Checklist for Doctoral Oral Examinations

Deadline: One month prior to the examination date

A memo requesting that the Final Doctoral Oral Examination be announced must be signed by the Graduate Program Director or the Department Head/Chair and submitted to the Graduate Student Service Center one month prior to the examination date.  Staff at the Graduate Student Service Center will review the requirements below and, if complete, will send an announcement to the Inside UMass "Weekly Bulletin" section of the UMass website.

Requirements

  • Course work completed
  • Residency requirement satisfied and verified by Department (Residency requirement is two consecutive semesters enrolled as a full time student taking at least 9 credits each semester)
  • Registered for the appropriate number of dissertation (899) credits
  • Language examination passed (if applicable)
  • Preliminary Comprehensive Examination passed
  • Dissertation Committee appointed by the Graduate Dean
  • Dissertation Prospectus/Outline approved and filed with the Graduate School
  • There has been 7 months between submission of Prospectus/Outline and Final Doctoral Oral Examination/Dissertation Defense date
  • Final Doctoral Oral Examination announcement request communicated to the Graduate School at least one month prior to the scheduled defense

The memo requesting the announcement must include

  • Student’s full name
  • Student identification number
  • Degree
  • Day of Week
  • Date Time Place Major
  • Chair of Committee
  • Title of Dissertation
  • Signature of the Graduate Program Director or Department Head/Chair

Questions?

Graduate Student Service Center
170 Bartlett Building, Amherst, MA 01003
Phone: (413) 545-0722
Email: degreq [at] grad [dot] umass [dot] edu (subject: Graduation%20requirement%20question) (degreq[at]grad[dot]umass[dot]edu)