.: Dissertation Topic Preparation :.

.: CS 990, CEIE 990, IT 990, IT 991, STAT 990 :.

Fall 2013, Fridays 4:30-7:10pm, R A243 ENGR 1108

Instructor: Dr. Jeff Offutt

Schedule updated 25-August

Prerequisite: Completion of all course requirements in program, or permission of instructor. Should have an advisor, a committee, and be actively working on your proposal.

Contact Information
email: offutt ... gmu.edu
web: http://cs.gmu.edu/~offutt/
office hours: Wed 2:30-4:00, Engineering 4430

Catalog Description:

This course covers PhD dissertation and engineer project proposal preparation. Five classes are co-located and taught together.

• CS 990 Dissertation Topic Presentation
  Students put together a professional presentation of a research proposal and present it for critique to fellow students and interested faculty. May be repeated with change of research topic, but credit toward doctoral degree is given once.
• CEIE 990 Civil and Infrastructure Dissertation Topic Presentation
  Opportunity for PhD students to present research proposal for critique. Covers presentation of research topic for PhD in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering. Students complete dissertation research proposal. May be repeated with change in topic, but degree credit is given only once.
• IT 990 Dissertation Topic Presentation
  Students put together a professional presentation of a research proposal and present it for critique to fellow students and interested faculty. May be repeated with change in topic, but degree credit is given only once.
• IT 991 Engineer Project Presentation
  Opportunity for engineer degree students to present project proposal for critique to interested faculty and students. Covers presentation of project topic for engineer degree in information technology, and is required of all engineer degree students. Students complete project proposal.
• STAT 990 Engineer Project Presentation
  Students put together a professional presentation of a research proposal and present it for critique to fellow students and interested faculty.

Important: You should only take 990 or 991 if you have an advisor and a dissertation topic.

This class will meet for lectures and discussions three times, have one lecture followed by a discussion online, then once or twice more for student presentations.

1. September 6: Initial meeting. Discussion of requirements and expectations. Introductions.
2. September 13: Lectures: What is a PhD? Thoughts on choosing an advisor. The purpose of a proposal.
   Example proposals:     Jing Guan     Aynur Abdurazik     Mats Grindal    
3. October 11: Student problem presentations. Each student will have 5 minutes to present your problem, your thesis statements and your validation plan. Students are limited to a one page "proposal summary" document. Submit your proposal summary on Piazza and display it during your presentation. No other visual materials can be used (PPT, whiteboard, etc.)
   Deliverable: A topic document, with problem, thesis statements, and validation plan. Limited to one page. Submit online.
   Randomizer
4. October 25: Lectures: Hints on writing: (parts A, B, C, D)       Hints for giving presentations.
   Note: This lecture is entirely online. Recorded lectures will be posted on Piazza and all students are required to join the discussions. You must check in on the discussion for easch lecture to verify that you viewed it.
5. December 6: Final student presentations. Each student will have 12 10 minutes (approximately, depending on the number of students) to speak followed by a 3 minute question and answer session (15 13 minutes total).
   Schedule: TBD
6. December 13: Final student presentations. Remaining students.
   Schedule: TBD
   Deliverable: A full draft of your PhD Dissertation Proposal. It should be as complete as possible, and as close to your final, committee-ready, proposal as you can make it. Your advisor should have a chance to review it before you submit it to me. You may submit it on Piazza or bring me a paper copy.

Surprisingly, this is a letter grade course. The grading will be very simple:

• A: Submit all deliverables, attend all classes.
• B: Submit all deliverables, miss one or two classes.
• C: Miss more than two classes or miss a deliverable.
• F: Do not submit the final deliverable: The proposal.

George Mason University Resources

• GMU posts information about formatting your thesis, including Word and Latex templates, on http://thesis.gmu.edu/
• I strongly recommend all students seek writing help from the GMU writing center, especially if English is not your first language. Their online resources are especially helpful.

  Suggestions for PhD students

• Plagiarism Defined (pdf)
• Presentation Hints (pdf)
• Getting Started With an IT PHD at GMU
• My Thoughts on Choosing an Advisor
• My Thoughts on Forming a PhD Committee
• My Thoughts on a PhD Proposal
• Spencer's Thoughts on the Structure of CS Dissertations
• How to Have Your Abstract Rejected (by Mary-Claire van Leunen and Richard Lipton)
• The Distinction Between "Which" and "That" (by Lorraine Lica, PhD)

  Suggestions for new and future university faculty

• How to be a Terrible Advisor (by Nigel Ward)
• Criteria for University Faculty (by F. P. Brooks)
• The "IT" in a "DO IT" Attitude (pdf) (by A. L. Williams)
• Ten Rules For Losing (pdf) (by Donald R. Keough)
• Essay on Teaching Courses (by Bruce Bathurst)
• Teambuilding Tips (pdf) (by Michael McDonald)

  Some helpful readings

• "Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis," Joan Bolker, Owl Books; ISBN: 080504891X; (August 1998).

All GMU courses and research carried out here is governed by the GMU Honor Code. No student can ever expect to be granted a PhD with an honor code violation. More broadly, the most important thing a scientist has is a reputation. If you are caught plaigarizing even once, your research career is essentially over.