Rethinking collaborative dissertations — a conversation with Faculty Fellows Nancy Cooke and Josephine Marsh

This article is the seventh in a series exploring how reimagining graduate education can contribute to solving global grand challenges. Previously, I described an automatic admission process and explained why universities should adopt it. The focus of this post is: What if graduate students could collaborate with their peers on research, earning degrees through team research?

At the Graduate College, we constantly ask how we can better prepare graduate students for the complexity of today’s world. That question led me to a conversation with Nancy Cooke, a professor of human systems engineering at the Polytechnic School, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, about providing better service to doctoral students by offering more opportunities to collaborate within and across disciplines — including in the dissertation process. That idea sparked an exciting initiative for this year's Faculty Fellows, Cooke and Josephine Marsh, associate professor of literacy education at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.

Together, they are exploring how collaborative, interdisciplinary research — often called team science — can expand what's possible for doctoral education. I talked to them about their work, what they’ve learned and why collaboration could be the key to addressing the challenges ahead.

VP and Dean Wentz: Nancy, what drew you to this Faculty Fellow opportunity?
Cooke: Our conversation really got me thinking: Are we giving students enough opportunity to collaborate in the way science and society demand today? Collaborative dissertations fall under what many call “team science,” and ASU should be leading on this issue. The more I’ve dug into it, the more important I believe it is.

VP and Dean Wentz: And Josephine, what made you want to explore this work?
Marsh: I was wondering why students in our education doctoral program can’t submit collaborative dissertations-in-practice, even when they’re working on related problems in the same schools or districts. It seemed clear that allowing students to collaborate on dissertations would be powerful and could lead to meaningful change in local practice. Conversations with colleagues and Graduate College staff are what led me to explore this further in the Faculty Fellow role.

VP and Dean Wentz: There’s a clear tension here: team science is becoming increasingly necessary to solve society’s biggest challenges, but doctoral students are still largely trained to work independently. Do you see that as a disconnect?
Cooke: Absolutely. With the big science and engineering challenges we face, it’s becoming very difficult to address these issues through the research of a single individual or discipline. Science done in teams can be challenging, but when it works, the results are novel and impactful. We’re asking students to go out into a collaborative research world but training them in isolation.

Marsh: And that disconnect sends an implicit message — that collaborative work is somehow “less than.” But it’s not. In fact, it mirrors the real world far more accurately. We’re hoping to bridge that gap with actionable recommendations and structural support.

VP and Dean Wentz: That brings me to my next question. What have you been working on this semester? I realize your research is still in progress, but what can you tell us so far?
Marsh: We’ve developed a survey and a series of interview questions. We also spoke with directors of doctoral programs at other universities that already allow collaborative dissertations. These conversations gave us insights into team-based advising models, the structure of final dissertation products and some of the challenges and benefits involved.

Cooke: We are at the final stages of collecting survey data and conducting interviews. Our ultimate goal is to produce a set of best practices for ASU colleges, programs and students interested in pursuing collaborative dissertations.

VP and Dean Wentz: What will those best practices include?
Cooke: We want to offer guidance for faculty and students on how to form student research teams, the evolving role of faculty advisors and how to ensure that collaborative work is recognized as legitimate and rigorous. We’re also looking into how to prepare students to work effectively in teams and how to support faculty in advising these kinds of projects.

Marsh: And we’ll be including a variety of dissertation formats — co-authored single documents, shared chapters or individual dissertations emerging from collaborative research. We’re also thinking about where these can be published or archived, such as in open-access repositories like KEEP or through ProQuest.

VP and Dean Wentz: What do you say to those who worry that collaborative dissertations aren’t rigorous or don’t prepare students well?
Marsh: That’s a common misconception. Some believe that collaborative research is less demanding or that it won’t help students professionally. But in many ways, it demands more — coordination, communication, leadership and shared accountability. It’s excellent preparation for the realities of research careers.

Cooke: And another misconception is that the Graduate College won’t allow it — which simply isn’t true. There’s room for innovation, especially when students and faculty work together to push for it.

VP and Dean Wentz: What drives your own research passions?
Cooke: I’m deeply interested in how humans team with increasingly intelligent technologies like AI or robots. These aren’t just tools anymore — in many contexts, they’re teammates. Think of search-and-rescue dogs — machines can operate similarly. I care a lot about the ethical implications, especially trust and system design.

Marsh: I learned the power of collaborative inquiry while working with teachers, administrators and students to develop processes, initiatives and programs at ASU Preparatory Academies. This experience sparked my ongoing research interest in how practitioner inquiry impacts educational settings, supports educators and learners and sustains professional learning communities.

VP and Dean Wentz: Any final thoughts?
Cooke: If we want our graduates to be ready for real-world research and problem-solving, we have to align our training with those realities. That means embracing collaboration.

Marsh: And making space for new models — models that are more inclusive, more practical and more impactful. The best ideas often come from working together.

At ASU, we pride ourselves on being forward-thinking. The work of Nancy Cooke and Josephine Marsh is a powerful reminder that graduate education can evolve — and must evolve — to meet the needs of both students and society.

They are currently in the final stages of conducting their survey and interviews and will soon begin analyzing the results. Their findings — and a set of best practices for collaborative dissertations — will be shared in an upcoming Graduate Insider blog post.

If you’re curious about collaborative dissertations or want to help shape what they look like at ASU, we invite you to join the conversation. Let’s build the future of graduate education together.

Elizabeth A. Wentz
Vice Provost and Dean
ASU Graduate College