Students must present each committee member a draft of the dissertation no fewer than 10 business days prior to the scheduled oral defense date. The members give their approval to schedule a defense date.

Students must pass the comprehensive exam before defending the dissertation.

Students complete the Departmental Dissertation Report to finalize the time and place of the defense.

Students prepare a two-page abstract of the dissertation and have it signed by the committee members.

The signed abstract is delivered to the Office of Student Services (Rm 112 FH), where the student receives instructions for distributing the abstract to the faculty electronically.

On the scheduled date, the student presents and orally defends the dissertation to the dissertation committee. The committee may approve the dissertation, suggest changes, or disapprove the dissertation.

If the dissertation is completed prior to the completion of the pre-doctoral internship, it should be bound and submitted to the Office of Student Services (Rm 112 FH) during the final months of the internship. The student graduates only after finishing the internship year, and may apply for graduation during the semester in which their internship will be finished.

If the dissertation is completed and defended before the internship is finished, the student must file a General Petition requesting exemption from continuous enrollment in dissertaion credits until graduation.