PhD Final Examination and Graduation

Doctoral students must pass a Final Examination, also called the “dissertation defense,” before submitting an approved doctoral dissertation to the UW Graduate School and graduating. The Final Examination includes a public seminar, usually an hour or less in duration, at which the student reports on his or her research. This is followed by a private oral examination by the full Supervisory Committee. The seminar and oral examination are generally scheduled consecutively on the same day .

Summary of Final Examination Steps

Complete General Exam and advance to Doctoral Candidacy in a previous quarter
Enroll in at least two credits (e.g., Fish 800) for Final Exam quarter
Appoint Doctoral Reading Committee (i.e., 3 members of full Supervisory Committee, including chair) and provide them with near-to-final dissertation draft at least four to six weeks before Final Exam
Reading Committee reviews dissertation draft and reports findings to full Supervisory Committee and student
Student submits near-to-final dissertation draft (approved by Reading Committee) to full Supervisory Committee, at least two weeks before Final Exam
Student consults with Committee members to determine date and time for Final Exam; must defend by last day of current quarter
Student reserves a room through SAFS Front Desk or Student Services Office (usually FSH 102, 107, or 203)
After Reading Committee approves dissertation draft for defense, student obtains signatures from all Committee members, including GSR, on Request for Final Exam form and submits it to SAFS Student Services Office at least two weeks prior to exam date (email approvals are acceptable in lieu of actual signatures)
Student schedules a doctoral Final Exam online with the UW Graduate School at least two weeks prior to exam date (note: this is in addition to hardcopy form submitted in Step 8).
SAFS Graduate Advisor advertises exam to all SAFS email lists and on SAFS Public Calendar at least one week before exam; when publication schedule allows, exam is also advertised in Fishline; the student may also place posters/announcements in SAFS buildings (posters are optional, not required)
SAFS Graduate Advisor gives student file and exam paperwork to Committee chairperson on day of final exam
Committee chairperson returns signed paperwork and student file to SAFS Graduate Advisor, after private questioning portion of exam

Scheduling the Final Examination

Upon receiving a favorable report from the Doctoral Reading Committee, the student should consult with the full Supervisory Committee to determine a date and time for the Final Examination. The student then reserves an appropriate room (FSH 102, 107, 203, etc.) through the SAFS Front Desk or Student Services Office and informs the Supervisory Committee of the location, once confirmed. Students must defend by the last day of the quarter (i.e., last day of Final Exams Week) and be enrolled in at least two credits (e.g., Fish 800). After the Reading Committee approves the dissertation draft for defense, the student obtains the full Committee’s signatures, including the GSR’s, on the Request for Final Exam form and submits it to SAFS Student Services Office at least two weeks prior to the exam date. (Email approvals are acceptable, in lieu of actual signatures on the form, if the Committee member approves of the date, time, and location of the exam in her/his email. Students should print and attach any email approvals to the form before submitting it to the SAFS Student Services Office.) In addition to the hardcopy form, students must also schedule a doctoral Final Exam online with the UW Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the exam date. If the candidate has met all eligibility requirements, the UW Graduate School enables the SAFS Graduate Advisor to print the student’s exam paperwork from an online system.

The PhD General and Final Examinations may not be held during the same quarter. They may, however, be held in consecutive quarters.

At least four members of the Supervisory Committee, including the chairperson, Graduate School Representative (GSR), and one more UW Graduate Faculty member, must be present at the General and Final Examinations. Committee members (excluding the GSR) may participate by audio/video conference.

Students must defend by the last day of the quarter (i.e., last day of Final Exams Week) and be enrolled in at least two credits (e.g., Fish 800). Ten credits is considered full-time, but students may enroll in fewer credits if they do not need full-time status. Note that all RAs, TAs, and SAFS Fellows must take at least ten credits per quarter in the autumn, winter, and spring, and at least two credits in the summer.

The Final Examination request cannot be approved unless the public seminar portion of the defense will be publicly advertised within the School for a minimum of one calendar week in advance of the exam date. Advertisements must include the date, time, and location of the public seminar as well as the title of the dissertation presentation, the student's name, and the name of the Major Professor. The Final Examination must be held at a time and place that is conducive to School-wide attendance. Acceptable forms of advertisement include posted flyers, notices in Fishline, and e-mail announcements. The SAFS Graduate Advisor automatically emails an announcement to all SAFS email lists when the approved Final Examination request is submitted to the Student Services Office, and the SAFS public calendar will be updated as well. The SAFS webmaster also announces the exam in Fishline, depending upon the publication schedule.

The Final Examination

The Supervisory Committee is responsible for the Final examination. This consists of a public seminar, usually an hour or less in duration, at which the student reports on his or her research. The public seminar is then followed by a private oral examination by the full Supervisory Committee. The seminar and the oral examination are generally scheduled consecutively on the same day. Students who wish to graduate in a given quarter should schedule their examination no later than the sixth week of that quarter to ensure adequate time for dissertation revisions and submission.

Results of the Final Examination will be reported to the UW Graduate School by the SAFS Student Services Office after the exam paperwork is received. The full Committee completes and signs the paperwork at the conclusion of the Final Examination; the Committee chair returns the paperwork and student’s file to the SAFS Graduate Advisor. All members of the Supervisory Committee must certify the results, even those who did not attend or participate. Any members who were absent must send an email to the SAFS Graduate Advisor and Committee chair with her/his recommendation (e.g., concurrence with the rest of the Committee’s recommendation). If the exam is not satisfactory, the Committee may recommend to the Dean of the UW Graduate School that the student be allowed to take a second Final Examination after an interval of study.

Note that doctoral students must submit their approved dissertation to the UW Graduate School within sixty days of their Final Examination; otherwise, they may have to repeat the Final Examination.

More information about the Final Examination and Application for Degree can be found at the UW Graduate School webpage.

Enrollment Requirements for the Final Examination and Dissertation Submission

Enrollment in at least two credits (e.g., Fish 800) is required during the quarter in which a student takes the Final Examination, submits the dissertation, and graduates. The only exception is under the provisions of the Graduate Registration Waiver Fee, when eligible (see below). This can only be used when a student needs a limited amount of additional time after the last day of the quarter to submit the dissertation to the UW Graduate School. Otherwise, enrollment in at least two credits will be required when submitting a dissertation after the quarter in which the student defended.

Note that ten credits is considered full-time, but students may enroll in fewer credits (i.e., at least two) if they do not need full-time status. All RAs, TAs, and SAFS Fellows must register for 10–18 credits per quarter in autumn, winter, and spring, and two credits in the summer.

GRADUATE REGISTRATION WAIVER FEE: Students who submit their dissertation within fourteen (14) days after the last day of the quarter in which they defended do not have to enroll in two credits if they meet the Graduate Registration Waiver Fee eligibility requirements and submit the dissertation and pay the waiver fee by the applicable deadline.

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