A final public examination is held under the auspices of the
committee in charge of the candidate's course of study. A candidate
must defend the dissertation and otherwise satisfy the committee and
other faculty members in attendance that he or she is qualified to
receive the degree of doctor of philosophy.
At the time of the
final examination, it is the responsibility of the candidate to obtain
from the Office of the Graduate School the candidacy application (on
which the result of the qualifying examination was recorded) for
completion by the committee at the final examination. The same
committee members also must sign the title page of the dissertation,
signifying their acceptance of it. If a committee member is participating remotely via the
phone or internet, the program director may sign on that person's behalf. The
program director must write the missing committee member's name and initial the
form:
Name of Faculty Member (Initials of Program Director)
This rule applies to both the candidacy application and the
title page. Additionally, the absent faculty member must forward to the
Graduate School a short statement affirming that the program director was
authorized to sign and initial the form. This statement should be submitted to
the graduate school along with the student's candidacy application.
Once the program director certifies
that all program requirements have been completed for the degree of
doctor of philosophy, the candidate must return the candidacy
application to the Office of the Graduate School and complete the
remaining formal requirements for the degree.
Degree Requirements 
