Defense & Dissertation
Defense and Dissertation Deadlines | 8-Month Waiting Period Requirement | The Defense Dean's Representative | PhD Exam Forms | Dissertation Requirements
Defense and Dissertation Deadlines
Final copies of the dissertation, abstract, Departmental Approval Form, Pro Quest form, and Library form are due to the University's Dissertation Office no later than 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday of eighth week of the quarter in which a student is graduating, seventh week in summer quarter. The defense should be held sufficiently in advance of this deadline to allow revisions recommended by the student's dissertation committee. Departments may set a standard quarterly deadline by which defenses must be held prior to a student graduating. Some departments do not allow defenses in summer quarter.
8-Month Waiting Period Requirement
The University requires an 8-month waiting period between admission to Candidacy and the Defense. In special cases recommended by the department, this requirement can be waived via petition by the Dean of Students.
The Defense Dean's Representative
A faculty representative for the Dean of Humanities should be present at any final examination (defense) for the PhD. Requests for a Dean's Representative should be submitted to the Dean of Students office no later than two weeks before the examination date. Requests during summer quarter require additional time. In addition to the Dean's Rep Request Form, requests should include a copy of the dissertation abstract.
PhD Exam Forms
A PhD Final Exam is used by a department to notify the Dean of Students of the result of a Ph.D. examination (defense). The Dean of Students forwards the form to the Registrar's Office so a notation can made on the student's transcript. The form is then returned to the Dean of Students and a copy of the processed form is placed in the department's mailbox in W111. Honors, if given, should be noted on the form.
Dissertation Requirements
The University's policy on dissertation requirements is published in the Student Manual of Policies and Regulations.
Final copies of the dissertation, abstract, Departmental Approval Form, Pro Quest form, and Library form are due to the University's Dissertation Office no later than 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday of eighth week of the quarter in which a student is graduating, seventh week in summer. The defense should be held in sufficient advance of this deadline to allow revisions recommended by the student's dissertation committee.
Students should contact the Dissertation Office early in the quarter in which they intend to graduate in order to pick up current forms and to resolve any questions or problems they may have in preparing the dissertation. The Dissertation Office staff is willing to look at a draft of the dissertation. Having them do so avoids both the expense and headache of having to re-format the dissertation. They offer a schedule to help students plan for a smooth process to meet these deadlines.
Required forms are available for download from the Dissertation Office website. The Departmental Approval Form must be signed by the department chair. The chair's signature on the form indicates that the accompanying dissertation is in its final form, meets the University-wide requirements for the dissertation, complies with the points noted in the Checklist, and has been accepted as satisfying the degree requirements of the Department. If your department chair wishes to designate another faculty member from within the department to serve as an alternate signer at times when the chair is unavailable, the Dissertation Office must be provided with the name of this professor in advance.
An Organizational/Non-course Chalk site for the use of departmental administrators and the Dissertation Office has been established. This is a new venture, and the Dissertation Office welcomes your suggestions on ways to make it useful. For more information, please contact Colleen Mullarkey at 773-702-7404 or cmullark@uchicago.edu.