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Dissertation Defense

Contact the graduate coordinator at econphdadvising@ucsd.edu to review your doctoral committee and to discuss the process for scheduling your defense. The doctoral dissertation/thesis should be submitted to each member of the doctoral committee at least four weeks before the final defense.

defense-timeline

San Diego Senate Regulation 715, requires that the doctoral committee conduct the dissertation defense. The Graduate Council approved the following rules for the scheduling and administration of doctoral defenses.

Effective Fall 2022:
The default method for the doctoral and master’s committee to conduct graduate examinations (doctoral qualifying examination and final dissertation/ thesis defense) is when the student and all members of the committee are physically present in the same room.
The Graduate Council recognizes, however, that practical exigencies do not always make this possible. Therefore, the Graduate Council will defer to the graduate programs (Department Chair or Program Director) to review requests for exceptions and to make decisions to allow remote participation. The graduate program must ensure that when an exam is approved to be held entirely remote or in a hybrid format (i.e., some members are physically present and some are remote) that the student has agreed to this format.
It is expected that there will be synchronous participation by all committee members in the scheduled exam. If an unavoidable situation arises that affects a committee member’s ability to participate synchronously, the committee chair (or co-chairs) may decide how to proceed. There must be sufficient expertise among present members to examine the student. If a committee member must be absent for the scheduled exam, it is permissible for one absent committee member to examine the candidate on a separate date. The committee chair, or one co-chair, must participate synchronously in the scheduled exam. 

SCHEDULING YOUR DEFENSE

You will be required to provide the title of your dissertation, an abstract, a zoom link, date, time, and location at least one week prior to your defense to econphdadvising@ucsd.edu. The dissertation defense usually lasts 90 minutes. You should reserve a room for two hours and reserve an OWL five business days in advance by emailing econfacilities@ucsd.edu. The graduate coordinator will make an announcement to the Economics department 24 hours prior to your dissertation defense. You are encouraged to invite guests. 

 

PRELIMINARY APPOINTMENT WITH GEPA

A student must make an appointment with GEPA Academic Affairs for a preliminary check of his/her dissertation. Appointments will be conducted via Zoom or email. At that appointment the format is checked and instructions on the final preparation and submission of the dissertation are given. The dissertation must be formatted according to the requirements explained in the “Preparation and Submission Manual for the Doctoral Dissertations and Master’s Theses”. If applicable, start collecting co-author permission letters. Once all permission letters are collected, upload as one PDF to the Kuali Permission Letter Form.

The following limitations are in effect each quarter:
  • Limited appointments are available for the first three weeks of each quarter.
  • Only final document reviews are available during week nine through finals week each quarter. Please make every effort to complete your preliminary appointment well in advance of the last two weeks of the quarter.
  • Appointments must be made at least one full day in advance, but not more than 60 days in advance.
  • Graduate Division recommends that you complete your preliminary appointment prior to your defense; your final document review must be after your defense.

 

FINAL REVIEW WITH GEPA

The final document reviews are available during week nine through finals week each quarter. The final review must be after your dissertation defense. The graduate coordinator will initiate the Final Report Form in DocuSign, generally on the day of the defense. Members of your doctoral committee and the department chair are notified via email to log-in to DocuSign and sign.

  1. The final review will be scheduled with the GEPA advisor during the preliminary appointment.
  2. Finalize content and formatting of the dissertation/thesis. Upload the final version to ProQuest.
  3. Upload fully signed Dissertation/Thesis Release Form to ProQuest.
  4. If applicable, upload all permission letters to the Kuali Permission Letter Form. Review the guidelines on acceptable electronic signatures.

 

RECEIVING YOUR DIPLOMA

It will take about one to two months after the end of the quarter for the degree to post on your transcript. The actual diploma will be delivered to your permanent mailing address about three to six months after the end of the quarter.

 

IMPORTANT LINKS

Degree Completion   |   Dissertation and Thesis Submission Manual   |   Room Reservations