Schedule your defense
One of the last steps to obtaining your doctoral degree is to defend your dissertation. Once you have finalized your dissertation, you must schedule and announce your defense.
First, arrange a mutually agreeable time with your committee. Set up the oral exam at least 30 days prior to when you wish to defend. Provide all members of your committee with a complete copy of your dissertation at least 30 days before the defense so they will have sufficient time to read and criticize your work.
Announce your defense
Once the date of your defense has been established, you should complete the Ph.D. Defense Announcement Submission through OneStart. The announcement edoc must reach the Indiana University Graduate School Bloomington (UGSB) at least 30 days before the date of your defense. The UGSB begins counting the 30 days from the date your edoc is received by our office. We recommend that you submit the edoc at least 40 days before your defense date to allow time for the edoc to route for approval through your academic department.
The summary should be informative and contain a brief statement of the principal results and conclusions. Unlike the abstract, which is intended for specialists in the field, an attempt should be made in the summary to communicate the findings in language and style that can be understood by the University community at large. The summary should be no less than 150 and no more than 300 words in length.
Once announced, the defense date cannot be changed without the approval of the dean of the UGSB.
In-person defenses are the standard exam format at IUB. However, candidates and research committees may elect to conduct defenses online using tools such as Zoom and Skype without prior UGSB approval
After submitting your Ph.D. Defense Announcement Submission edoc, track your document to ensure timely approval. Retain the email confirmation containing your document ID.