PHD DEFENSE INSTRUCTIONS

I. Purpose/Background

PhD students intending to defend must start this process not less than 8 weeks prior to their planned Public Defense. Students are encouraged to start the process as early as possible to prevent any delays in their targeted graduation. During this time, the student should begin coordinating their planned Public Defense date with their Committee.

    1. Deadlines
      1. The deadline to submit your dissertation and graduate in the same semester in which you defend is typically 3 weeks prior to the end of that semester’s classes.
        1. Thesis Office Target Dates
        2. Semester Calendar
      2. To graduate in the current semester, the Public Defense must be held at least 1 week before the Thesis Office’s Target Dates to allow time for department format review.
      3. The last day to defend in a semester is the last week day before the next semester’s classes begin.
        1. The student will graduate in the following semester if they missed the Thesis Office’s Target date.
        2. The student is not required to enroll in classes for semesters following their defense.
    2. Preliminary Review of Dissertation Format
      1. Prior to the 11th week of the semester, the student must schedule a Preliminary Review of their dissertation to the Thesis Office.
        1. The deadline to conduct a Preliminary Review is typically 5 weeks prior to the end of that semester’s classes.
        2. The Preliminary Review can be done once the student has completed at least one chapter of their dissertation.
      2. Proof of a Preliminary Review by the Thesis Office is required for Department dissertation format approval.

II. Dissertation Approval

The approval process starts when the student’s Committee Chair, typically their Research Advisor, agrees that the draft dissertation is ready for Committee Review

    1. Determination of Private Defense
      1.  A Private Defense can be used by the Committee to approve the dissertation’s content prior to the Public Defense.
      2. The Committee Chair will survey the Committee to determine if a Private Defense is required.
        1. If possible, the Chair and Committee should determine if a Private Defense will be held well in advance of the event (e.g., by division or lab policy).
        2. A Private Defense must be held if any Committee Member asks for it.
        3.  If held, the Private Defense must be scheduled within 2 weeks of the Committee receiving the dissertation.
    2. Committee Approval
      1. The student will provide their dissertation to the remaining Committee Members.
      2. The Committee is allotted 2 weeks for their review.
      3.  Regardless of whether a Private Defense is held, the dissertation review must still occur within the 2-week review period.
    3.  Dissertation Review with Private Defense
      1. The Committee Chair will coordinate the date, time, and location of the Private Defense.
      2. Committee Members are not required to attend the Private Defense, but if they do not attend, they must provide a review of the dissertation as outlined in Section II.d.
      3. After the Private Defense, Committee Members will indicate whether the student’s dissertation is Accepted, Requires Revisions, or Rejected using the PhD Dissertation Content Approval Form. 4. The Committee Chair informs the student of the Committee’s decision and submits the Dissertation Approval Form to Graduate Advising.
    4.  Dissertation Review without Private Defense
      1. Each Committee Member will review the student’s dissertation individually.
      2. Within the 2-week period allotted for their review, Committee Members may request to meet individually with the student.
      3.  After their review, Committee Members will indicate to the Committee Chair whether the student’s dissertation is Accepted, Requires Revisions, or Rejected.
      4. The Committee Chair informs the student of the Committee’s decision and submits the Dissertation Approval Form to Graduate Advising.
    5. Dissertation Revisions
      1. If the dissertation is Requires Revisions, the student has 1 week to respond to the required revisions and return a corrected draft to their Committee.
        1. After receiving the revised dissertation, the Committee has 1 week to verify the revisions.
        2. The Committee may defer to the Committee Chair to ensure that the revisions have been made.
        3. Once all requested revisions are satisfied, the student may proceed with planning their Public Defense and the Committee Chair submits a revised Dissertation Approval Form to Graduate Advising.
        4. If the revisions are not satisfied, the student must make the required revisions and then begin the dissertation review process from the beginning.
      2. If the dissertation is Rejected, the student must make the required revisions and then restart the dissertation review process from the beginning.

III. Scheduling the Public Defense

    1. Announcing the Public Defense
      1. The student will coordinate their Public Defense date and time with their Committee.
      2. Students are encouraged to schedule their Public Defense as soon as possible assuming that their dissertation content will be approved.
    2. Announcing the Public Defense
      1. The student will meet with Graduate Advising and provide a Public Defense Announcement not less than 1 week prior to the defense. 2. If needed, Graduate Advising can assist the student with scheduling a location for the defense.

