What is the issue we are trying to address? Many of our students have had trouble finishing their dissertations in a reasonable amount of time, and many say they do not feel the same kind of support at this stage of their degree program as they did while doing course work and studying for comprehensive examinations.

How do we know that this is an issue? The primary evidence is that it takes almost all students at least three years to complete the dissertation. Students often feel that they are working on their projects in isolation.

What is the change or innovation that is intended to address this issue? The public lecture will encourage students to begin work early on their dissertation and get part of it ready for public consumption. The presentation will be critiqued by both faculty and students, and thereby give students the advice and encouragement that they need to finish the project.

Why did we select this approach? From the beginnings of our deliberations, we wanted to add a public presentation to the doctoral program. Our first thought was to make the lecture count as one of the three areas of the comprehensive exam. When this proposal went before the graduate faculty, the group objected to reducing one examination area of a fifteen-minute presentation. It was then decided to move the talk later in the program and attach it to the dissertation.

What is the intended effect of the innovation? We hope that the new element will have two beneficial effects. First, we hope the talks will increase interactions among faculty and graduate students and strengthen the intellectual community within the department. Second, we are certain that the talk will encourage students to work more efficiently on their dissertations.

What data or evidence will demonstrate the effect of our innovation? We hope to find two kinds of data to support this innovation. First, we hope the public lectures will enhance to intellectual life of the department, and, second, we hope that students will find the lectures a useful element in their dissertation writing process. We ask students to fill out an evaluation questionnaire on the program right before they graduate, and we will include a question on the perceived effectiveness of the public lecture.