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The dissertation prospectus

A reader writes in:

I wanted to see if you have posts on the cocoon about the prospectus. I'm currently writing mine and I wanted to see what people think about it–e.g., it's purpose, the expectations, the features that make it good, etc. 

Interestingly, I don't think we've ever had a discussion of the dissertation prospectus before. My own sense is that the prospectus is primarily intended to evaluate whether one has a viable dissertation topic–one that can fly, as it were, even if you still need to work a lot out. And of course the prospectus defense can help to isolate potential problems and what you'll need to do in the rest of the dissertation. Beyond this, I'm not sure. What do you all think? I actually attempted the prospectus twice, so allow me to share my experience there, as some readers may find it helpful.

How, you ask, did I attempt the prospectus twice? Well, the first time, I spent many months working alone on a project on opinion polls and democracy. I drafted up a few chapters, and scheduled a prospectus defense. Alas, the night before my defense, my advisor called me and informed me that the committee didn't want to move forward with it. They just didn't like the topic. Of course, I was devastated at the time–but I also learned something very important in the process: that it can be a real mistake to try to develop a prospectus all alone without any supervision! My second prospectus was on a very different topic: the topic of my eventual dissertation, which involved developing a Rawlsian nonideal theory of justice. And this time, things worked out. Why? Well, instead of working all alone, I joined a dissertation reading group organized by my advisor. In this group, I not only got to see what other grad students were working on (which was helpful in trying to come up with a new topic). I was also able to workshop early drafts of the foundational chapters of my dissertation. So, when my second scheduled prospectus defense came along, I passed with no problem. It was a very trying experience, but also a valuable one. 

What about you all? Do you have any thoughts in response to the OP's query or tips to share about doing a successful prospectus?

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2 responses to “The dissertation prospectus”

  1. Caligula’s Goat

    I think the most valuable lesson to learn about all phases of the professional process (during and beyond grad school) is that general principles won’t take you very far and that particularism rules the day (yes, only Sith deal in absolutes…!).
    Here’s what I mean: Marcus is right. OP needs to get a local answer about what the prospectus is in their program and shouldn’t attempt to produce one in isolation. In my old program the prospectus had two parts: one precis to the entire dissertation whose job was to summarize the project and each chapter in the proposed dissertation. This section tended to be between 15-20 pages. The second part was a sample chapter from that project whose length varied. All told the prospectus (again, in my department) was roughly 50-75 pages long and needed to have its own proper mini-defense with your in-house committee.
    It’s not clear that all departments treat a dissertation prospectus in that way or that they have the same ideas about how to successfully defend or produce one. For answers to those, ask other graduate students in your department who have already successfully passed that stage (ideally someone whose done it with the person or persons you are going to have chair your committee).

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  2. Daniel Weltman

    Just to reiterate the message implicit in Marcus’s comment and explicit in Caligula’s Goat’s comment:
    The purpose of the prospectus is to make sure you and your committee are on the same page regarding your dissertation, and to fulfill whatever the prospectus requirement is in your program (and more specifically in your committee).
    The expectations for your prospectus are whatever expectations are in the heads of your committee members. We don’t know what those are, and probably you don’t either, unless you ask them. So ask them.
    The features that make the prospectus good are the features that, according your committee, a good prospectus has. Ask them what those features are.
    Illustration: I met with my committee and told them three ideas I had for a dissertation. They suggested that one of those ideas sounded better than the other two.
    Then, I asked them what a prospectus should look like. The general consensus was: 1) an overview of the whole project and 2) a sample of the sort of argumentation the project would include, plus a bibliography. I wrote a draft of that and they commented on it. I wrote another draft and received more comments. I believe I defended the prospectus after that. The final copy was 36 pages of whatever the default LaTeX styling is (I was trying out LaTeX at the time).
    When I was a graduate student, the graduate students would organize a workshop every few years so that older students could give advice to newer students about prospectus writing and other stuff. Perhaps now would be a good time for the original person who asked the question to begin such a tradition in their grad program.

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