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The Oral Defense Philosophy of the Oral Defense The purpose of the oral defense is fourfold and is reflected in the philosophy of the doctoral dissertation. Scheduling of the Oral Defense Before an oral defense may be held, the following steps must be accomplished. 1. A majority of the Doctoral Advisory Committee members must stipulate in writing that the written dissertation is of sufficient quality to be defended. 2. The Examining Committee must be formed. 3. All members of the Examining Committee must have a complete copy of the written, formatted dissertation. 4. A majority of the Examining Committee must stipulate in writing that the written dissertation is of sufficient quality to be defended. (Approving the holding of a defense does not signify approval of the dissertation.) 5. An Examining Committee/Oral Defense Chair must be identified. Announcement of the Dissertation Defense Every dissertation oral defense must be publicly announced in writing at least 10 days in advance of the defense and must be open to the academic community. Minimally, copies of the announcement must be sent to the Graduate School; posted on all the public bulletin boards in and around the department; and sent to all graduate faculty members in the candidate’s program. The defense cannot take place without written confirmation from the Graduate School. The Dissertation Advisory Committee Chairperson and the student will receive a confirmation letter and forms prior to the defense. The Graduate School neither accepts nor reviews any dissertations for which a defense announcement either was not received or was received fewer than ten days in advance. Evaluation of the Dissertation At the oral defense, only the members of the Examining Committee have the authority to decide whether or not the candidate passes or fails. Both the dissertation itself and the candidate’s performance in the oral examination are grounds for the committee’s decision to pass or fail. Each department/program has written guidelines as to (a) what is being evaluated at the defense, (b) what criteria are being used to evaluate, and (c) what constitutes passing. Revisions from the Oral Defense Doctoral candidates may pass the oral but still be required to revise their dissertation. It is the responsibility of the Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair to review and approve minor revisions to the dissertation. Dissertations requiring either minor or no revisions must be submitted to the Graduate School in final form within four weeks of the defense. If the dissertation is not received in the Graduate School within four weeks of the oral defense, that defense is nullified and a new oral defense must be scheduled. When a New Defense Must Be Held If the changes cannot be made within four (4) weeks of the defense or the Examining Committee identifies the required changes as major, then the oral defense must be reconvened. When major revisions are required, the defense should be suspended until the majority of the members of the Dissertation Examining Committee agree that the dissertation has been sufficiently revised and is now defendable. The Dissertation Advisory Committee Chairperson should notify the Graduate School when a defense has been suspended. New defenses also must be announced in writing at least 10 days in advance. Evaluation of the Dissertation All programs have written criteria for an acceptable dissertation and oral defense thereof, as well as procedures for determining whether or not those criteria have been met. Who Can Attend the Oral Defense Attendance at the defense is limited to the following:
If others wish to attend, permission must be obtained in writing from the graduate student and members of the Examining Committee at least five days prior to the defense. If consent is not granted, those seeking permission for others to attend may petition the Dean of the School or College. If there is need for additional appeal, the petitions should be forwarded to the Dean of the Graduate School. Who Must Attend the Oral Defense All members of the Dissertation Examining Committee must be physically present for the defense. If an emergency arises, exceptions must be approved in writing by the Dean of the Graduate School prior to the defense. Absent members of the Examining Committee still must participate in the defense through, for example, the use of teleconferencing, videoconferencing, or, where appropriate, the submission of written comments and questions. No more than one member of the Examining Committee may be physically absent from the defense with the permission of the Dean of the Graduate School.* In all cases, the graduate student and dissertation adviser/Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair must be physically present for the defense. *If a member’s absence is permitted, his or her original signature still will be required on the dissertation signature pages. Who Can Participate in the Oral Defense If there are others in addition to the graduate student and Examining Committee at the defense, it is the responsibility of the Chairperson of the Examining Committee to insure that time is provided for their participation and, conversely, that a portion of the defense is restricted to participation only by members of the Examining Committee. Submission of the Dissertation The Graduate School reserves the right to reject any dissertation which does not meet the criteria stated in the Dissertation Handbook or does not demonstrate a graduate’s knowledge of and ability to conduct original research as described in philosophy of the dissertation. See p. 15. The Dean of the Graduate School and the Graduate Board must approve all completed dissertations. Deadlines All dissertations must be submitted in final form to the Graduate School office within four (4) weeks of the date of the defense. If the Graduate School does not receive the dissertation within four (4) weeks of the defense, the defense is nullified. The Graduate School will not accept a dissertation until a subsequent defense is held. Note: Regardless of a student’s four week due date, graduation deadlines remain the same. If a dissertation is submitted within four (4) weeks of the defense but after the deadline for graduation, the student will be held for the following graduation date. Paperwork After the dissertation is successfully defended and required revisions have been made, the student must submit the following to the Graduate School, Room 501 Carnell Hall:
The Signature pages, "Certification of Acceptability," Microfilm Agreement, and Survey of Earned Doctorates will be delivered to the graduate student’s Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair after receipt and approval of a defense announcement. "Certification of Thesis/Dissertation Acceptability" The "Certification of Thesis/Dissertation Acceptability" must be signed by the graduate student and the student’s Doctoral Advisory Committee Chairperson. By signing, the major adviser attests that he or she has read the final copy and that the content and form, including grammar, spelling, and general readability are accepted. If major problems are discovered when the dissertation is reviewed by the Graduate School, the dissertation may be returned to the major adviser. It then becomes the major adviser’s responsibility to work with the graduate student in bringing the dissertation up to an acceptable standard.
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