Final Examinations

When the research committee has approved the candidate’s dissertation and all other requirements for the degree have been met, the student stands for a final examination before the committee. The final defense is to be scheduled by the student in conjunction with the chair and committee members.  The defense must be held by the defense deadline found on the Graduate School website.  The final examination is oral, written, or both and includes a defense of the dissertation and the research on which it is based, as well as questions concerning both the major and minor fields.

Formal notice of satisfactory completion of the final examination is provided to the Graduate School. The Certificate of Completion must be filed in the Graduate School by the date specified for each semester in the Graduate School “Graduation Deadlines.’’

After successfully defending their dissertation, the student is to make the final corrections required by the research committee and program chair and then submit the dissertation to the Graduate School for review by the submission deadline for that term. The dissertation must be uploaded to the Thesis and Dissertation Submission System (TDL) and be approved by the Graduate School before graduation requirements are considered complete. Dissertations requiring extensive revisions may result in an additional semester of enrollment. 

Doctoral students are required to meet ALL graduation deadlines before they can participate in the commencement ceremony.