Welcome to the Doctoral Center! The Doctoral Center is a one-stop shop for locating resources to help with the dissertation and applied doctoral project. This site contains resources to help with all of the elements of the dissertation or applied doctoral project. In addition, the Doctoral Center houses all guides, templates, slide decks, and rubrics for the five-chapter dissertation and three-section applied doctoral project.
Please take a few minutes to look around. Navigate to the guides and within the guides using the table of contents on the left. Resources are frequently marked to differentiate the degree programs using the Dissertation Student Experience (DSE) vs. the Applied Doctoral Experience (ADE). All guides, templates, and slide decks are organized under "Program Specific Resources" by School or College.
For questions about these resources or for assistance in finding a resource, please email DissertationCenter@nu.edu
If you've been chosen to present an academic poster at the poster session being hosted at NU's graduation ceremony or if you've been invited to present a poster at a professional conference, view this short video, Creating and Presenting an Academic Poster, for tips on getting started.
Note that prior to 2012, there was a Dissertation of the Year award recipient within each School. If you need additional information about a particular School’s winner, please contact your Advisor or Dissertation Chair.
2009 School of Education: Jennie C. De Gagne, Exploring the Experience of Educators Who Teach Online: A Multi-Method Qualitative Study.
2009 School of Psychology: Elena Marie Papavero, Assessing the Relationships Between Person-Organization Fit, Moral Philosophy, and the Motivation to Lead.
2010 School of Education: Gayle M. Cicero, Professional School Counselors as Leaders and Active Participants in School Reform: A Phenomenological Exploratory Study to Examine the Perspectives of System-Level Supervisors of School Counselors.
2010 School of Business and Technology Management: Craig Gray, Assessing the Use of Outsourcing and Offshoring for Engineering Designs.
2010 School of Behavioral and Health Sciences: Moliver, Psychological Wellness, Physical Wellness, and Subjective Vitality in Long-Term Yoginis Over 45.
2011 (School of Behavioral and Health Sciences): Judy A. Kelly, Efficacy of Hypnosis for the Treatment of Comorbid Chronic Pain and Insomnia in Older Adults.
2011 (School of Business and Technology Management): Thomas Thompson II, Assessing the Determinants of Information Technology Adoption in Jamaica's Public Sector Using the Technology Acceptance Model.
2011 (School of Education): Jennifer Barbara Thomson, The Relationship Between Student Achievement and Multilingualism: A Quantitative Causal-Comparative Study.
2012: Milton Kabia, Contributions of Professional Certification and Information Technology Work Experience to Self-Reported Job Performance.
2013: Becky Collins: Attitudes of Middle School Students with Disabilities Toward Physical Education: A Mixed Methods eExamination.
2014: Anta Fall Moore, Experiences of African American Women Declining or Delaying Breast Cancer Surgery: A Phenomenological Study.
2015: Dale Spurlin: When Learning could hurt, A case study of student-veterans and their combat experiences in the classroom.
2016: Melinda Riccitelli, Science Identity's Influence on Community College Students' Engagement, Persistence, and Performance in Biology.
2017: Renee Squier, Hiring for Performance and Retention: Examining the Relationship Between Cognitive Fit and Employee Turnover in the U.S. Navy.
2018: Sylvester Wilson, A Qualitative Case Study on the Academic Impact of Middle School Students Living as Doubled-Up Homeless Youths.
2019: Ginna Myers, Adults Behaving Badly: The Effects of Job Strain Variables and Perpetrators’ Dark Triad Traits on Teacher Victimization.
2020: Bobbi Maher, Improving Academic Achievement among Native American Studies in South Dakota through Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
2021: Keresa Britton, Dancing with Mom: The Shared Identity between Caregiving Daughters and Their Mothers with Dementia: A Qualitative Narrative Study
2023: Alexander Stevens, Trustworthiness of Artificial Intelligence Technology in Healthcare Transformation: Assessing Clinician Trust and Acceptance of Artificial Intelligence
2024: Theresa Melvin Roth, Achieving Quantum Speed and Scale in Full Stack Quantum Computing Designs Using Quantum Machine Learning
2025: Brenda Fonseca, EFFECTS OF LUTEIN ON EYE AND BRAIN HEALTH IN CHILDREN WITH SCREEN TIME EXPOSURE: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL
National University requires doctoral candidates to publish their dissertation or applied doctoral project manuscripts. This is accomplished through ProQuest.
In order to publish your dissertation or applied doctoral project manuscript, you must create an account with ProQuest. There are different publishing options available- you will select your preferred option. ProQuest also provides the opportunity to add subject categories and an abstract when uploading your manuscript.
Additionally, ProQuest allows you to copyright your work or have a copy bound. Neither are requirements of NU and are considered optional.
You, the doctoral candidate, initiate the process for publishing your manuscript.
After successfully defending, you will complete and sign the Dissertation Defense Attendance Verification Form (DDAVF) and send it to your Chair.
The Chair will complete and sign their section and forward to the Graduation Team in the Office of the Registrar. The Graduation Team sends out ProQuest instructions to the doctoral candidate via email once the completed DDAVF has been received. Simply follow the instructions outlined within the email to begin the process to upload your manuscript to ProQuest.
After submitting your electronic copy of your dissertation to ProQuest, NU will send your approval page requesting signatures from your committee chair, subject matter expert, and academic reader. Once the signed approval page is returned, NU will add it to your dissertation manuscript and complete your dissertation package for final submission to ProQuest.
National University’s Advanced Research Center (ARC) supports and guides students, alumni, faculty, and staff pursuing publications, presentations, and research. ARC provides a rationale for scholarly pursuits, explains academic and professional norms, fosters networking and collaboration efforts, and supports the dissemination of scholarly work. ARC is guided by a strong framework of research ethics while infusing principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice.
ARC can help current students and NU alumni with:
