Doctoral Degree Requirements for All Candidates

• Final Oral Examination completed - please note that the Graduate School must have the announcement of your final oral exam one month before the defense. See the Checklist for Doctoral Oral Examinations for details.
• Doctoral Degree Eligibility Form must be completed and submitted to the academic department two weeks prior to the degree deadline to allow for departmental review. The student, department graduate program director, and department head/chairman must sign the Eligibility Form.
• Dissertation electronically filed with ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst.
• Signature page – one signature page with original signatures must be submitted to the Graduate Student Service Center. An unsigned signature page should also be included after the copyright page in the electronic copy of your dissertation.
• Survey of Earned Doctorates – this online survey must be completed and submitted by the deadline.
• Copyright registration (optional) - register your copyright with the Library of Congress Copyright Office.

Additional requirements to be met before being cleared for graduation

• You must be an active student.
• All requirements on the Checklist for Doctoral Oral Examinations must have been met before the Final Oral Exam is scheduled.
• Your Final Oral Exam must be passed by the posted deadline and a memo stating that the exam was passed and the date on which it was passed must be signed by your graduate program director and filed with the Graduate Student Service Center.
• No holds can be on your record.
• Bursar fees must be paid. Any outstanding Bursar fees must be paid directly to the Bursar.
• Diploma Name and Home (Non-UMass) Email Address must be updated in SPIRE (Academics Tile > Graduation > Diploma preferences).
• Diploma address must be updated in SPIRE (Academics Tile > Graduation > Diploma preferences). Diplomas will be sent to the student's Diploma Address.