PhD Oral Defense

How do I schedule the oral defense?

Academic Affairs seeks to schedule oral defenses in late-March through early-April. Feel free to contact support@wts.edu if you would like to get a head start on scheduling.

How do I prepare?

Your defense will cover your dissertation and also areas of knowledge cognate with it. Contact your advisor for more specific information.

Who conducts the exam?

This examination is conducted by faculty members of your Field Committee, and the external reader may be invited to participate. To be sustained, this examination must be approved by a majority of the faculty members present. 

Who can come?

Normally, defenses in the fields of NT and OT are open to all professors and interested students. In the fields of AP, ST, CH, defenses are internal to the field committee and are not open to the wider community or public.