You've almost made it! You have entered the final stage and the final examination and thesis deposit are very much an integrated process. When you schedule your final exam, this puts into motion both the final exam approvals and the thesis/dissertation approvals.
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The Final Examination may be taken no earlier than six months after successful passing of the preliminary examination and consists of an oral defense of the dissertation and is administered by the doctoral committee. This examination is open to the public. The Graduate College does require that all doctoral candidates be registered for the entire academic term during which they take the final examination, regardless of when the thesis will be deposited or when the degree will be conferred. For this purpose only, "academic term" is defined as extending to and including the day before the first day of the following academic term. If enough thesis credits have been accumulated, registration for zero hours is acceptable.
Scheduling your Final Exam
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- You should view the Graduate College Thesis Requirements for templates and sample pages to make sure your thesis is following the correct formatting.
- When it is time for the format review with your department, send a PDF version of your thesis via email to ise-grad@illinois.edu via attachment or Box link. This should be sent for review at least two weeks prior to the posted thesis deadline. Once your thesis is format reviewed, you will receive suggestions/approval via email. The ISE Grad Programs Office will submit the Thesis/Dissertation Approval Form to the Graduate College after your thesis review is complete, on your behalf.
- Please make sure you list Lauren Redman, lredman@illinois.edu, as the thesis format reviewer when submitting your thesis.
- It is not uncommon for the Graduate College to require some corrective revisions/editing. Make sure you complete these right away!
- All of your 599/thesis grades will be updated from "DFR" once your thesis has been approved/accepted by the Graduate College.
The Graduate College also requires several workshops that may be helpful leading up to your thesis deposit.
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