Dissertation Defense and Summary

Graduate School Requirements: Before and After Your Defense

i. There must be a minimum of 8 months between the proposal defense and the dissertation defense.

ii. The student is required to submit two items: (1) dissertation manuscript and (2) dissertation summary to the supervisory committee 2 weeks prior to the dissertation defense.

  1. Manuscript requirements:
    1. See the Thesis Office Requirements
  2. The Dissertation Defense Summary requirements:
    1. Provide a succinct, one-page description of what you have accomplished through your research. A second page should outline deliverables achieved.
    2. Your supervisory committee will have a clear understanding of the contributions you have made.
    3. To be submitted with the manuscript to the supervisory committee 2 weeks prior to the dissertation defense.

iii. The student must submit at least one paper (manuscript) to a committee-approved, peer-reviewed journal by the time of the defense.

Robotics Program Protocol:

Before your defense: 

  1. Recommended: Read the Graduate School Thesis FAQs.
  2. Recommended:  Make an appointment with a thesis editor to review your dissertation. The Graduate School Thesis Office is open daily for walk-ins before the semester target date. 
  3. Recommended: Submit a preliminary review of your manuscript to the Thesis Office (Required: Enter the date in Grad Tracker).
  4. Recommended: Review Thesis Office target dates, Thesis Handbook and Thesis Office procedures. Watch Thesis Office YouTube videos:  https://www.youtube.com/@uofutahthesisoffice 
  5. Required, ASAP: Schedule a room for the day of the defense. Reserve a room in MEK or MEB (ask your faculty’s preference). Remember to set up a Zoom link if needed for remote committee members. 
  6. Required, minimum 3 weeks prior to defense: Submit your dissertation manuscript and a dissertation summary to each committee member. See Robotics Dissertation Defense Summary.pdf in Grad Tracker Stand-alone forms (right side) for an example. 
    1. Each committee member will review the student’s dissertation individually.
    2. The committee is allotted 2 weeks for their review. Within the 2-week period, 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 (1) Accepted, (2) Requires revisions, or (3) Rejected.
  7. Required, minimum 1 week prior to defense: Submit Oral Dissertation (Defense) CONTENT APPROVAL in Grad Tracker. Committee signatures required.
  8. Required, minimum 1 week prior to defense: Submit Oral Dissertation (Defense) DEFENSE ANNOUNCEMENT in Grad Tracker. 
  9. Required, minimum 1 week prior to defense: The Robotics Coordinator will email details of your defense to students and faculty.

 

After your defense: 

Coming soon!


PhD Specific Registration Requirements

Students defending a dissertation must be registered for at least one credit hour during the semester of the student’s dissertation defense (see Graduate Coordinator). Once a student has passed the dissertation defense, the student does not have to register during the next term, but the final dissertation should be turned in within 90 days.

The Grad School limit for a PhD Defense is 7 years.