Dissertation Guidelines

Proposal and Defense Arrangements: Instructions to Students

Overall:

Make sure to plan ahead, keeping in mind the minimum time requirements.

Proposal:

Notify Nicki Metts and ask her to reserve a room, and ask her to send out an announcement to faculty and graduate students at least one week in advance. (Nicki has the dissertation committee signature form, which should be taken to the proposal defense and goes in the student's file.)

Dissertation Defense:

Inform Nicki more than three weeks in advance, because three weeks in advance Nicki has to notify the Mountaineer Spirit and the University Graduate Office. Ask Nicki to reserve a room and to announce the defense to faculty and graduate students at least one week in advance. Get a departmental shuttle sheet and a copy of the format rules for the required electronic posting of the dissertation. Get other information on ETD submissions.

Defense Deadline:

The department must notify Admissions & Records, e.g. by about October 31/ March 15/ May 15 of who graduates in December/May/August. The informal defense deadline is the last day of classes (of either semester), or at least one week before the end of second summer session (but refer also to the library ETD deadline indicated above, which supersedes any departmental deadline).

Paperwork Procedures for Defense:

On the defense date you need to provide your committee with the shuttle sheet (dissertation approval form for the student's file), the ETD signature form for the library, and (optionally) the signature form for the hard-bound copy of the dissertation.