Special Notice
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University Graduate School has updated its guidelines for conducting thesis and dissertation defenses. Click here for more information.
Schedule Your Defense
One of the last steps to obtaining your doctoral degree is to defend your dissertation. Once you have finalized your dissertation, you must schedule and announce your defense.
First, arrange a mutually agreeable time with your committee. Set up the oral exam at least 30 days prior to when you wish to defend. Provide all members of your committee with a complete copy of your dissertation at least 30 days before the defense so they will have sufficient time to read and criticize your work.
Announce Your Defense
Once the date of your defense has been established, you should complete the Ph.D. Defense Announcement Submission through OneStart. The announcement e-doc must reach the University Graduate School at least 30 days before the date of your defense. The University Graduate School begins counting the 30 days from the date your e-doc is received by our office. We recommend that you submit the e-doc at least 40 days before your defense date to allow time for the e-doc to route for approval through your academic department.
The summary should be informative and contain a brief statement of the principal results and conclusions. Unlike the abstract, which is intended for specialists in the field, an attempt should be made in the summary to communicate the findings in language and style that can be understood by the University community at large. The summary should be no less than 150 and no more than 300 words in length.
Submit your announcement on One.iu »
Once announced, the time and place cannot be changed without the approval of the dean of the University Graduate School.
Ordinarily, the defense is conducted here at Indiana University, but under extraordinary circumstances other arrangements can sometimes be made. Prior approval must be obtained from your committee and the University Graduate School.
After submitting your Ph.D. Defense Announcement Submission e-doc, track your document to ensure timely approval. Retain the email confirmation containing your document ID.
Learn how to track your announcement »
At Your Defense
Have your committee sign the acceptance and abstract pages of your dissertation at the defense.
Learn more about formatting requirements »
Upcoming Announcments
This list of scheduled Ph.D. dissertation defenses is distributed so that faculty may attend or see the full announcement. If you are a faculty member and wish to see the full announcement, please call the University Graduate School Office at (812) 855-8853. If you wish to attend, please contact the committee chair in advance as a courtesy.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, GRADUATE DIVISION
Monday, January 25, 2021, 12:00 pm
Biochemistry
Walker, Benjamin
INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE MECHANOCHEMICAL CYCLES AND STRUCTURES OF KINESIN-10 AND MYOSIN-II MOLECULAR MOTORS
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Claire Walczak, (812-855-5919)
Monday, January 25, 2021, 1:30 pm
Sociology
Kelley, Kristin
How Economic Resources and Behavioral Attributions Shape Views of Women and Men Who Break Gendered Marital Name Norms
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Youngjo Cha, (812-856-1798)
Thursday, January 28, 2021, 1:00 pm
Spanish
Le Calvez House, Gaelle
WRITING ANTAGONISM: EXPLORING THE FISSURES OF HEGEMONY IN MEXICO 1994-2020
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Patrick Dove, (812-855-6136)
Monday, February 01, 2021, 11:30 am
Germanic Studies
Schlaefer, Friederike
The evolution of love in Robert Musil's oeuvre
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Johannes Turk, (812-855-1080)
Friday, February 05, 2021, 2:00 pm
Physics
Solyst, William
Longitudinal Double Spin Asymmetries for Intermediate Rapidity Neutral Pions at STAR
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Scott Wissink, (812-855-5192)
Tuesday, February 09, 2021, 2:00 pm
Cognitive Science; Psychology
Harding, Samuel
Dynamic Perception Revealed by Cursor Movements
Psychology A320
Chair: Prof. Bennett Bertenthal / Prof. Richard Shiffrin, (812-856-0958 / 812-855-4972)
Friday, February 12, 2021, 12:15 pm
Microbiology
Onyeziri, Maureen
Differential Biosynthesis and Control of Two Discrete Unipolar Polysaccharide Adhesins in Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Clay Fuqua, (812-327-4356)
Friday, February 19, 2021, 3:00 pm
Physics
Groh, Micah
CONSTRAINTS ON NEUTRINO OSCILLATION PARAMETERS FROM NEUTRINOS AND ANTINEUTRINOS WITH MACHINE LEARNING
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Mark Messier, (812-855-0236)
Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 9:00 am
Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior
Parker, Erik
The Evolutionary Ecology Of Host-Microbiome Symbiosis In Onthophagus Dung Beetles
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Armin Moczek, (812-856-1468)
Friday, February 26, 2021, 8:00 am
Geological Sciences
Lynch, Brigid
Quantitative approaches to landscape evolution using numerical modeling, geochronometry, and bedrock river morphology
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Brian Yanites, (812-855-6109)
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, GRADUATE DIVISION
Thursday, February 18, 2021, 11:00 am
Higher Education
Covington, Megan
"The Academy is but a plantation to me": A Critical Exploration of the Influence of Teaching Courses with Race Content on Black Women Graduate Instructors' Perspectives and Aspirations Towards Faculty Careers
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Lucy LePeau, (812-856-8392)
Friday, February 19, 2021, 1:00 pm
Counseling Psychology
Zounlome, Nelson
THE BLACK EDUCATIONAL ENCOURAGEMENT INTERVENTION: A CULTURALLY INFORMED APPROACH
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Y. Joel Wong, (812-856-8293)
SCHOOL OF INFORMATICS, COMPUTING, AND ENGINEERING, GRADUATE DIVISION
Monday, January 25, 2021, 10:00 am
Computer Science
Zhu, Kaiyuan
Algorithmic Advances in Genomic Data Compression, Indexing and Secure Querying
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Cenk Sahinalp, (812-369-6927)
Monday, January 25, 2021, 2:00 pm
Computer Science
Doosti, Bardia
Hand Pose Estimation from Single RGB Images
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. David Crandall, (812-856-1115)
Friday, February 12, 2021, 10:30 am
Informatics
Peirce Caudell, Alexis
A Lively Boundary: Children's Perspectives On Technology, Nature and How They Relate
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Christena Nippert-Eng, (773-450-2129)
Monday, April 19, 2021, 10:00 am
Information Science
Bueckle, Andreas
Optimizing Performance and Satisfaction in Virtual Reality Environments with Interventions Using the Data Visualization Literacy Framework
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Katy Borner, (812-855-3256)
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Friday, January 29, 2021, 1:00 pm
Epidemiology
Lyu, Chen
Detecting Gene-by-gene Interactions and Methylation Quantitative Trait Loci Associated With the Risk of Congenital Heart Defects
Remote Defense: Contact chair for details
Chair: Prof. Ming Li, (812-856-4519)