First Steps
- Establish a committee by submitting the program of study form to the Graduate School
- Determine the research process and timeline
Drafting the Manuscript
Determine what writing style to use (e.g. APA or MLA). Consult with your committee for the standard style of your discipline. Did you know the Fogler Library website has some great citation resources available?
Review the thesis guidelines and utilize the thesis templates before writing the thesis:
Reformat any chapters you’ve sent to journals or other publications to follow the thesis guidelines.
Oral Examination Process
Provide your Committee with the Thesis
In general you will want to give them adequate time to read through the entire manuscript before your defense.
Schedule your Oral Defense (Examination)
Work with your committee to schedule your defense. Be sure to secure a date, time, and location.
Submit the Notice of Oral Examination
Submit the Notice of Oral to the Graduate School at least 2 weeks prior to the scheduled defense.
Oral Defense
Bring the ‘Oral Examination and Final Project/Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance Form’ to the oral examination and review the Oral Examination Instructions for more information.
Thesis Submission
Tentative Thesis Submission
Submit your tentative thesis and the acceptance form or statement by the deadline for that semester. The thesis consultants will review for formatting and consistency and return to you when completed.
After the Defense & the Initial Graduate School Review
You will take any committee recommendations (for content), and any recommendations from the Graduate School (formatting & consistency) to create the final version.
Final Thesis Submission!
Submit your final thesis, final thesis acceptance form, and all other required forms by the deadline for that semester. The thesis consultants will review for formatting and consistency and notify you and your advisor via email of any changes. Once all revisions are completed, the thesis consultants will post your final thesis to @DigitalCommons.
Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Account
In order for the Graduate School to post the final electronic version to @DigitalCommons, you must create an account and enter pertinent information about your research. Instructions on how to create the account can be found here.
