Dissertation Defenses

History Dissertation Defenses

Doctoral candidates who are ready to defend their dissertations need to report their scheduled defense date to the Graduate Coordinator at least 30 days before the defense event date. The Graduate Coordinator will submit all dissertation defense event dates to the CHSS Graduate Office at least 21 days before the defense date. Once the request is processed, CHSS will issue an official email announcement that the Graduate Coordinator will distribute to the Department of History and Art History email listservs.

 

Student Instructions for Scheduling and Attending the Dissertation Defense

 

  1. Schedule a dissertation defense announcement

 At least 30 days prior to the defense date, PhD candidates must send the following information to the Graduate Coordinator via email: 

  • Dissertation title 
  • Dissertation Committee Chair Name 
  • Committee members
  • Date/time of Defense 
  • Dissertation Abstract 

Once the student has submitted the information above, the graduate coordinator will schedule a room within the department office suite for the defense event and provide a calendar invite to the student and committee members to document the reservation. 

 

2. Event Day: Defend Your Dissertation  

Students will bring the dissertation signature sheet (sometimes referred to as 'dissertation title page') to the defense event in order to collect faculty signatures following the defense. The exact format of the defense event proceedings should be arranged prior to the event date via consultation between the doctoral candidate and dissertation advisor/committee. 

All dissertations defenses must be held

in person, on campus. 

 

3. Submit Your Dissertation Signature Sheet: After all signatures have been collected (including the PhD director) following a successful defense, students must send the completed and signed dissertation title page to UDTS@gmu.edu and to the graduate coordinator via email attachment.

*Please note that students are responsible for collecting all faculty signatures, including that of the PhD director. It is pertinent for organizational purposes that students do not leave important forms in the possession of faculty and staff members to be submitted on the student's behalf. Scanners and Adobe Acrobat software are available to support students in collecting multiple digital or ink signatures. Please be advised that Adobe's Digital ID signature is not recommended for use on GMU's academic forms because it may cause your pdf document file to become locked and inaccessible.