmount_college_of_liberal_arts_and_sciences/english/deptenglish/WritingaResearchProspectus.php
• ↑ https://english.washington.edu/sites/english/files/documents/ewp/academicresearchpapersequence_grollmus.pdf
• ↑ https://www.slu.edu/arts-and-sciences/theological-studies/student-resources/pdfs/prospectus-template.pdf
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/planresearchpaper/
• ↑ https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/writing/graduate/writing-through-graduate-school/prospectus-writing
• ↑ https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/glossary/mutual-fund-fees-and-expenses
• ↑ https://examples.yourdictionary.com/reference/examples/table-of-content-examples.html
• ↑ https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/writing-a-bibliography-examples-of-apa-mla-styles
• ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/proofreading

About This Article

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Laura Matamoros

Aug 10, 2019

Did this article help you?

May 11, 2016

Jul 31, 2017

Sep 25, 2017

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

• Faculty Intranet

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

• Degree Requirements & Goals
• Goals for Second and Third Year Graduate Students

Dissertation Prospectus

The prospectus signifies two things. The first is that the student has an acceptable thesis proposal, which is defended at an oral examination. The second is completion of all coursework which comprises the field course requirements including the history requirement, and two Economics 501 presentations.

 The oral examination ascertains whether the student's dissertation topic is feasible. The student selects a prospective thesis advisor and a committee of examiners. The student works with the advisor and committee to write a thesis proposal, which is the basis of the oral examination. It is important that the student choose a thesis advisor several months before the proposed oral examination. The advisor's assistance is invaluable in developing a thesis topic.

 The terms “advisor” and “committee chair” are used interchangeably.

Read some advice on committee formation .

Committee Composition

 Rules on the composition of the committee are:

• The committee must have three or more individuals.
• At least two members of this committee, including the chair, must be members of the Northwestern University Graduate Faculty.
• The chair of the committee must hold a tenure-line appointment in the Economics Department or have a voted courtesy appointment in the Economics Department.
• If the committee chair holds a courtesy appointment, at least one other member of the committee must hold a tenure-line appointment in the Economics Department.

 Exceptions to conditions 3 and 4 are only permissible with prior written approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Faculty outside Economics holding courtesy appointments are:

• Dranove, David
• Guryan, Jonathan
• Hartline, Jason
• Hubbard, Thomas
• Karlan, Dean
• Molavi, Pooya
• Persico, Nicola
• Qian, Nancy
• Rebelo, Sergio
• Schanzenbach, Diane
• Schwandt, Hannes

Time Limits

The department expects that students making good progress should have completed their coursework and successfully defended their dissertation prospectus by August 31 at the end of their third year. This is a requirement for fourth year funding.

If a student has not completed their coursework and successfully defended their dissertation prospectus by the end of the Fall Quarter in their fourth year of study, which falls on the last date of the 13th quarter of study, they are placed on departmental probation. A student who fails to resume satisfactory academic standing within two quarters, which is the last date of the Spring Quarter in their fourth year of study (last date of the 15th quarter of study) is excluded from the program and Northwestern University.

Administrative Procedures

After completing all course work, and scheduled the oral qualifying examination, initiate the process by submitting the  Prospectus Committee  form to TGS on-line using GSTS . Select the "TGS Forms" tab, and then select the prospectus from the pull-down menu.

TGS then asks the department to verify that the course work is complete, and a successful prospectus defense occurred. So that the department can do this, the candidate should complete the department's   Certification of a Dissertation Prospectus form.

Complete sections 1 to 3 of this form before the oral examination. These sections ask for information on course work. Take the form to the oral examination, where committee members can sign their acceptance of the prospectus in section 4.

The completed form, along with a transcript (which can be downloaded from CAESAR), should be returned immediately to the Graduate Program Manager’s office. The Director of Graduate Studies reviews the form and authorizes TGS to accept the prospectus.

A Note on Human Subjects

Even though we are a social science rather than a medical science, it is possible that government restrictions on the privacy of human subjects may apply. Collecting new data, or even using previously collected data on individual identifiable people, may require prior approval from Northwestern's Institutional Research Board . Read the Submitting to IRB > Getting Started page of their website to see if it applies. The website also includes information on the approval process if that is necessary.