​Getting Ready to Graduate

Chronology

PH.D. THESIS EXAMINATION PROCEDURES

See your student coordinator at least THREE - SIX months prior to thesis examination (defense).

If you are an International student, YOU MUST see the International Office prior to setting up a defense date to discuss your Visa status and its implication.

Intent to Graduate Form - The Office of Student Records requires that you complete the Intent to Graduate Form on-line through WebSTAC, see below for graduation deadlines. If you have any problems locating or completing the form in WebSTAC, please contact the Office of Student Records at (314) 935-5959.
 
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STUDENT COORDINATOR WHEN YOU FILE YOUR INTENT TO GRADUATE FORM ON WEBSTAC. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOUR STUDENT COORDINATOR KNOW YOUR DEFENSE AND GRADUATION DATE.
 
Read through the Doctoral Dissertatio​n Guide for formatting guidelines and other important information (found at http://graduateschool.wustl.edu/guides-0).
 
ALL FORMS LISTED BELOW MUST BE SUBMITTED TO YOUR COORDINATOR.
 
One Month Before Thesis Examination:
  • Ask your coordinator for the Dissertation Committee Form, have your program director sign the form and return form to your coordinator.
  • Submit your CV and the dissertation abstract.  (Be sure to follow the guidelines in the Doctoral Dissertation Guide booklet). Each should be initialed by the thesis advisor.
  • Email your coordinator the dissertation title, defense date, time and location of thesis examination. It is the student’s responsibility to reserve a room for the thesis examination.  (Thesis Examination information will be published in the DBBS seminar calendar online.)
  • Submit the Payroll/Student Health Form
Two Weeks Before Thesis Examination:
  • Distribute copies of dissertation and a copy of your CV to committee members electronically.  If your PDF file is too large to send by email, we advise you to use the Washington University Large File Transfer System, https://box.wustl.edu/​.  It is a secure and encrypted tool for transferring large files between people and works in a similar manner to Dropbox.  Members of the Wash U community can access this system with their WUSTL Key.
    Note: Your thesis advisor should be listed as the chairperson on your title page and the date would be your degree date (May, August or December are the only options). If you have questions about permission to use published papers in your thesis, contact Nancy Pope, Associate Dean in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, 935-6848.
After Defense:
  • Submit your Thesis Examination Approval form to your coordinator.
  • Submit your finalized dissertation online.  Log on to http://www.etdadmin.com/wustl to create an account. Once your dissertation has been successfully submitted you will receive an email informing you that everything has been received. Final submission must be completed by the deadline, indicated in deadline section below.  Plan to submit your dissertation and paperwork a few days before the deadline. You may need to make corrections to your formatting or fill out additional paperwork.
  • Fill out the Post-Graduation Job​ Survey at http://graduateschool.wustl.edu/guides-0​
  • Fill out the Survey of Earned Docto​rates Form at http://graduateschool.wustl.edu/forms-0.
  • Check in with your coordinator to make sure you have submitted everything you need to submit. 
Binding Dissertation
  • If you would like to have your dissertation bound, visit http://wustl.thesisondemand.com/  to upload your thesis and order bound copies. No copies should be ordered until after the electronic submission of a dissertation to ProQuest has been approved by the Graduate School; the pdf uploaded at http://wustl.thesisondemand.com/ should be identical to the approved pdf previously submitted to ProQuest.
  • Note: The price for binding a single dissertation begins at $25 (shipping additional). A $35 Scholar Credit will be applied to each graduating student’s SIS account approximately 30 days after their last stipend check.
  • Should your PI want a copy of your thesis, they can also use the Thesis on Demand site at their own expense. You will need to provide them with an electronic copy of your thesis to utilize this site- http://wustl.thesisondemand.com/.
  • Questions regarding dissertation binding should be directed to Andrew Richards, Director of Alumni Affairs at richardsa@wustl.edu​.
 
REGARDING STUDENT HEALTH COVERAGE:
In most cases, outpatient benefits cease the day the finished dissertation is submitted to the Graduate School, with a grace period providing emergency benefits to continue for an additional 30 days. However, students presenting their thesis in late summer months may find it necessary to pay additional fees, since the billing cycle for the previous semester ends on June 30, with the 30 day grace period extending limited coverage to July 31. Hospitalization and emergency room services only are provided during the grace period.​

Deadlines

Intent to Graduate Form must be filed:

August 1, 2018 for August 16, 2018 Graduation
October 1, 2018 for December 17, 2018 Graduation
December 20, 2018 for a May 17, 2019 Graduation

Final Dissertation must be electronically submitted to the Graduate School (in its final form, all edits corrected):

April 23, 2018 for May 18, 2018 Graduation
September 6, 2018 for August 16, 2018 Graduation
January 4, 2018 for December 19, 2018 Graduation
April 22, 2019 for a May 17, 2019 Graduation​​

Defense Packet

Below are all the forms that need to be completed. You still must see your Coordinator for additional items and forms.

MSTP students - please see the MSTP office for instructions.

  1. Visit http://graduateschool.wustl.edu/guides-0 to access:
    1. Dissertation and Thesis Template
    2. Doctoral Dissert​ation Guide
  2. Visit http://graduateschool.wustl.edu/forms-0 to access:
    1. Dissertation Defense Committee Form​​
    2. ​Survey of Ea​rned Doctorates Form
    3. Job Sur​vey
  3. Intent to Graduate Form - filed via WEBSTAC
  4. Payroll/Student Health Form
  5. Graduating Student Survey

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