Completing the Doctoral Degree Requirements
Doctoral Requirements & Pre- and Post-Dissertation Defense Meetings
Music students, please click here for information on your requirements.
Before the Oral Defense
- To avoid complications with the approval of your dissertation committee, please submit the Dissertation Committee form at least six months before your defense.
- Arrange a pre-defense meeting to make certain that your dissertation meets Rackham Dissertation Format Guidelines.
- GROUP PRE-DEFENSE MEETING OPTION: Register online for a Rackham Group Pre-Defense Meeting. You must register for the group pre-defense meeting at least 3 working days before the meeting occurs. The pre-defense meeting you attend must occur at least 10 working days prior to the oral defense. At this meeting, the Rackham Dissertation Format Guidelines will be reviewed along with the requirements for doctoral degree completion. You may want to bring a copy of your dissertation and abstract to mark any corrections or notes for your reference during this meeting. Please note that staff will not check each dissertation and/or abstract, however, there will be time allowed at the end of the meeting to address your concerns. Allow 90 minutes for a group pre-defense meeting.
- MAIL-IN OPTION: Send one unbound paper copy of your dissertation and abstract to OARD along with a cover letter providing your: name, program, U-M identification number, date, time and place of the oral defense, telephone number and e-mail address where you can be reached during normal business hours. Include the names, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of all your dissertation committee members and OARD will send the dissertation evaluation forms to them. When the dissertation is received in our office, we will schedule it for review. You do not need to make an appointment.
- You will receive the dissertation evaluation forms at the pre-defense meeting. Distribute the evaluation forms with copies of the dissertation and abstract to all committee members at least 10 days before the oral defense. If the student does not supply each committee member with an evaluation form and a copy of the dissertation and abstract, at least 10 working days before the oral defense the committee member may ask for a postponement of the defense. Remind all committee members that the completed evaluation form is due in OARD three working days before your oral defense. The evaluations can be sent by fax or e-mail. Both are listed on the evaluation form.
- Three working days before the oral defense, view your committee on Wolverine Access to verify that evaluations have been returned to Rackham. All evaluation forms must be reviewed by OARD before the oral defense.
- As soon as all dissertation evaluations have been received and reviewed by OARD, your oral defense packet will be prepared. This packet will be available for pick up as early as one working day prior to your oral defense. Take the packet to your oral defense and hand it to your chair before the oral defense begins. You must be registered in the term you defend and may be asked to show evidence of an 8 hour candidacy enrollment if you did not register by your pre-defense meeting.
After the Oral Defense
- The Final Oral Examination Report form must be hand carried or faxed to OARD by you or your committee chair within 48 hours of the defense.
- Submit all of the required revisions and corrections to your committee chair for approval.
- Register online for a Rackham Post-Defense Meeting (allow 30 minutes for this meeting) (or use the mail-in option). The meeting must take place before the appropriate degree deadline. If this deadline is not met you must register for the term in which you finish all requirements.
Complete the Following in Person or by Mail
- Submit a complete, final, unbound paper copy of your dissertation along with two copies of your abstract and one extra copy of your title page. Rackham will keep this copy, then forward it to ProQuest/UMI for mandatory publishing.
- Submit required paperwork (provided prior to the oral defense), including:
- Survey of Earned Doctorates
- Proquest/UMI Contract
- Apply for graduation through Wolverine Access.
- At your post-defense meeting, you will receive instructions on how to submit the dissertation online in PDF format. You will also need to copy and paste the text of your abstract for the online submission.
- Verify that your committee chair has submitted the Final Oral Examination Report form and the Certificate of Dissertation Committee Approval form to OARD.
- After your doctoral degree requirements have been completed, your student financial account will be assessed a $70 fee for mandatory publishing with ProQuest/UMI.
OARD can provide certification of degree completion at your request after all requirements have been met.
If the final deadline is not met, you must register and pay for an 8 hour enrollment in the term the final degree requirements are completed.
Your diploma and transcript will not be issued if monies are owed. Verify your financial status with the Student Financial Services (phone (734) 764-7447).
Diploma information may be found at the Registrar’s website
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