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What comes before what you see below?
Approval of Graduate Degree Plan (GDP)
Prelim written and oral exams passed.
Prospectus review and approval (required for Option A prelims only)
The steps below unfold over time, but timing is very important! Review all links embedded in these directions!
____ Assign members to your final defense committee (aka “Final Oral Examination Committee”)
Review rules for final defense committee here, noting especially that:
your advisor can not chair the final defense committee
everyone on the committee must have graduate faculty status that allows them to serve on a doctorate committee; check the list here
If you will have a committee member who is external to UMN, they must be given an HR appointment before submission of committee members. Contact DGS for details.
Review information and assign members to your committee here.
____ With your committee members, schedule a date for your final defense. Things to consider:
Not all faculty are available during summer months.
Remote participation is allowed. Review University conditions and best practices here.
You will need to have your completed (or nearly completed) dissertation to committee members 2-3 weeks prior to the final defense date. [See section below on Thesis Reviewers’ Report Form.]
Allow 1-2 weeks before the final day of the month (e.g., finishing in July? Defend by mid-July, if possible). This will provide time for changes suggested by the committee, final formatting, processing of paperwork, etc. Everything must be finished by the last day of the month!!
Plan for about 3 hours:
45-60 minutes to present (public should be invited)
45-60 minutes for committee to question you
30 minutes for the committee to deliberate (without you)
30-45 minutes for feedback from the committee to you
Reserve a room -- contact Program Coordinator to request a room be scheduled
Humphrey School meeting rooms will generally be too small because the public is invited to the first part
Classrooms in the lower level of the Humphrey School are probably the most appropriate (rooms 20 and 30 each hold 30 people)
Humphrey School Conference Center rooms (Stassen, Wilkins, etc.) can be used but there is a charge, so use only as a last resort
____ Request Graduation Packet here, under "Graduation". Packet will include:
Link to Apply for Degree
Determine the month that you will finish. Apply for degree no later than the first day of that month and no earlier than the second day of the previous month. Examples:
Finishing in May -- apply for degree April 2-May 1
Finishing in August – apply for degree July 2-August 1
Make sure you update your address in MyU to indicate where your paper diploma will be mailed 4-6 weeks after completion!
Formatting guidelines for the dissertation. Although they are referred to as “guidelines,” they are strictly enforced requirements.
A link to the Thesis Reviewers Report form
____ Thesis Reviewers’ Report Form
At least two weeks (preferably three) prior to your final defense date, “reviewers” (typically committee members) must confirm that your dissertation is ready for defense. That means you must give them your finished (or nearly finished) dissertation 2-3 weeks before the final defense date.
As this form is now online, you do not have to deliver it to the GSSP office yourself.
____ “Schedule” your final defense with GSSP
You will have set the date long ago, but at least one week prior to the final defense date (preferably as soon as your committee is approved), you must “schedule” the “Final Oral Examination” with GSSP following the link here.
____ Doctoral Final Exam Report Form
After GSSP has processed the Thesis Reviewers’ Report Form, and your exam has been scheduled, you will be emailed a link to initiate your final exam form.
Once you submit your portion of the form, your committee chair will receive an email link to the form to submit your exam results.
After your defense, the chair will submit the form designating that you have passed the final defense. [If you don’t pass, there are steps to follow that are not included in this documentation.]
Assuming some revisions are necessary, your advisor should not sign/submit the form until all of the final, final, final revisions are made. Note that University policy on graduate education (here) requires committee members to notify the student in writing within seven (7) days of all required revisions to the doctoral dissertation as well as specifying a time limit for the submission of the revised doctoral dissertation.
Once your final dissertation is approved (i.e., no more revisions are needed), you (or your advisor) should submit the form to Program Coordinator. It will be scanned for your HHH file and forwarded to GSSP.
Must be received by GSSP by the last day of the month you wish to have your degree conferred!
____ Submit your dissertation and related documents
Required by state law (because UM is a state institution).
Absolutely everything –- with approved formatting -– must be submitted by the last day of the month you are completing.
Submission of your dissertation and the Doctoral Final Exam Report Form (see section above), are the final requirements for your degree to be conferred!!
Formatting and submission guidelines will be included in your Graduation Packet, but can also be reviewed at this website.
In addition to the required submission above, also send a copy of your dissertation as an attachment to hhhphd@umn.edu.
____ Degree Conferral
Graduate degrees are conferred at the end of every month. Your degree will be conferred at the end of the month that all of the above requirements have been met. NOTE:
To have your degree conferred in September, October, November, or December, you must be registered for fall semester!
To have your degree conferred in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, or August, you must be registered for spring semester!
Your degree will appear on your transcript about the middle of the month following completion of all the requirements above.
Your paper diploma will be sent in the mail 4-6 weeks after that (8 weeks for international delivery). Remember that when you apply for degree, be absolutely certain that you list an accurate mailing address for where you will be when the diploma is mailed.
____ Commencement
The Humphrey School holds a commencement ceremony once a year -– in May. This is not when your degree is conferred! But it’s a great opportunity to celebrate your outstanding accomplishment with family, friends, and the Humphrey community.
You are eligible to participate in commencement if your degree was conferred the prior September through May or is anticipated to be conferred by the following August. Example: degrees conferred September 2017 through August 2018 are eligible for the May 2018 commencement ceremony.
Commencement information (including RSVP) is here.
RSVP is required (also inform Program Coordinator).
PhD recipients are “hooded” in a ceremony on stage (master’s students wear their hoods to the ceremony). You will select the person to hood you in the ceremony. This is typically your advisor, but that isn't a requirement. Contact Andrea Cournoyer (acournoy@umn.edu) in Humphrey Communications to make sure the details of your hooding ceremony are taken care of.
Academic apparel is required. Most people rent the gown, hood, and cap. Details here (under the menu item "Graduation").
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