Dissertation Defense & Graduation

To be completed at least four weeks before the defense: 

1. Complete & distribute the dissertation: Students should complete their dissertation and provide copies of the finished dissertation to the members of their Doctoral Committee (at least four weeks before the scheduled dissertation defense).
2. Schedule Preliminary Appointment with GEPA: Students need to schedule their preliminary appointment with GEPA through the online calendar (https://gradforms.ucsd.edu/calendar/). At the appointment, the format is checked, instructions on the final preparation and submission of the dissertation are given, and the final document review is scheduled. Students should print and bring the “Dissertation/Thesis Release Form” (or “Embargo Form”) (http://grad.ucsd.edu/_files/academics/DissertThesisReleaseTemplate.pdf) with them to discuss during their preliminary appointment. Students should thoroughly review the “Preparation and Submission Manual for Doctoral Dissertations and Masters’ Theses” (Dissertation & Thesis Manual (ucsd.edu)) for detailed instructions. 
   1. Final Document Review: The student will confirm their final document review date, so the staff at GEPA can add them to their calendar. The final document review must be scheduled at least 2 days after the scheduled dissertation defense, and it must take place by the Friday of Finals Week of the graduating quarter. The student submits all required paperwork, as outlined at the Preliminary Appointment by the final document review date. The department will aim to send the "Report of the Final Examination and Filing of the Dissertation" to GEPA by this date as well, but this will automatically happen once all committee members and the Director of Doctoral Studies or Department Chair signs the form via DocuSign. Final approval and acceptance of the thesis by the Dean of the GEPA (on behalf of the University Archivist and Graduate Council) represents the final step in the completion of all requirements for the PhD degree. 
3. Schedule the Dissertation Defense: Students work directly with their Doctoral Committee to determine the date and time of the dissertation defense. Students will then submit the “Ph.D. Defense of Dissertation Schedule Request” (“Forms” page of the website) at least one month before the proposed defense date. Please see the “Committee Member Defense Participation” section below for details, and schedule the defense accordingly. 
   1. The Graduate Coordinator will reserve a room in the department for the defense (if it will be held in person) and post the mandatory announcement flyer on the website (Dissertation Defenses & Qualifying Exams).
4. Reconstitute the Doctoral Committee: If any changes or updates need to be made to the student's Docotoral Committee, students must submit a "Committee Reconstitution Request" (“Forms” page of the website).
   1. NOTE: Changes to the committee may be required because of updates to individual faculty statuses. The Doctoral Committee makeup may have met all the requirements at the time of the initial constitution, but may no longer meet the requirements later in the program. In these instances, the committee must be reconstituted, as the Doctoral Committee must meet all requirements for a valid committee at the time of the dissertation defense.

   2. Reconstitutions are completely routine, and students may reconstitute their committee as many times as needed.

5. Attend the preliminary appointment with GEPA: Students should ensure that they get all their questions answered and leave with a complete understanding of the documents that will need to be submitted/filed at or before the final document review scheduled with GEPA.  

To be completed at and immediately following the defense: 

1. Dissertation Defense: The student will hold the dissertation defense with their Doctoral Committee. The Doctoral Committee will deliberate and sign the appropriate paperwork, if they approve of the dissertation.
2. File the dissertation (electronically): Students will file the PDF online, and the dissertation will meet all standards and requirements outlined in the “Preparation and Submission Manual for Doctoral Dissertations and Masters’ Theses” (as mentioned above). Details of the electronic doctoral dissertation filing are also included in the “Preparation and Submission Manual for Doctoral Dissertations and Masters’ Theses”.
3. Complete the required surveys: “Survey of Earned Doctorates” and the “UCSD Survey of Doctoral Degree Recipients” (exit survey).
   1. Students can access the SED survey at https://sed-ncses.org/.
   2. Students will be emailed a link to the UCSD survey after their preliminary appointment with GEPA.
4. Final Document Review & Filing: Before the end of the quarter, the student will submit all required paperwork to GEPA.

For the Dissertation Defense, all members of the student’s Doctoral Committee must participate in accordance with campus policy. 

The preferred means to conduct the dissertation defense is when the student and all members of the committee are physically present in the same room. The Department of Literature has determined, however, that defenses may be conducted in one of three formats:

1. In-person, with all members physically present;
2. Hybrid, with no more than two members participating by live video teleconference, the others being in-person; or
3. Remote, with all members participating via live video teleconference. It is expected that all committee members participating via video teleconference will do so synchronously. 

NOTE: Regardless of format, in the event that a committee member is unable to attend the scheduled defense (excepting the chair or co-chairs, who must attend the scheduled defense), it is permissible for the member a), to prepare material in advance, submitting it to the committee chair or co-chairs for inclusion during the defense, or b), to examine the student on a separate date (prior to the sheduled defense). In either case, the committee member will still need to sign the DocuSign Final Report Form on the day of the scheduled defense. The paperwork routing will not move forward until all committee members have signed.

