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Whether you are a doctoral candidate in business, educa- tion, marriage and family sciences, or psychology, once you pass your Doctoral Comprehensive Examination ("Comps") you will enter the Graduate School. At this point, you have reached the doctoral candidacy stage of your academic journey. Faculty and team members in the Graduate School guide doctoral candidates through the dissertation writing stage by providing the necessary support to make a successful transition from "graduate student" to independent scholar. Dissertation Committee The Dissertation Committee includes the Dissertation Chair, a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in your field to provide content expertise, and a Methodologist Committee Member who provides consultation related to research design and analysis. Dissertation Chairs NCU's Dissertation Chairs are experienced researchers who have been trained to help you complete your dissertation. Chairs work closely with you to ensure align- ment with the dissertation process and help support completion of each dissertation milestone. Years of experience and research have shown this approach to be the most benefi- cial in helping doctoral candidates to succeed in their online disserta- tion journey, and therefore produce high quality, scholarly research. Dissertation Milestones 1. Concept Paper (CP): NCU is unique in providing constructive feedback prior to the dissertation proposal stage. The CP must illustrate a feasible and realistic plan that can culminate in a well-conceived, substantive, quality dissertation. 2. Dissertation Proposal (DP): The DP expands on the CP and includes Chapters 1-3: Introduction and Problem Statement, Literature Review, and Research Methods. 3. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application and Approval: THE GRADUATE SCHOOL Candidates must apply to the NCU IRB in order to gain permission to carry out their study. 4. Dissertation Manuscript (DM): The DM includes Chapters 4 and 5, which focus on the research findings (post data collection) and implications of the findings as well as recommendations for future study. 5. Oral Examination: The Oral Examination requirement helps ensure that the candidate can explain and justify what was accomplished by the research. The Oral Examination is completed via teleconference. "I HAD AN OUTSTANDING CHAIR. SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED TO BE DOING AND GAVE GREAT ADVICE THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS." –JOHN DEXTER, PHD-BA ACCOUNTING, 2014 17