Dissertation and Doctoral Defense
The student will complete the research and write the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project in close collaboration with their research advisor(s). All students must follow the school/department style guide as well as the Graduate School guidelines for writing the doctoral dissertation or doctoral scholarly project. The Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation and Doctoral Scholarly Project Format Manual can be found on the Graduate School website. Student should discuss discipline specific formatting rules with their doctoral committee advisor.
- Upon completion of the dissertation or project, the research advisor should direct the student to arrange the date, time and place of the defense of the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project with all committee members. After all arrangements are made, the student or research advisor will notify the Graduate School by forwarding a signed and completed Request to Schedule a Doctoral Examination form found at www.unco.edu/graduate-school/pdf/Request-Schedule-Doctoral-Exam.pdf
In order for the Graduate School to approve a request for the student to defend the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project, the following conditions must be met:
- The committee members and faculty representative (for dissertation committees) must be the same as those approved by the Graduate School.
- The student's plan of study, written and oral comprehensive examination results must have been received and recorded by the Graduate School.
- The student must have been admitted into candidacy at least one semester prior to requesting to defend the dissertation.
- The Request to Schedule a Doctoral examination must be turned in to the Graduate School at least two weeks (14 calendar days) before the requested date of the defense to allow for the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project defense to be publicized. The defense may not be schedule for weekends or when University offices are closed for holidays as the defense is considered a public hearing.
- The defense of the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project must be scheduled at least five weeks (35 calendar days) prior to the anticipated graduation date. If it is not, the student may not graduate until the following semester.
The student is responsible for confirming the date and time of the examination with all of the committee members. The Graduate School will approve and publicize the examination date, time and place in the UNC Today or in any other appropriate university publication two weeks prior to the scheduled date. The Graduate School forwards a results form to the student’s Research Advisor as approval of the defense.
Any examination which is not scheduled in advance through the Graduate School will not be recognized as valid and must be retaken.
Prior to the defense date, the research advisor should discuss the nature and purpose of the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project defense with the student. Generally, the student is instructed to prepare a brief presentation of the study from the purpose to the results and discussion.
All committee members including the faculty representative must be present through the entire defense or a substitute assigned according to the guidelines for Doctoral Committee. All members of the graduate faculty may attend the defense and may ask questions of the student after the committee members finish their questioning. Other graduate students may attend with permission from the research advisor. The committee is free to ask any questions pertaining to the dissertation or capstone. The student is expected to understand and demonstrate expertise on all aspects of the study including the data analyses and theoretical or practical implications and should avoid being unaware of the procedure or logic followed in the data analyses. It is recommended that the student bring at least 2 copies of the signature pages for the dissertation or capstone to the defense in the event that the committee evaluates the performance as a pass so that committee members can then sign the results form and the signature pages. The dissertation committee will evaluate the student’s performance at the defense as well as the written dissertation or doctoral scholarly project as a "pass", "may pass with conditions", or "failed" on the results of the dissertation defense form.
- Pass: If the student passes the defense, the research advisor shall obtain the signatures of the research committee members on the results form (which the research advisor will bring to the defense), and submit the form to the Graduate School. The student shall proceed to make any corrections to the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project that are required by the research committee and submit the corrected dissertation or doctoral scholarly project to the committee members (if required) for their review and signatures. The student must provide 2 necessary copies of the signature page for Graduate School records. Original signatures are required on every signature page.
- May Pass: If the research committee requires the student to meet stated conditions, the research advisor shall list the conditions on the results form along with a timeline for completion, obtain the signatures of the committee members on the results form, and submit the form to the Graduate School. The list of conditions must include a statement regarding the number of additional defense meetings (if applicable) and the amount of additional time allowed by the research committee. The student shall proceed to make any corrections required by the research committee and submit the corrected dissertation or doctoral scholarly project to the committee members for their signatures. The results form shall be retained by the Graduate School until either conditions are met, or the committee deems the student has not met the conditions. After the student submits the corrected dissertation or doctoral scholarly project to the committee, or otherwise attempts to meet the required conditions, the research advisor shall obtain the original results form from the Graduate School. If the student does not meet the stated conditions, the Graduate School shall then notify the student that the degree program is terminated.
- Failed: If a student fails the defense, the research advisor shall obtain the signatures of the research committee members on the results form and submit the form to the Graduate School. The Graduate School shall then notify the student that the student's degree program is terminated.
- The committee must reach a unanimous decision on the final evaluation of the candidate’s dissertation defense. If the committee cannot reach consensus, then committee members may initiate the Dissertation Objection process
The results of dissertation and doctoral scholarly project defenses must be reported to the Graduate School no later than the semester following the defense or the Graduate School may require the student to repeat the defense.
Dissertation and Doctoral Scholarly Project Filing
After completing any necessary revisions and obtaining approval of the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project by the student's research committee, students must submit the following to the Graduate School for an editorial review and final approval by the Dean of the Graduate School.
The student will then be asked to make revisions and/or submit the required copies of the final dissertation or doctoral scholarly project to the Dean of the Graduate School for signature. The dissertation or doctoral scholarly project is not approved until signed by the Dean of the Graduate School. Dissertations will receive two formatting reviews. Students who do not have the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project in the correct format by the third submission to the Graduate School will be moved to the next semester for graduation.
If the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project is not filed with the Graduate School at least four weeks (28 calendar days) before the student’s anticipated graduation date, the student may not graduate until the following semester.
Upon filing the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project, the Graduate School will require each doctoral student to complete specific forms relating to the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project and will bill the students’ UNC account for digital archiving and dissemination of the dissertation or doctoral scholarly project. Final submission procedures and necessary forms can be found on the Graduate School website (www.unco.edu/graduate-school/student-resources/current-students/graduate-school-forms.aspx). The dissertation or doctoral scholarly project will be electronically stored and the dissertation abstract will be published in ProQuest Information and Learning (formally Dissertation Abstracts) and in the University Library’s Digital UNC. The Graduate School follows an electronic only process for dissertations and doctoral scholarly projects; therefore, students are not required to submit hard copies for binding.
Dissertation Objection
If a dissertation is filed with all but one of the signatures of the research committee members, the Dean of the Graduate School or their designee will ask the non-signing member if they wish to enter a formal objection(s). Should the committee member file an objection, the Dean of the Graduate School will appoint a review committee to assess the specific objection(s). If the review committee rules that the objection(s) does/do not justify the rejection of the study, the chairperson of the review committee will sign the dissertation in place of the dissenting faculty member. If the review committee rules that the objection(s) is/are valid, the student must take appropriate steps to modify the dissertation in order to gain the approval of the original dissertation committee.