Final Exams

The final examination includes a defense of the dissertation and may be as comprehensive in the major and minor areas as the advisory committee chooses to make it. It is conducted by an expanded advisory committee including someone designated by the Dean of the Graduate School (outside examiner). The examination is a public event and its scheduling is published and announced beforehand. Any member of the university community may attend.

Prerequisites

Notification of Intent to Schedule a Final Doctoral Examination (NOTIF)

You are eligible to sit for the final doctoral examination after completion of two semesters of post-qualifying residency. In order to provide sufficient time for the Graduate School to identify an outside examiner, you must submit the NOTIF a minimum of eight weeks prior to the anticipated defense date. To prevent multiple submissions of the NOTIF, this step should not be completed until a complete draft of the dissertation has been submitted to your committee chair (major advisor) for review.

Request for Final Doctoral Examination

This request must be submitted to the Graduate School a minimum of two weeks prior to the scheduled date of the examination. Your outside examiner should be provided with a final copy of the dissertation at this time.  This submission, generates an exam card that is sent by email to the DGS and your major advisor. It is imperative that this form be taken to the exam and signed at the completion of the exam indicating whether you have passed or failed.

The draft of the dissertation submitted to the advisory committee must be complete in content, including all footnotes, tables, figures, and appendices. A full bibliography or set of references must be included as a title page and abstract. All members of the committee except the outside examiner should have had an opportunity to suggest revisions prior to signing the dissertation approval form. Thus, most revisions should have been completed at an earlier time.