IV. Conducting the Public Defense

    1. Minimum Committee Chair Responsibilities
      1. Open the defense session by introducing the student and their research topic.
      2. Announce any specific rules pertaining to the defense (e.g., hold questions until the end of the presentation).
    2. Defense Timing
      1. The student’s oral presentation of their research generally lasts 45 minutes.
      2. After the oral presentation, a public discussion period is held, generally lasting 15 minutes.
      3. At the conclusion of the public participation, the Committee may excuse the public to conduct further questioning of the student’s research.
      4. After further questioning of the student’s research, the committee excuses the student and holds a private discussion to decide on the outcome.
      5. The outcome of the defense is reported on the PhD Public Defense Approval Form.
        1. The student will receive a “Pass” on the defense if the majority of the Committee members concur.
        2. Otherwise, the student will receive a “Fail” and must defend their research again.
      6. The Committee Chair informs the student of the Committee’s decision and submits the PhD Public Defense Approval Form to Graduate Advising.

V. After the Public Defense

Once the student has Dissertation Approval and Public Defense Approval, they must submit their dissertation to Graduate Advising for a format review to obtain the Department Chair’s approval.

    1.  Department Format Review
      1. Graduate Advising and Department Chair must be allotted at least one week to review the dissertation.
      2. For the format review, the student will provide Graduate Advising with:
        1. An MS Word document or .pdf of their approved dissertation.
        2. A Grammarly report showing that no major grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. c. Proof of Preliminary Review of format from the Thesis Office.
    2. Thesis Office Review
      1. After the Department chair approves the dissertation, Graduate Advising will notify the student to submit their dissertation to the Thesis Office for approval and publication.
      2. The Thesis Once will inform the student if any format corrections are required.
      3. If revisions are required, the student should make them and resubmit their dissertation within 2 days.
      4. The student will continue to work with the Thesis Office until all formatting requirements are met.
      5. The Thesis Office will notify the student that their dissertation is approved and provide them with instructions to submit their dissertation to ProQuest for online viewing.
    3. Dissertation Approval Requirements
      1. The student’s dissertation must be approved by Thesis Editor no later than 8 months after their Public Defense.
      2. The 8-month deadline includes Department format approval, Thesis Office final approval, and the student’s upload of their dissertation to ProQuest.
      3. If this requirement is not met, any prior approvals of the dissertation will be voided; the student will have to reenroll in class, re-submit, and re-defend their research.

VI. Degree Conferral and Graduation

    1. Graduation Clearance
      1. The student will be cleared to graduate in the current semester if they have met all requirements before the Thesis Office’s deadline to upload to ProQuest. https://gradschool.utah.edu/thesis/calendar.php
      2. If the student has not met the deadline to upload to ProQuest, they must apply to graduate in the subsequent semester.
    2. Degree Conferral
      1. Commencement and the College of Engineering’s Convocation occur once a year after the end of the Spring semester, generally in early May.
      2. Students cleared to graduate in Spring may participate in Commencement and Convocation after the end of that Spring semester.
      3. Students cleared to graduate in Summer or Fall may participate in Commencement and Convocation after the end of the following Spring semester.

VII. Checklist

A summary of events is shown below. All events should occur earlier when possible.

    • ☐ Thoroughly review the Thesis Office’s policies and handbook https://gradschool.utah.edu/thesis/handbook/index.php
      ☐ Conduct Preliminary Review with Thesis Office (before 11th week of semester)
      ☐ Obtain Research Advisor permission to send draft dissertation to Committee

      • ☐ Have Research Advisor coordinate Private Defense requirement with Committee
      • ☐ Determine time, date, and location of Private Defense if applicable
    • ☐ Send draft dissertation to Committee
      • ☐ Allot Committee 2 weeks to review and provide feedback on dissertation content
        ☐ If applicable, Private Defense occurs within 2-week review period
    • ☐ Revise dissertation content as required from Committee feedback
      • ☐ Provide revised dissertation to Committee within 1 week
        ☐ Allot Committee 1 week to review and verify dissertation revisions
    • ☐ Obtain Committee members signatures on PhD Dissertation Content Approval Form once dissertation content is approved
      ☐ Schedule Public Defense

      • ☐ Provide PhD Dissertation Content Approval Form to Grad Advising
        ☐ Determine time, date, and location of Public Defense
        ☐ Provide Defense Announcement to Grad Advising at least 1 week before the scheduled date
    • ☐ Conduct Public Defense
      • ☐ Obtain Committee members signatures on PhD Public Defense Approval Form
        ☐ Provide PhD Public Defense Approval Form to Grad Advising
    • ☐ Allot 1 week for department Format Review
      • ☐ Provide copy of approved dissertation, Grammarly report, and proof of Thesis Office’s Preliminary Review to Grad Advising
        ☐ Revise dissertation formatting if required
    • ☐ Submit department approved dissertation to the Thesis Office
      • ☐ Obtain e-signatures from Committee members and Department Chair
        ☐ Correct any indicated deficiencies and return revisions within 48 hours
        ☐ Upload Thesis Office approved dissertation to ProQuest

VIII. Example Pathways

A. Complete Process Overview

B. Pre-determined Private Defense with No Issues

C. No Private Defense with Two Revisions