Doctoral Defense
All doctoral students must hold a final defense by the deadline published here and on the Registrar’s calendar. The dissertation or scholarly project should be submitted to the committee for final review at least two (2) weeks prior to the date of the final defense. Along with the dissertation, students must share their iThenticate similarity report with the committee. (It is highly recommended that students upload their work to iThenticate well in advance. More information on how to access and use iThenticate can be found on the Graduate School's website)
Dissertation and Scholarly Project defenses must be announced online at least two weeks prior to the defense date. (This does not apply to master's thesis defenses.)
All members of the committee, including the Graduate Faculty Respresentative, must attend the defense. The decision of the faculty advisory committee is final. In the rare event of a split decision, typically the faculty come to an agreement as to whether the student defense is acceptable. It is the responsibility of the committee chair to work within their ability to resolve any impasse among committee members. If no resolution is feasible, then the chair should consult with the Graduate School. No student is permitted to take the final examination more than twice.
Final Defense Documents: The Final Defense Report for Dissertation or Scholarly Project must be signed by your committee on the day of the final defense. The Final Defense Report is submitted to the Graduate School within ONE business day of your final defense. Scanned copies of the signed Dissertation Title Page and the IRB/IACUC/IBC approval memo if applicable, should be forwarded to your college liasion (Information for connecting with your college liaison can be found in the block on this page.) within one business day of the final defense. Please specify Doctoral Documents in the subject line.
Submission
Doctoral Dissertation Submission & ETD Form
- Signed Dissertation Title Page and the IRB/IACUC/IBC approval memo, if applicable. Remit the $45 submission fee and the optional and additional copyright registration fee ($75).
- Survey of Earned Doctorates: required for Ph.D students (Ed.D., DNP, DBA and Master’s students are exempt). The Certificate of Completion will be forwarded automatically to the Graduate School. Complete this by the final submission deadline.
- Create a ProQuest account and submit your dissertation to ProQuest by the final submission deadline.
Master's Defense
All master’s students must hold a final thesis defense by the published deadline. The thesis must be submitted to the committee for final review at least three (3) weeks prior to the date of the final defense.
Final Defense Documents: The Master's Final Defense Report for Thesis or Project must be signed by your committee on the day of the final defense and submitted to the Graduate School within ONE business day of your final defense. Scanned copies of the signed Thesis Title Page and the IRB/IACUC/IBC approval memo if applicable, should be forwarded to your college liaison (Information for connecting with your college liaison can be found in the block on this page.) within one business day of the final defense. Please specify Master's Documents in the subject line.
Submission
Master’s Thesis Submission & ETD Form
- Signed Thesis Title Page and the IRB/IACUC/IBC approval memo, if applicable.
- Remit the $45 submission fee and the optional and additional copyright registration fee ($75).
- Create a ProQuest account and submit your dissertation or thesis through the ProQuest ETD Administrator pages by the final submission deadline.