Format:

The format of the thesis must comply with the instructions for authors for a major peer-reviewed journal in a field related to the subspecialty except as noted below. The name of the journal must be identified clearly on the cover page of the manuscript.

The cover page of the thesis should show only the:

• Thesis title
• Candidate name
• Hypothesis (or purpose for studies not testing a hypothesis)
• Name of the journal format used
• Electronic copies or reprints of published manuscripts are acceptable
• Some journals require a "Summary" in addition to the "Discussion" section

Hypothesis or Purpose:

The thesis must clearly state the hypothesis to be tested in the form of a simple declarative sentence. The hypothesis must be included on the cover page and in the body of the paper, not just in the Abstract.

Whenever possible, the hypothesis should include a statement such as, “Our hypothesis is that XXX is significantly different from YYY.” It may be useful to follow PICOT criteria (population, intervention [for intervention studies], comparison group, outcome of interest, and time) in composing the hypothesis. Conversely, the null hypothesis may be stated.

If the research does not involve hypothesis testing, the thesis must clearly state a purpose in the form of a simple declarative sentence. The purpose statement should convey the goal or overall aim of inquiry. The purpose must be included on the cover page and in the body of document, not just in the Abstract.

Authorship:

The cover page should only list the title of the thesis, the candidate's name (without any coauthors), the hypothesis or purpose, and the name of the journal format. Acknowledgements are not allowed.

Subject Matter:

The subject matter must clearly relate to the area of the subspecialty and be important to the field.

Research:

The thesis must be based on clinical or laboratory research performed during the fellowship period. A review of work performed by others is not acceptable.

IRB Approval:

All research involving humans and animals must be reviewed and approved by the human or animal institutional review boards (IRBs) of the sponsoring institution. If the research is exempt from IRB approval, a statement from the IRB to that effect must be included with the thesis.

Unacceptable Papers:

The following are not acceptable for a Fellow's thesis:

• Book chapters
• Case reports
• Case series

Any thesis submitted must be the product of a significantly robust research effort. Reports of the results of treatment of patients from a practice or department are not acceptable as these are considered to be a case series.

The research must be important to the field of the subspeciality. The following types of research conducted during a fellowship may qualify as an acceptable thesis for eligibility for board certification:

• Laboratory, Translational, and Animal Research
• Randomized Controlled Trial: The study must adhere to the CONSORT standards.
• Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review: The report must adhere to the PRISMA or MOOSE guidelines.
• Cost-Effective Analysis: The report must conform to the recommendations of the Second Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine for reporting CEA results.
• Case-Control Study: The study must conform to the STROBE guidelines for observational studies.
• Cohort Study: The research may involve primary or secondary data analyses. The study must conform to the STROBE guidelines for observational studies.
• Survey Research: The candidate must have developed the questionnaire or used a previously validated questionnaire, and there should be a 50% return and completion of the questionnaire. The thesis must conform to the STROBE guidelines for observational studies and CHERRIES guidelines for web-based surveys.
• Epidemiology Research: The study must conform to the STROBE guidelines for Epidemiological Studies.
• Mechanistic Trials: The study must meet the NIH definition for a clinical trial.
• Modeling and Simulation-Based Research: A prediction model thesis must follow the TRIPOD statement. An SBR thesis must adhere to the SBR extension to the CONSORT and STROBE statements.
• Quality Improvement: The thesis must adhere to the SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines.
• Qualitative Research: The thesis must adhere to the COREQ or SRQR guidelines.
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Research: The thesis must adhere to the SPIRIT-AI Extension or the CONSORT-AI Extension statements.
• Implementation Science: The thesis must conform to the StaRI guidelines.

• Thesis must be successfully defended prior to June 15 in the final year of fellowship as an eligibility criterion for the Subspecialty QE.
• If the defense process must be repeated due to unsuccessful prior defense, defense must be successfully completed by June 15 for the fellow to take the Subspecialty QE in July of the year the fellow completes fellowship.
• If successful defense takes place after June 15, the fellow will delay taking the Subspecialty QE.
• If successful defense never takes place, the fellow will not be eligible to take the Subspecialty QE.
• Successful defense must be attested to by the fellow and attested to by the Fellowship Program Director in their personal ABOG portals by midnight June 15, 11:59 PM CDT.
• Thesis may be defended and attested to at any time during fellowship training (prior to June 15 of the final year of fellowship). Early defense of a thesis will not result in decreased duration of the research requirement (6 or 12 months depending on training program length).
• Successful defense is documented through completion of the Thesis Defense Form and uploaded in the fellow’s ABOG portal as part of the attestation.

This document outlines the full structure of the thesis defense process, including requirements, the thesis defense committee, and approved study designs. It also includes the official Thesis Defense Form, which must be completed and uploaded to the ABOG portal as part of the process. This is the primary reference for understanding and executing the defense process for 2026 graduates and beyond.

• The Thesis Defense committee consists of a minimum of 3 members
• For MFM, URPS, GYN ONC, and REI, the committee should be identified and have convened at least once by the end of the fellow’s second year of training. For CFP, the committee should be identified and convened at least once by the end of the fellow's first year of training
• A minimum of 1 external member
• Possess expertise that makes them able to contribute to the committee defense process
• Has an arm's length relationship with the fellow and the subspecialty division (e.g., not a current or past direct supervisor of the fellow, not a collaborator on divisional projects)
• All thesis committee members who are ABOG diplomates can achieve credit for Part IV Continuing Certification during any year that they participate in fellowship thesis defense activities
• ABOG will consider thesis committee service when individuals volunteer to be ABOG examiners, committee members, division members, etc.
• Non physician members at the Masters/PhD level are encouraged
• Such individuals should be given context for subspecialty fellow research requirements, including 6- or 12-month duration of research in fellowship and the clinical nature of the remainder of fellowship time
• Defense decision requires a simple majority of thesis committee members' votes
• The Thesis Defense Form is completed by the thesis defense committee chair on behalf of the committee and uploaded by the fellow in their ABOG portal
• The Thesis Defense Form includes committee members' names and credentials