...
You should work closely with your dissertation supervisor throughout the dissertation process. Together with You and your supervisor , you will work together to determine when you are ready to schedule the final oral defense meeting . You should follow your supervisor’s advice regarding your readiness for this final step in the process. Usually, when students are anxious to finish and the supervisor is requesting further revisions, it is for a good reason. Revisions requested - revisions suggested by the supervisor reduce the probability of serious and substantive issues being raised by your committee members during the final oral defense meeting. In short, you are more likely to pass your final oral defense meeting if you follow the advice of your supervisor.
Discuss with your supervisor expectations for your conduct at the final oral defense meeting. In general, students give a brief (10-15 min.) summary of their dissertation, including hypotheses and key findings. Sometimes overheads Visuals and/or handouts may be used, but these are not considered necessary. Keep your opening statement brief, because the purpose of the final oral defense meeting is for the committee members to ask you questions and to provide you with their views of your work.
General Notes
During the semester that you will be holding your Final Oral, be sure and to update your program of work and upload it to Program of Work in UTBox. You will then email the GSC Chair (currently, Toni Falbo) to inform her them that you have done so, so that she they has adequate time to conduct a final program Program of work Work check. This step is necessary for the GSC Chair to certify you have completed degree requirements after your final oral.
...
The "Request for Final Oral" form, aka the "Pink Form", must be turned in to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to your final oral, and can be downloaded from the Graduate School website. Download the form, fill in the information needed, and print on pink paper. Official names and titles for committee members can be found in the UT Directory.
...
. There are two options for submission:
- Digitally via Docusign - instructions here >
OR
- In-person - for this, download the form from the Graduate School and print on pink paper, obtain signatures (all on the same form), and bring to the EDP Graduate Coordinator.
| Info |
|---|
You must deliver your dissertation document to your committee members two2 weeks before you ask them to sign the Request for Final Oral form (this would be approximately one month prior to your final oral). Any exceptions to this should be worked out with each committee member, as some members will not sign unless they have received the dissertation with ample time for review. DissertationDissertation committee members should be asked if they prefer a hard copy or electronic copy of your dissertation , or if an electronic copy will suffice. When delivering your dissertation to your committee members, ask that they review it as soon as possible and let your dissertation supervisor and you know if there are significant problems . |
The Graduate School now accepts scanned/electronic signatures on this form. Note: all signatures must be made on the same form. In Educational Psychology, the dissertation supervisor may also sign his/her own name in the place of members who cannot sign and have given written approval for the supervisor to sign instead.
...
. |
...
The Request for Final Oral form and other required materials indicated on that form must be turned into the Graduate |
...
School, at least 2 weeks prior to your final oral. Failure to do this will result in your needing to reschedule your final oral |
...
. |
Note regarding electronic signatures: all signatures must be made on the same form. In Educational Psychology, the dissertation supervisor may also sign their own name in the place of members who cannot sign and have given written approval for the supervisor to sign instead.
Once the Graduate School is finished processing the Request for Final Oral Examination form, they then will e-mail a "Gold Form" to both you and your dissertation supervisor (in the case of co-supervisors, it will be sent to the first one listed on the Request for Final Oral). This form must be printed out on gold-colored paper and brought to your Final Oral for signatures.
...
The committee may choose other options than Pass. These include the following: Reconsideration, Not Pass, and Fail. Reconsideration indicates that extensive revision is necessary, but the committee is willing to examine the rewritten dissertation without a second final oral defense meeting. Not passPass indicates that the committee is not satisfied with the dissertation but believes it could be made satisfactory with rewriting and another oral is scheduled. Fail indicates that at least one member of the committee has decided the dissertation is unsatisfactory and the candidate may not rewrite.
...
After your defense, the Gold Form must be signed by all committee members. Those committee members who are not physically present at your final oral must sign the form digitally. The The Graduate School no longer allows proxy signatures on the Gold form. All signatures must be on the same form. Once all signatures are obtained, the supervisor or student must return the Gold form to the EDP Graduate Coordinator, who will then have the GSC Chair sign it, and will send it to the Graduate School for you.
The white signature sheet must also be signed by all dissertation committee members, and you will turn that in to the Graduate School (Main Building, Room 1), with other required materials, after you upload your dissertation for graduation (see Graduation information). No No proxy signatures are allowed on the white signature form. Digital signatures are accepted from all dissertation members with the exception of the dissertation supervisor, who must provide an ink signature.
Successfully defending a dissertation includes obtaining all signatures on the white signature sheet and the Gold Form, and turning in to the Graduate School to verify completion of degree requirements (except internship). The The Graduate Adviser will follow-up with the Graduate School by email each semester/summer to ensure the requirement for future dissertation registrations are waived.
...
Students should be careful to ensure their dissertations are ready to upload, and that all materials are in the Graduate School office before the deadline. Failure Failure to have everything turned in by the deadline means a student will have to register for dissertation hours for the following fall semester, and is subject to fees for past semesters of waived dissertation hours.