Page 42 - DISSERTATION AND THESIS HANDBOOK 2017 -2020

Philosophy of the Oral Defense. The philosophy of the oral defense is to
demonstrate that

The dissertation is commensurate with the standards for original research in
the field;
The ethics and standards governing research in the field have been followed,
The candidate‘s mastery of the research and the appropriate methodology,
and
The candidate‘s understanding of the relationship of this work to the broader
field in which it is lodged.

Scheduling and Public Announcement. The dates for all oral examination
dissertation defenses will be announced by the Graduate Dean. The Graduate
School requires that a minimum of 10 days must elapse from the time when the
oral defense is announced and the date of the final oral defense. This allows the
academic community to be informed of the pending defense.

Every dissertation oral defense must be publicly
announced in writing and must be open to the
academic community. Minimally, copies of the
announcement must be sent to the Graduate School,
posted on all the public bulletin boards in and
around the department, and sent to all senior faculty
in the candidate‘s program area.

The Graduate School neither accepts nor reviews
any dissertation for which a defense announcement
either was not received or was received fewer than
10 days in advance. To adhere to this policy, a
request to schedule the oral defense must be
submitted to the department Chair no later than three weeks prior to the oral
defense.

The defense cannot take place without the approval of the Dean of Graduate
School. The Dissertation Advisory Committee Chair and the candidate will
receive a defense approval from the Dean of Graduate School before the defense.

The defense of all dissertations must take place in the Graduate Studies
Conference room located in the Center for Business and Graduate Studies. Food
and beverages will not be permitted in the Conference room during the
dissertation defense. (Bottled water is permitted)

Attendance at the Oral Examination Defense. In all cases, the graduate candidate
and dissertation advisory committee chair must be physically present for the
defense.

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