Both the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees require a thesis (or dissertation in the case of the Ph.D.; the discussion which follows applies to both theses and dissertations) to be completed and successfully defended before the degree can be awarded. The student must provide one copy of the thesis to the chairman of the supervisory committee at least three weeks before the thesis defense, and one copy to each of the other committee members at least two weeks prior to the defense. A complete draft of the thesis must be delivered to the Graduate Coordinator one week prior to the announced time of defense. This copy will be made available for public access. Students are expected to offer each committee member a bound copy of the thesis once it is completed.
The supervisory committee must give preliminary approval of the thesis prior to the defense, and the student will have one month after the defense to make any revisions prior to submitting the thesis to the Graduate School Thesis Editor. After successfully defending the thesis, the student must obtain final reading approval from the thesis advisor, department chair, and Dean of the Graduate School. A draft of the final thesis must then be presented to the Thesis Editor and successful completion of the thesis defense must be reported to the Graduate School at least four weeks before the last day of examinations in the final quarter. Students should also read the document regarding copyright notices provided by the department and declare their intentions regarding granting the department the right to photocopy the thesis before notifying the Graduate Coordinator of completion of the thesis defense.
There will be at most two months to complete any changes required by the Thesis Editor before final acceptance. After that time, the candidate must redo the oral defense of the thesis. Access to all departmental facilities will be withdrawn after a three month period. The final thesis must be filed one week before the end of the quarter of graduation.