If an emergency arises resulting in more than one committee member being unable to attend the defense, the committee chair or co-chairs may use their discretion regarding how to proceed. There must be sufficient expertise among present members to examine the student.

The format of the defense (in-person, hybrid, or remote) will be determined by the student and committee chair(s) in conference with committee members. It is the student’s responsibility to work with their committee to schedule the defense and meet the above requirements. 

There are a number of documents that students will need to submit to GEPA for the final document review process, in order to complete the dissertation filing process and be awarded their PhD. Most of the documents will be entirely the student’s responsibility to create and submit, but one primary form will be created by the department and submitted to GEPA via DocuSign.

Student’s Responsibility:

• Electronically file the final dissertation
• “Dissertation/Thesis Release Form” (or “Embargo Form”), signed by the Committee Chair or Co-Chairs at the defense
• Completion certificate for the “Survey of Earned Doctorates”
• Final confirmation page for the “UCSD Survey of Doctoral Degree Recipients”
• Any other documents that GEPA mentions at the preliminary appointment

Department’s Responsibility:

• “Report of the Final Examination and Filing of the Dissertation”, prepared by the department and signed by all Doctoral Committee members at the defense, attesting that the student has passed the defense and that the student has completed all requirements for the degree. Once the full committee has signed, the form is routed to the Director of Doctoral Studies or Department Chair for endorsement, and then on to GEPA for review and processing. The Final Report Form will be routed via DocuSign, and the student will receive a copy of the form (for reference) once it has been routed to GEPA.

Withdrawn Students Returning to Defend

Whether students proactively withdrew or the department automatically withdrew them based on the student going inactive (not enrolling) for a quarter without an approved leave, they may request to return to solely defend and file their dissertation once completed. Students should begin by contacting the Graduate Coordinator (litgrad@ucsd.edu) to inform them of their intension. The Graduate Coordinator will review the students previous academic record to determine the additional steps that the student will need to complete (in addition to all the standard steps outlined in the "Process & Timeline" section above). For instance,

• If it has been move than five years since the student originally passed their qualifying exams and advanced to candidacy, they will need to re-advance to candidacy. The details of this process will be coordinated by the department and the student’s Doctoral Committee, and the actual tasks the student must complete will vary. Assuming the Doctoral Committee approves of the re-advancement, the department will route a DocuSign "Final Report of the Qualifying Exam and Advancement to Candidacy" to the committee on the date of the defense. It will be signed and processed along with the "Report of the Final Examination and Filing of the Dissertation". Campus may assess an additional advancement fee, which will need to be paid by the student after the defense.
• If the student's Doctoral Committee is no longer valid, due to changes in faculty statuses or titles, the student will need to reconstitute their committee (see the "Process & Timeline" section above). If any new faculty are added to the committee, they may ask for additional time to review the dissertation prior to the defense.
• Even though the student won't be enrolling in courses in the quarter of their defense, they will stil need to have an active student status in order to defend and graduate. For withdrawn students whose dissertation defense is unanimously approved, this is accomplished by re-admitting the student (on paper) and then processing the degree conferral. The department will note this necessity on the standard "Report of the Final Examination and Filing of the Dissertation". Campus will assess an additional re-admission fee, which will need to be paid by the student after the defense.
• The student will automatically also be paying the filing fee in lieu of registration. The department will note this necessity on the standard "Report of the Final Examination and Filing of the Dissertation". Campus will assess the additional fee, which will need to be paid by the student after the defense.
• Note: Students can confirm the current cost of each of these fees with GEPA at their preliminary appointment.

Paying a Filing Fee in Lieu of Registration

If a student was actively enrolled full-time in the preceding quarter, they may opt to pay a filing fee in lieu of registering in the quarter of their defense. This can be beneficial for students who don't have financial support covering their tuition/fee costs for the quarter (as the filing fee is significantly less expensive than the full cost of tuition/fees). The student will still need to complete all standard steps (as outlined in the "Process & Timeline" section above). If a student wasn't actively enrolled in the preceding quarter, they will need to follow the full "Withdrawn Students Returning to Defend" process above, which will include additional steps and fees. For student who just need the filing fee in lieu of registration:

• When students submit their "Ph.D. Defense of Dissertation Schedule Request" (see the "Process & Timeline" section above), the department will check to confirm if the student is enrolled for the quarter. If not, the department will automatically initiate the filing fee in lieu of registration process.
• The department will note this necessity on the standard "Report of the Final Examination and Filing of the Dissertation". Campus will assess the additional fee, which will need to be paid by the student after the defense.
• Note: Students can confirm the current cost of the filing fee in lieu of registration with GEPA at their preliminary appointment.