Completing the Doctoral Degree Requirements
Music students, please read our article for Music (Performance and Conducting) Students.
Before the Oral Defense:
View your committee on Wolverine Access to verify that it is correct. This can be found on your unofficial transcript or the “View My Committee Information” link under Student Business: Academic Records. If adjustments need to be made, have your program submit a revised dissertation committee form immediately. It is recommended that you complete this step at least 6 months prior to the defense.
Arrange a pre-defense meeting with Rackham OARD at least 10 working days prior to the oral defense.
Group Meeting Option
Register for a pre-defense meeting. Please allow 60 minutes for this meeting. It is helpful to bring a copy of your dissertation and abstract for reference as the format guidelines will be reviewed.
Remote Option
E-mail a PDF of the dissertation (whole or in part, 25 MB or less) to oard.staff@umich.edu. Sending this dissertation and abstract will allow Rackham OARD to verify that you are following the format guidelines. Please provide your: name; program; U-M identification number; defense date, time, and location; and the names and e-mail addresses of your committee members. In the subject line of the e-mail, please enter “Rackham Pre-Defense Remote Option.” Once your e-mail is reviewed, an evaluator will send a dissertation evaluation to each member. You will receive an e-mail that lists any required formatting revisions and includes attachments containing important information.
Provide your committee with your dissertation and abstract at least 10 working days prior to your oral defense. Inform all committee members that the completed evaluation is due to Rackham three working days prior to your oral defense.
Begin viewing your committee on Wolverine Access three days prior to your defense to confirm all members have submitted their evaluation. (All members must complete an evaluation before OARD can authorize the defense.) After confirming all evaluations have been received, and before your defense, you must come to OARD to pick up your defense packet. The defense packet must be delivered to your Chair at the defense and includes paperwork that must be signed by your committee members at the oral defense.
After the Oral Defense
Submit all of the required content revisions and corrections to your committee chair for approval.
Arrange for a post-defense meeting that must take place before the doctoral deadline. If the final deadline is exceeded, you must register and pay for an 8-hour enrollment in the full term the final degree requirements are completed.
Individual Meeting Option
Register for your Individual Meeting.
Remote Option
Send an e-mail to oard.staff@umich.edu, providing your name, program and U-M identification number. In the subject line of the e-mail, please use “Rackham Post-Defense Remote Option.” An OARD staff member will e-mail you the link and instructions to submit the complete, final, correctly formatted digital copy of the dissertation which will be the official copy of record. You will need to copy and paste the text of your abstract during the online submission (note that special characters cannot be accommodated).
Before Attending This Meeting
- Apply for graduation via Wolverine Access Student Business
- Complete the online NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates
- Complete the (optional) Rackham Doctoral Recipients exit survey
At This Meeting
Submit a complete, final, correctly formatted PDF copy of the dissertation (to be the official copy on record in the University Library’s Deep Blue digital archive). You will be prompted to copy and paste the text of your abstract during the online submission. (Please note that special characters cannot be accommodated).
After you submit the dissertation online, an OARD staff member will perform a final format check of your dissertation. If format revisions are required, you will need to make the corrections and re-upload the dissertation.
Verify that your committee Chair has submitted the Final Oral Examination Report and the Certificate of Dissertation Committee Approval to Rackham OARD.
Students are encouraged to submit the final digital copy of their dissertation to ProQuest/UMI the world’s largest permanent archive of doctoral dissertations. Abstracts of dissertations submitted to ProQuest are listed with the Library of Congress collections and are published in Dissertation Abstracts International.
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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