[Eecs_phd] FW: IMPORTANT: Doctoral Milestones Implementation Information

Mon Dec 1 18:56:53 EST 2025

Dear EECS PhD Students,

Graduate College is implementing significant changes in overseeing the PhD programs at Ohio University.
All PhD students must read the email attached below and follow the provided instruction.
Please comply with the request for completing the MILESTONE 6 ASAP. You should consult with the Grad Chair or your PhD advisor you need assistance. Thank you.

Best,
Dr.J

Wojciech M. Jadwisienczak
Professor and Graduate Chair
Editor in Chief, Journal of Electronic Materials
Ohio University, Russ College fo Engineering and Technology
School of Electrical Engineering and Compuster Science
Stocker Center 333, 1 Ohio University Drive, Athen OH 45701-2979
T: 740-593-1572, T: 740-593-2067
www.ohio.edu/engineering/eecs<http://www.ohio.edu/engineering/eecs>

From: Hallman-Thrasher, Allyson <hallman at ohio.edu>
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2025 3:38 PM
Cc: Blackburn, Nathan <blackburnn at ohio.edu>; Koonce, David <koonce at ohio.edu>; Newton, Greg <newtong at ohio.edu>
Subject: IMPORTANT: Doctoral Milestones Implementation Information
Importance: High

Dear Graduate Faculty, Associate Deans, and Graduate Chairs and Directors,
We are beginning the initial roll out of the Doctoral Milestones Forms Project and want to ensure you have the necessary information to support your doctoral students. This email will explain an overview of the Doctoral Milestones Forms, the timeline for implementation, and needed actions from you and students this semester prior to the ‘go live’ date (January 1) for all forms.

OVERVIEW
Through consultation with the academic colleges, we have identified 10 points during a doctoral degree where students pass important milestones. Though not all of the milestones are a part of every doctoral program, we have identified 6 (shown bolded below) that every student completes on the path to earning their doctoral degree.  We have developed a set of forms to capture milestone completion and necessary approvals. These forms will save you and your students the sometimes challenging work of getting forms signed. Additionally, it will provide an easily accessible record for tracking students’ progress to degree.

Form
Initiator
MILESTONE 1: Approval of Doctoral Planning*
 Program Director/Graduate Chair
MILESTONE 2: Foundational Coursework Completed
 Program Director/Graduate Chair
MILESTONE 3: Qualifying Exams Completed
 Program Director/Graduate Chair
MILESTONE 4: All Coursework Completed*
 Program Director/Graduate Chair
MILESTONE 5: Knowledge & Skills Assessment
 Program Director/Graduate Chair
MILESTONE 6: Selection of Dissertation Committee*
Student
MILESTONE 7: Dissertation Proposal Defense
Student
MILESTONE 8: Admission to Candidacy*
Program Director/Graduate Chair,  Associate Dean
MILESTONE 9: Dissertation Defense*
Student
MILESTONE 10: Completing TAD Process*
 Managed by TAD Office

TIMELINE
As part of our initial roll out we are focusing first on MILESTONE 6: SELECTION OF DISSERTATION COMMITTEE because subsequent milestones rely on its completion.  This form must be initiated the student, and it is especially important to complete it in a timely manner because students cannot schedule proposal defenses or dissertation defenses until it is completed. Our planned timeline for implementation of the forms is as follows:

Nov 24 – Nov 30
Limited forms released to Patton and Scripps PhD students for Milestone 6 completion (happening now)
Dec 1 – Dec 15
All research PhD students who have approved dissertation committees or who are ready to form dissertation committees should use Graduate College Doctoral Milestone 6 Form to submit their dissertation committee.
Dec 2 – Dec 19
Any milestones numbered 1-5, 7, 8, 9 that have been completed since Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 19, 2025 need to be entered in spreadsheets we provide and those will be uploaded into PeopleSoft. Spreadsheets to be completed will be shared on or before December 2 and will be due by December 19.
Jan 1
All milestones forms are live. Any milestones a student completes after December 19th are submitted via Graduate College Milestones Forms.

