05/09/2026
USLT School of Advanced Studies Equips Graduate Scholars via Research Orientation; Sets June 2027 Target Graduation
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines — The University of St. Louis (USL) School of Advanced Studies hosted an institutional orientation webinar titled "Navigating Graduate Research: Orientation on Thesis & Dissertation Writing" on August 29, 2026, equipping Master’s and Doctorate students with essential guidelines to successfully navigate their scholarly requirements. Academic leaders and administrative experts provided clear directions regarding institutional research protocols, library support, ethical compliance, and oral defense strategies.
Opening the activity, Dr. Herbert S. Corpuz, Academic Dean of the School of Advanced Studies, highlighted that research should be viewed beyond a mere degree requirement. He stressed that through research, graduate scholars give their ideas a voice, address real-world problems, and contribute meaningful knowledge to society. Dr. Corpuz outlined specific expectations based on degree tracks:
Doctorate Degree (Professional Track): Research must focus on practice-based inquiries designed to address real-world problems, innovate professional practices, and deliver actionable solutions in fields such as educational leadership, engineering management, public administration, and business.
Master’s Degree (Academic Track): Research emphasizes theory-building frameworks that expand theoretical understanding, requiring a formal confirmation of research publication from an accredited journal prior to completion.
Dr. Corpuz encouraged all attending candidates to remain self-directed independent learners, setting a targeted completion and graduation date of June 2027.
The orientation featured technical presentations from various administrative heads to guide candidates through their research roadmap:
Research Ex*****on Guidelines: Dr. Jay Ventura outlined the institutional workflow, emphasizing that doctoral programs require 12 dissertation units, whereas master’s programs require 6 thesis units. He detailed the submission process for the upcoming September 12 Title Proposal Defense, where candidates present their best topic proposals. Dr. Ventura reminded students to complete coursework and pass comprehensive exams before enrolling in thesis/dissertation writing and advised maintaining a maximum timeframe of two years for Master’s thesis completion and three years for Doctoral dissertations.
Empowering Research through Library Resources: Ms. Anne Christine Temporal, representing Library Director Ms. Michelle Abella, introduced various digital and physical library services. She highlighted available online repositories, corporate access to platforms such as ScienceDirect, McGraw-Hill AccessEngineering, and Gale Reference Complete, along with the USL Library Mobile App for Android users. The library also provides digitization services for distant scholars and grammar/plagiarism support via Grammarly.
Research Ethics, Innovation, and AI Standards: Ms. Jonalyn P. Santos, OIC Director for the University Research and Innovation Office (URIO) and REB Chair, detailed the adoption of the IMRaD research format (maximum 10 pages for proposals, 25 pages for full papers). She explained the ethics review processes (Exempted, Expedited, and Full Board Review) managed by the University Research Ethics Board. Addressing artificial intelligence, Santos clarified that URIO no longer enforces automated AI detection tools; instead, researchers are strictly required to declare and submit a disclosure form detailing how generative AI tools were used and verified in their work.
Mastering Proposal Defenses: Presenting guidelines on oral defenses, Dr. Ventura shared crucial defense strategies: candidates must clearly articulate their "research story," defend their variables and theoretical frameworks, show complete mastery of their methodology without relying solely on statisticians, maintain a direct three-part answer style, and remain respectful and open to panel recommendations.
The School of Advanced Studies announced the schedule for upcoming academic defense:
September 12, 2026: Parallel Title Proposal Presentations across education, engineering management, public administration, and business programs.
November 9–21, 2026: Institutional Defense Period designated for formal oral proposal and final paper defenses. Defenses will take place in-person on campus (from 5:30 PM onwards on weekdays, and full days on Saturdays).
The orientation concluded with synthesizing remarks by Dr. Lailanie Pattaguan, who reminded scholars to plan with care, comply with ethical standards, conduct research with rigor, and contribute meaningful solutions to their professional communities.
