PhD Dissertation, Defense, and Forms

Dissertation and Defense
Your Ph.D. advisory committee will serve as your dissertation examination committee. Two months before you wish to defend your dissertation, you should resubmit to the Graduate Program Coordinator your certification form and, if needed, the names of any substituted or additional committee members.

The Doctor of Philosophy, a research degree, requires documentation of your ability for independent investigation presented as a dissertation based on your original research. This dissertation must be submitted to your examining committee TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE EXAM. Your examination committee will assess your written dissertation and examine you principally in the area of your research. Approval by this committee as evidenced by their signatures on the Graduate School warrant represents the final step in awarding of the Ph.D. degree by the program. Please bring copies of the Thesis/ Dissertation Defense Performance Evaluation form with you to your defense (see forms).

As per Graduate School policy, Doctoral degree recipients must acknowledge in the dissertation contributions made by other individuals, including co-authors of published work that appears in the document, such as in designing the research, executing the research, analyzing the data, interpreting the data/research, or writing, proofing, or copyediting the manuscript. Additionally, any co-advisor role is formalized by including the following statement in advisor policy: The co-advisor will be designated on dissertation documentation.

While many programs include a dissertation defense seminar immediately prior to the defense, the Nutrition and Metabolism Graduate Program does not. Rather, you will be required to present a seminar in NS 931 during your last semester, but this seminar does not need to coincide with your defense.

Shortly before or after your dissertation defense, contact the Nutrition and Metabolism Graduate Program Director of Graduate Studies to schedule an exit interview. This meeting provides you with the means to provide feedback on the program. Your experiences and insights are invaluable in helping us improve the Nutrition and Metabolism Graduate Program for current and future students.

Please note the following when picking your defense date. You should be enrolled in the semester in which you are defending. At the end of the semester there are dates referred to as the “window period”. If you feel you need to complete your dissertation in the intermediary time between semesters, please talk to the Graduate Program Coordinator to ensure your enrollment in the correct semester.

Defense Warrant and Forms

1. Defense Warrant Request–request at least 3 weeks prior to your defense date. You can request this by filling out the form at the bottom of the page.
2. Thesis/Dissertation Defense Performance Evaluation–one copy per committee member. Your committee chair should collect them and return them to the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Defense Warrant Request