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.
Schedule 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.