Skip to main content

Dissertation Defense Process

PhD candidates in their final quarters preparing to complete and defend their dissertation will follow this process:

Step 1: The PhD candidate reviews the TGS requirements for the dissertation defense, formatting and submission, and completing the PhD, including the forms and deadlines for graduation published here on the TGS website. The PhD candidate must have completed all steps, forms, submitted their dissertation via ProQuest, and notified the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) of this step’s completion before the TGS published deadline for the department and TGS to approve their graduation.

Step 2: At the start of the quarter the PhD candidate and their advisor will determine if the PhD candidate is likely to be able to defend their dissertation in the following quarter and, if they may be, set a tentative date for the defense.

Step 3: The PhD candidate will notify the DGS, the Graduate Program Assistant, and the department Business Coordinator of their intention to defend and the tentative defense date in the first 3 weeks of the quarter prior to the one a PhD candidate hopes to defend their dissertation in:

If the PhD candidate and their advisor determine later in that quarter that they will be unable to defend in the following quarter as originally intended, the PhD candidate will notify the DGS, the Graduate Program Assistant, and the department Business Coordinator of this and inform them of the new quarter in which they intend to defend. The PhD candidate may be assigned to TA/GA in the upcoming quarter (if this is needed) if they will no longer be defending in that quarter.

Step 4a: The PhD candidate submits their Application for Degree form by the deadline published in the academic calendar. This form can be withdrawn and a new one submitted for a different quarter if needed. Information on submitting this form can be found here.

Step 4b: The PhD candidate will set the date and time for their defense with their committee and notify the DGS, the Graduate Program Assistant, and the department Business Coordinator of the date and time. This information must be provided to the DGS, the Graduate Program Assistant, and the department Business Coordinator no less than 60 days prior to the defense date and the date and time must be confirmed by the department.

Step 5: Once the date and time are confirmed, the Graduate Program Assistant will send the PhD candidate an email and a form to collect required information from them and assist with securing a room for the dissertation defense. The PhD candidate will return the completed form and provide any requested information no less than 30 days prior to the date of the defense.

As a reminder, the defense is a public talk open to the Northwestern community. In person defenses are preferred but online may be requested if the committee or the PhD candidate requires it. The department will set up the talk link for any approved online defense. Hybrid is also an option. The department will set up the link for a hybrid talk, but the PhD candidate will be responsible for the technology set up and online interaction for presenting.

Step 6: The Graduate Program Assistant will confirm the room for the defense and send the PhD candidate the draft of the talk flyer to review. The defense talk information will be posted on the department website. The talk flyer will be distributed to the department lists approximately 2 weeks prior to the defense date.

Step 7: The PhD candidate submits their PhD Final Exam Form. Information on submitting this form can be found here.

Step 8: One business day before the talk, the PhD candidate will check in with the Graduate Program Assistant to ask any last questions and confirm arrival time for set-up at the defense talk location or the online set-up time.

Step 9: The day of the defense, the PhD candidate will arrive at the defense talk location or join the online meeting at the designated time to set-up with the Graduate Program Assistant and ensure tech is working properly. If the department is providing beverages or any other refreshments for the talk, the Graduate Program Assistant will set this up prior to the talk and clean-up after the event provided it is during business hours. There will be no department staff support for defense talks outside of business hours (8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Friday). If the talk starts, ends, or is completely outside of business hours the PhD candidate will be responsible for setting up and/or cleaning up after the event if it is in person or hybrid. PhD candidates and their committees are strongly encouraged to schedule the defense to start and conclude within business hours whenever possible.

If the defense talk must be canceled and rescheduled for any reason, the PhD candidate must notify the DGS, the Graduate Program Assistant, and the department Business Coordinator as far in advance of the scheduled date as possible.

If the PhD candidate passes the defense, they will continue through the steps listed below. If the PhD candidate does not pass, they will withdraw the forms and work with their advisor to schedule the new defense. Once this new date has been set, the PhD candidate will notify the DGS, the Graduate Program Assistant, and the department Business Coordinator of the new date and begin again at Step 4a.

Step 10: If the PhD candidate passes the defense, the committee submits their approvals for the final exam form. Each committee member must approve the form after the defense date.  

Step 11: The PhD candidate completes any edits to their dissertation and submits it via ProQuest following the submission directions. Submission and formatting information can be found here.

Step 12: The PhD candidate notifies the DGS by email with a cc to the Graduate Program Assistant that they have successfully submitted their dissertation via ProQuest. The submission of the dissertation and notification to the DGS should happen as soon as possible after the defense but must happen by no later than 3:00 PM on the TGS “Dissertation, PhD Final Exam, and change of grade forms due to TGS for {quarter} PhD candidates” published deadline in the academic calendar for the quarter they wish to graduate in. This will ensure the final step happens in time to meet the TGS deadline requirement. If for any reason the PhD candidate thinks they will not be able to upload their dissertation and notify the DGS by 3:00pm on the published deadline they must contact the DGS to discuss their situation. The department cannot grant extensions for TGS deadlines.

Step 13: Once the PhD candidate notifies the DGS that their dissertation has been submitted to ProQuest, the DGS or the Graduate Program Assistant acting as the DGS’s designated proxy will submit the department approval of the PhD Final Exam form. TGS does the final review and approval. The PhD candidate will receive notifications for both the department approval and the final approval from TGS for the degree. Diplomas will be mailed or ready for pick up per the Graduation and Diploma Mailing Policy. Certificates of Completion are also available from TGS if needed.

 

Additional information to keep in mind:

PhD candidates may be assigned to TA or GA in the quarter they will defend their dissertation. This may be taken into account along with TGS deadlines when confirming a defense date.

All incomplete (Y, X, K) or missing (NR) grades on a PhD candidate’s transcript must be resolved before the PhD Final exam form can be approved by the department. The PhD candidate should check their transcript for any of these when notifying the department of the quarter they intend to defend and work with the department DGS and Graduate Program Assistant to ensure the appropriate change of grade forms are submitted to TGS by their published deadline. The DGS cannot submit the department approval for the PhD Final Exam form until these are resolved.

“In order for The Graduate School (TGS) to award a degree, students must meet degree requirements and file the appropriate graduation forms by the deadlines published in the academic calendar.”

“When a PhD PhD candidate graduates, when does their stipend end?
A PhD students will receive a stipend payout through the end of the month in which they complete/submit all degree requirements.”

PhD candidates are expected to defend their dissertation as soon as it is ready. Timing should not be delayed or influenced by their personal job search.

Information on graduation and diplomas can be found here.