ACTIONS NEEDED
Graduate Students:
All research doctoral students who have approved dissertation committees or who are ready to form their dissertation committees should use Graduate College Doctoral Milestone 6 Form: Selection of Dissertation Committee to submit their dissertation committee. We asked students to complete this by December 15. Students have been informed of this expectation via  this email<https://catmailohio.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/VPR-GraduateChairs/IQAcLnigYDNGSI9Gf2jWK27CAS2TDB9VbmyisiVbFVd-iTc?e=hkMEH3&xsdata=MDV8MDJ8ZWVjc19waGRAbGlzdHNlcnYub2hpby5lZHV8MWNmYmM2YTFiY2Q4NDFkNDIyOGQwOGRlMzEzNTRkNmF8ZjMzMDgwMDc0NzdjNGE3MDg4ODkzNDYxMTgxN2M1NWF8MHwwfDYzOTAwMjMwMjE2MzkxNjIwOHxVbmtub3dufFRXRnBiR1pzYjNkOGV5SkZiWEIwZVUxaGNHa2lPblJ5ZFdVc0lsWWlPaUl3TGpBdU1EQXdNQ0lzSWxBaU9pSlhhVzR6TWlJc0lrRk9Jam9pVFdGcGJDSXNJbGRVSWpveWZRPT18MHx8fA%3d%3d&sdata=MDRmSS9menNCeDQxc2g2ODBsQmFZRWl4aEpibmJFekdHekJuWDIxRHp5UT0%3d>  (with program directors copied), which includes links to detailed instructions<https://www.ohio.edu/graduate/current-students/doctoral-milestone-6>,  video support<https://catmailohio-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/blackburnn_ohio_edu/IQC1UIgLnisOT5YtwY6963hXAUQf6hTJnXDwG1EF3OcYKy0?e=VMUhkW&nav=eyJyZWZlcnJhbEluZm8iOnsicmVmZXJyYWxBcHAiOiJTdHJlYW1XZWJBcHAiLCJyZWZlcnJhbFZpZXciOiJTaGFyZURpYWxvZy1MaW5rIiwicmVmZXJyYWxBcHBQbGF0Zm9ybSI6IldlYiIsInJlZmVycmFsTW9kZSI6InZpZXcifX0%3d&xsdata=MDV8MDJ8ZWVjc19waGRAbGlzdHNlcnYub2hpby5lZHV8MWNmYmM2YTFiY2Q4NDFkNDIyOGQwOGRlMzEzNTRkNmF8ZjMzMDgwMDc0NzdjNGE3MDg4ODkzNDYxMTgxN2M1NWF8MHwwfDYzOTAwMjMwMjE2Mzk0MzA2MHxVbmtub3dufFRXRnBiR1pzYjNkOGV5SkZiWEIwZVUxaGNHa2lPblJ5ZFdVc0lsWWlPaUl3TGpBdU1EQXdNQ0lzSWxBaU9pSlhhVzR6TWlJc0lrRk9Jam9pVFdGcGJDSXNJbGRVSWpveWZRPT18MHx8fA%3d%3d&sdata=R0NqUkNyUDNvWWlUekJwL3RBOEp2dTZsbUlpZVIxcDd3bjJNWmtyVWNwRT0%3d> , and links to multiple drop-in office hours<https://www.ohio.edu/graduate/current-students/doctoral-milestone-6#OfficeHours> for assistance and troubleshooting help.

Dissertation Chairs/Advisors/Graduate Chairs/Program Chairs:
Students may ask you if they need to complete Milestone 6 Form. You can refer to these instructions<https://www.ohio.edu/graduate/current-students/doctoral-milestone-6#BeforeBegin> in order to determine if a student should complete this form.

Graduate Faculty:
If you are on a student’s dissertation committee (either as member or as chair/co-chair) you will receive notifications to approve your committee membership when students submit Milestone 6 Form: Selection of Dissertation Committee. Please approve or reject your membership in committees in a timely manner.

Associate Deans for Research & Graduate Studies:
You will receive notifications to approve dissertation committee membership for any student in your college who submits Milestone 6 Form: Selection of Dissertation Committee. Please approve or reject these committees in a timely manner.

HOW TO APPROVE/REJECT MS6 FORM
Approval requests will appear in BOTH TEAMS and email as shown below. You only need to approve one of these notifications, by clicking APPROVE. The system will stop you if you inadvertently try to approve twice. Should you need to reject any requests, please include in the comment field the reason you are rejecting and click REJECT. If you do not complete these approvals within two weeks of receiving them, they will timeout and the student will have to restart.

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NEXT STEPS
By December 2nd, Colleges (via email to Associate Deans) will receive spreadsheets to capture milestone completion data since Jan 1, 2024, which should be submitted by the end of the semester. Prior to all forms going live for everyone we will share (via email to all gradute facutly) a more detailed overview of all forms with links to detailed instructions and video for each form. We are awaiting UCM’s approval to publish these pages.

If you have a question about how to support a student with Milestone 6 Form, please reach out to graduate at ohio.edu<mailto:graduate at ohio.edu> with subject line "MS6 Form Help" or join these drop-in help hours.<https://www.ohio.edu/graduate/current-students/doctoral-milestone-6#OfficeHours>

Thanks for your work to support our graduate students,
Graduate College

________________________________________________________
Allyson Hallman-Thrasher, PhD (she)
Professor of Mathematics Education
Graduate College - Associate Dean for Student Success

Ohio University
Patton College of Education
Dept of Teacher Education
Patton Hall 309S (formerly called McCracken Hall, same building)
College of Arts and Sciences
Dept of Mathematics
Morton Hall 550

hallman at ohio.edu<mailto:hallman at ohio.edu>

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