abstract:All but dissertation (ABD) is a mostly unofficial term identifying a stage in the process of obtaining a research doctorate in the United States and Canada. At this stage, the student has completed the preparatory coursework, qualifying examinations, comprehensive examinations, and defended his or her dissertation proposal.
Functionalintegrationsuccessfullyenteredphysicsaspathintegralsin the 1942 Ph. D.dissertationofRichard P. Feynman, butit made nosense at allas a mathematicaldefinition.