Ph.D. Dissertation Submission Guidelines

Students must submit their Ph.D. dissertation no more than four years after being admitted as a stage-1 student, or if received an extension to extend to year 5, no more than five years after being admitted.

Any extension of this period of time is subject to approval by the Committee for Research Students. The minimum time for submission of the Ph.D. dissertation is one year after approval of the research proposal.

1. The dissertation may be written in Hebrew or English. Submitting a dissertation in English must be approved by the student’s advisor. Dissertations in English must include an abstract in both English and Hebrew.
2. The dissertation must be submitted to the Committee for Research Students in one hard copy, double-spaced and by email (size A4). The dissertation must be bound in temporary binding in case of required revisions. In addition, the cover page, abstract, the body of the thesis and the student’s CV must be emailed to rkali@tauex.tau.ac.il.
3. The dissertation must be no longer than 200 one-sided pages long.
4. The dissertation must include the following sections, ordered as follows:
   1. Cover page, including:
      1. Name of the university, faculty, and department
      2. Dissertation title and student’s name
      3. Date of submission to the University Senate
   2. Page with the name/s of the dissertation advisor/s
   3. Acknowledgments
   4. Table of contents
   5. Table of figures (if any)
   6. List of tables (if any)
   7. Table of equations (if any)
   8. Table of symbols, abbreviations, acronyms, etc., listed alphabetically
   9. Abstract (no more than 3 pages). The abstract must succinctly present the content of the dissertation, including introduction and background, goals, methods, results and conclusions.
   10. The body of the dissertation must include the following chapters:
   11. Introduction
   12. Goals
   13. Materials and methods
   14. Results
   15. Discussion
   16. Bibliography: a numbered list of sources, ordered either alphabetically by the name of the first-listed author, or in the order sources are cited in the dissertation. References in the body of the dissertation will include the source number in parentheses. Each citation must include the author/s’ name/s, year, title of paper, title of journal or book, volume number, and range of pages.
   17. Dissertations in Hebrew must include the following sections in English as well: cover page, page with name/s of dissertation advisor/s and abstract (sections 4.1, 4.2 and 4.9 above). Dissertations in English must include these sections in Hebrew as well.
   18. Pages in the sections listed in 4.10 and 4.11 above should be numbered. Pages in all other sections should not be numbered.
5. The dissertation should be submitted both in hard copy and by email along with the following documents:
   1. The abstract in English (A4 paper), with the student’s name, the dissertation title, the advisor’s name, and all the other components noted in section 4.9 above. The abstract should not exceed three pages.
   2.  The student’s CV including list of publications.
   3. A letter from the student’ s advisor approving submission of the dissertation for evaluation by the School’s Committee for Research Students. The letter must state the advisor’s own complete evaluation of the dissertation. In addition, the advisor must fill out an evaluation form and propose several possible evaluators. If the student has several advisors, each advisor must submit a separate letter with his or her evaluation.
   4. The student must ensure that he/she has completed all required courses, was given authorization to write his/her thesis when the final report was submitted, proof of any complementary courses required, gave at least one seminar describing his/her research in the last year of studies, and attended at least 25 seminars.
   5. Student must fill declaration form in which s/he commits not to misuse the Doctor of Philosophy title until final approval of the degree by the University Senate.

The documents will be reviewed by the University Senate after the dissertation is approved by the School’s Committee for Research Students; they should be properly edited and presented.

1. Once the University Senate approves the Ph.D., the student must submit the dissertation in two additional printed and bound copies and a disc-on-key with the final version.
2. Submitting a Ph.D. dissertation composed of several papers - In special cases the dissertation may consist of several papers. Students wishing to take advantage of this option must apply in writing to the Committee for Research Students.

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• Preconditions for Submitting a Request- This option is recommended for students who are the first-listed authors of at least three papers published or accepted for publication (proof of acceptance required).
  1. The student must submit at least three papers published or accepted for publication in reputable journals in a relevant discipline. The student must be the first-listed authors of all papers (except cases in which the authors are listed alphabetically).
  2. Any exception to condition (a) above must be approved by the appropriate committees at the university and school level.
  3. Only papers related to the dissertation topic (as approved in the research proposal) will be accepted.
• Submitting the Request- The student and his or her advisor/s must submit a request with the following items to the school’s Committee for Research Students:
  1. A letter by the student explaining his or her request to submit a dissertation composed of separate papers.
     1. The student must note his or her individual contribution to each paper, and whether the paper is an integral part of the Ph.D. dissertation.
     2. The student must list where the papers were published or accepted for publication. (Forthcoming papers must be submitted with a letter from the journal confirming their acceptance.)
     3. The student must list the order in which the papers will be included in the dissertation, how they form a continuous, internally logical structure, and how they answer the main research question.
     4. The student must list any further results not included in the papers but included in the dissertation.
  2. A letter from the advisor addressing the following:
  3. The reasons for submitting a dissertation consisting of papers, rather than the more conventional format.
  4. A statement affirming that despite the unconventional format, the dissertation will adhere to Section 3.2 of the university regulations (stating that to receive the Ph.D. students must perform original and independent research representing a unique contribution to the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the studied topic).
  5. In addition to the letter, the advisor must also submit a separate document listing all the papers included in the dissertation in the order in which they will appear. The advisor must also note the following:
     • How the papers form a continuous, internally logical structure, and how they answer the dissertation’s main research question.
     • The student’s individual contribution to the research presented in each paper and to the writing of each paper.
     • Whether the papers have been published, accepted for publication, or submitted for consideration, and where (with a letter from the respective journals confirming acceptance or submission).
     • The quality of the journals in which the papers have been published.

7.1 The Committee for Research Students will consider the request. In case of positive decisions, the committee will present its recommendation to the university-wide committee for research students, which will then consider the request.

7.2 Dissertations composed of separate papers must be submitted in the following format;

1. Cover page, page including the name/s of all advisor/s, acknowledgments and table of contents, all in both English and Hebrew, all as specified in sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.2 and 4.4 above.
2. Abstract in both English and Hebrew (length must not exceed 5% of the length of the entire dissertation).
3. Extended introduction addressing the following:
   1. Extended, up-to-date survey of the research topic.
   2. General survey of the various papers and their contribution to the research topic.
   3. Description of the order of the papers, the connection between them, and how they form a continuous, internally logical structure.
   4. Methods and experiments: A description of research methods not described in the papers, and, if necessary, an extended description of methods only briefly described in the papers. Emphasis should be given to methods developed in the course of the research. If the research is experimental in nature, the experimental method must be described in detail.
4. The papers, arranged in a logical order in terms of the research, as well as any further unpublished materials.
5. Discussion and conclusion, addressing all the papers and any other results presented in the course of the dissertation:
   • Extended discussion of the results and their significance.
   • The main results presented in the papers.
   • The innovations presented in the dissertation and their contribution to the research topic.
6. A list of all sources cited in the introduction and the conclusion, and any further sources not listed in the individual papers.

Ph.D. dissertations composed of several papers must be written in a single language. Dissertations written in English must include an abstract in Hebrew.