Dissertation Seminar/Defense

1. Intention to receive degree

When a student and his/her advisor have agreed that the student is ready to finish within a semester, the student needs to submit the “Intention to Receive Degree” form to the graduate school. This form can only be submitted online. It can be found here. The submission deadlines are as follows: January 25 for a May degree; July 1 for a September degree; November 1 for a December degree.

When the student submits the intention to receive degree form, he/she should also inform the BGSO of the intended defense date and the title of the thesis. The BGSO will fill out the Final Examination Form for the graduate school, and if the student is finishing mid-semester, will make arrangements for payment of fees.

2. The written thesis

The graduate school has very specific guidelines for the format of the written thesis, which it has compiled into a booklet called “Guide for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertations”. When a student is preparing to write the final thesis, he/she should stop by the BGSO to pick up a copy of the Guide. At least one week before the oral defense date, the student takes the thesis to the graduate school to have the format inspected. The student should make an appointment with Susan Williford (681-3251) for this purpose. Before taking the thesis to the graduate school, the student should stop by the BGSO to pick up the Final Examination Form, which needs to be turned in when the thesis is inspected.

After the oral defense, if all committee members vote to pass the candidate, they sign their names on at least the acid-free and the first copy of the dissertation title page, on the acid-free and first copy of the abstract title page, and on the certificate of notification to the Dean (doctoral exam card). The final exam certificate should be returned promptly to the Graduate School Office (127 Allen Building), either by the student or by the chairperson of the student’s committee. A committee that finds that the candidate has passed except for minor revisions should sign the dissertation examination certificate and abstract, with the understanding that the supervisor sees and approves the revisions before the dissertation is submitted to the library. The student has up to one month to make the requested changes. This one month period will not apply if the examination occurs just before the end of a semester or summer session. At those times, the corrected dissertation and required forms must be returned immediately in order to meet specified deadlines for the awarding of degrees. If, at the end of the semester or term, the student cannot meet these deadlines, the student will be required to register for the ensuing term or semester in which the degree will be awarded.

3. The Dissertation Seminar

The Dissertation Seminar and the Oral Defense are generally given on the same day during consecutive time slots. The seminar, which is given first, is an hour long presentation of the thesis that is open to all members of the department. Flyers, coffee and cookies are provided by the BGSO.

4. The Oral Defense

After the Seminar, the student and the committee meet privately for the Final Examination. Questions asked during the defense should concern the candidate’s dissertation and related matters. The examination is oral and normally continues at least two hours, but not more than three.

It should be noted that a student cannot schedule the oral defense during a period when the University is not officially in session (i.e., during breaks between semesters, holidays, spring break or fall break). Without special and prior approval from the Dean, any examination held while school is not formally in session is illegal and may have to be declared invalid. The examination will also be declared invalid if fewer than four committee members are present. If one of a student’s committee members cannot make it to the exam (even if four members remain), the student should inform the BGSO immediately so that arrangements for conference call or substitution can be made. The final examination should never be held with a committee other than the one approved by the Graduate School.