Ph.D. Final Examination
Dissertation Defense
PH.D. FINAL EXAMINATION
A Ph.D. Final Examination may be scheduled if:
- the student passed a General Examination in a previous quarter
- the student completes a minimum of 30 dissertation credits (EE 800)
- the student is registered for minimum of 2 credits for the quarter of expected graduation
- a reading committee is officially established with the Graduate School
- a reading committee has read an entire draft of a dissertation and voting members of a supervisory committee agree that a candidate is prepared to take a Final Examination
Dissertation Reading Committee
The student's first step toward appointment of the Dissertation Reading Committee is to assess the membership of the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee and to make changes if there are faculty who need to be added or deleted. This should be done approximately two to three quarters before the anticipated date of the Final Examination. The student should notify the Advising Office of any changes to be made to the Supervisory Committee, so that the Graduate School can be notified to make the formal changes.
The second step is to formally establish the Dissertation Reading Committee approximately one quarter before scheduling the Final Examination. Students should consult with the faculty advisor to determine which faculty on the Supervisory Committee would be appropriate Reading Committee members (three members including the faculty advisor and of course excluding the GSR). These are the faculty who will actually read the dissertation thoroughly, and who will sign the signature page of the dissertation. After determining the reading committee choices, the student should contact those individual faculty to get their agreement to serve on the Reading Committee. The student should then notify the Advising Office of the selection, and an official memo will be sent to the Graduate School to have the committee appointed. The Graduate School will send email confirmation to the student and to the Reading Committee members.
Scheduling the Final Exam
The Request to Schedule Exam form should be submitted 3 weeks in advance of the exam date.
ALL members of the Supervisory Committee including the GSR, regardless of whether or not they intend to attend the exam, must agree to the scheduling of the exam and will need to confirm their agreement via email per instructions below.
A minimum of 4 members are required to attend: the chairperson, the GSR, and 2 other committee members.
THE STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITIES ARE:
- Submit a complete draft of the dissertation to the committee 4-6 weeks before the exam so that they will have sufficient time to review the paper before agreeing to schedule the exam.
- Confer with advisor and other committee members to determine if they agree that the paper is
acceptable and that the exam can be scheduled.
- After the committee has agreed that the student may
proceed to schedule the exam, consult with the committee members to select a date and time for the exam.
- After the date/time has been determined, reserve a room for the exam, using EE Departmental Calendars.
- Notify all committee members of the final date/time/room,
and ask that they confirm via email stating "I agree that the student
is ready to schedule the Final Exam. I agree to the [date/time] and [location]." ALL members of the
Supervisory Committee including the GSR, regardless of whether or not they intend to attend the exam,
must agree to the scheduling of the exam and will need to confirm their agreement via email.
- Forward all emails to the EE Advising Office, fjones@ee.washington.edu, and state the exam date, time and location, and the title of the
talk.
- Schedule the exam using the Graduate School online form using the MyGrad Student View.
- Remind the committee members of the exam date a day or two ahead of the exam.
Dissertation Format
The Graduate School publishes a manual, Style and Policy Manual for Theses and Dissertations, which outlines format requirements. This manual should be read thoroughly before a student begins writing a dissertation. A dissertation must meet all format requirements before being accepted by the Graduate School.
The Graduate School provides a handy Dissertation Checklist.
Final Examination
The Final Examination is an oral defense of the dissertation.
If a Final Examination is satisfactory, the Ph.D. Supervisory Committee members who participate at the examination sign the warrant and return it to the EE Advising Office by the last day of the quarter (last day of finals week). Any members of a supervisory committee who participate at an examination but do not agree with the majority opinion are encouraged to submit a minority report to the Dean of the Graduate School. If an examination is unsatisfactory, a supervisory committee may recommend that the Dean of the Graduate School permit a second examination after a period of additional study.
Submitting Dissertation
Students are required to be registered for a minimum of 2 credits for the quarter that the Final Examination is held.
After the Final Examination, the candidate has 60 days in which to submit a dissertation to the Graduate School. Registration as a graduate student is required the quarter that a Final Examination is taken AND the quarter the dissertation is submitted. If the 60 day time period expires, another Final Examination may be required. The degree is conferred the quarter in which the student's dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School.
A candidate certificate and the doctoral degree may not be awarded the same quarter.
Graduate Registration Waiver Fee The $250 Graduate Registration Waiver Fee is an optional fee paid in lieu of registration. Students who have completed all degree requirements but needed additional time to format the dissertation for a 2 week period directly following the quarter in which all Graduate School and graduate program degree requirements are met, may take advantage of this opportunity to pay the fee and not have to register the following quarter. Qualifying students who pay this fee will graduate in the quarter following the fee payment period. Note: This option may have an effect on the grace period for student loans becoming due; students should check with their lenders for registration requirements before utilizing this option in lieu of registration.
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This page was last updated Friday, 23-Oct-2009 16:50:37 PDT