Planning for Final Oral Meeting & Graduation
The semester before you plan to graduate, you should thoroughly review the Graduation Guidelines and Deadlines on the OGS website. This site also includes all forms necessary for your final oral defense meeting and graduation. OGS recommends that you provide a copy of your dissertation to committee members at least two weeks in advance of the completion of the Request for Final Oral, which must be submitted to OGS at least two weeks in advance of your final oral.
Final Oral Meeting. You should work closely with your dissertation supervisor throughout the dissertation process. Together with your supervisor, you will determine when you are ready to schedule the final oral defense meeting. You should follow your supervisor’s advice regarding your readiness for this final step in the process. Usually, when students are anxious to finish and the supervisor is requesting further revisions, it is for a good reason. Revisions requested by the supervisor reduce the probability of serious and substantive issues being raised by your committee members during the final oral defense meeting. In short, you are more likely to pass your final oral defense meeting if you follow the advice of your supervisor.
At least two weeks in advance of your final oral defense meeting, the Request for Final Oral must be submitted to OGS, along with copies of your vita and dissertation abstract. Each member of your committee, as well as the Graduate Adviser, must sign the Request for Final Oral form, which you can print from the OGS website. Since completion of your Program of Work must be verified by the Graduate Coordinator prior to signing your Request for Final Oral, you are advised to complete the Request early in the semester in which you plan to defend your dissertation.
Discuss with your supervisor expectations for your conduct at the final oral defense meeting. In general, students give a brief (10-15 min.) summary of their dissertation, including hypotheses and key findings. Sometimes overheads and/or handouts may be used, but these are not considered necessary. Keep your opening statement brief, because the purpose of the final oral defense meeting is for the committee members to question you.
Be sure to bring copies of your dissertation signature sheets to be signed at the end of the final oral defense meeting in the event that you pass your defense. All memebers must sign the signature sheet (even if one is not present at the final oral).
Dissertation defense meetings generally go well (i.e., there is a unanimous vote to pass the student). Some revisions of the document are almost always requested. Be sure to leave time to complete these before the deadline to submit your dissertation to the Graduate School (last day of class).
The committee may choose other options than Pass. These include the following: Reconsideration, Not Pass, and Fail. Reconsideration indicates that extensive revision is necessary, but the committee is willing to examine the rewritten dissertation without a second final oral defense meeting. Not pass indicates that the committee is not satisfied with the dissertation but believes it could be made satisfactory with rewriting and another oral is scheduled. Fail indicates that at least one member of the committee has decided the dissertation is unsatisfactory and the candidate may not rewrite.
