Publication Requirement

Publications are the primary scholarly output and a demonstration that one has performed the work required to earn a PhD. As such, students must have a minimum of one first author or co-first author research paper describing work performed during the course of their PhD that has been submitted, accepted, and/or published in a peer-reviewed journal. In exceptional situations, the requirement may be satisfied by a manuscript posted to a pre-print server, a peer-reviewed research product accepted to a conference proceedings, or other cases where the thesis committee determines that the student has made substantial scholarly contributions. The requirement must be met before the thesis committee members sign the final defense warrant. This does not prevent trainers from establishing higher standards in their written lab-expectations. Satisfying the publication requirement is a necessary component for progression to degree, but it does not automatically approve a student to defend their thesis. The ultimate decision rests with the thesis committee.

The policy will be implemented for students that matriculated in 2025 and after.