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Doctorate in Information Science

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Dissertation Defense Policy & Procedures

The Defense and its Purpose

Prior to the dissertation defense, the Candidate will submit a final draft of the dissertation to the Supervisory Committee, which the Supervisory Committee will read and agree is the version of the dissertation that is ready for the Final Examination.

The Candidate will comply with the for scheduling the Final Examination. These requirements include:

  • the student passed a General Examination in a previous quarter;
  • a reading committee is officially established with the Graduate School (at the iSchool, the supervisory committee is the reading committee);
    • The supervisory/reading committee is appointed to read and approve the dissertation. It is the responsibility of a supervisory/reading committee to (a) ensure that the dissertation is a significant contribution to knowledge and is an acceptable piece of scholarly writing; (b) determine the appropriateness of a candidate’s dissertation as a basis for issuing a committee signature form (formerly known as a warrant) for a Final Examination and; (c) approve a candidate’s dissertation.
  • the supervisory/reading committee has read an entire draft of the dissertation;
  • the entire supervisory committee has agreed that the student is prepared and has approved the student to schedule a Final Examination;
  • Select a Final Examination time with your Supervisory Committee and have your Supervisory Committee Chair notify the Ph.D. Program Advisor or the Ph.D. Program Coordinator of the scheduled time;
  • Complete the online at least 3 weeks prior to the examination date. 

The Graduate School will then determine if the Candidate has met the minimum requirements and, if approved, will wait for either the Ph.D. Program Advisor or the Ph.D. Program Coordinator to approve the exam. Before approving the exam, the date and time of the exam will be verified with the Committee Chair. Once approved, an email will be sent to the Committee Members that the Final Examination has been scheduled. An online committee signature form will be issued, which will be printed by the Ph.D. Program Coordinator prior to the examination. 

The Ph.D. Program Coordinator will give the committee signature form to the Supervisory Committee Chair. After the exam, the Supervisory Committee Chair returns the form to the Ph.D. Program Advisor or the Ph.D. Program Coordinator, who records the outcome of the exam with the UW Graduate School.

The Dissertation Defense

In the dissertation defense, the Candidate makes an oral presentation of his/her dissertation to the Supervisory Committee (see Supervisory Committee Policy) and the public. The Committee, in consultation with the Candidate, will determine the appropriate length of the oral presentation and question-and-answer session. A typical dissertation defense will take two hours.

The Candidate, assisted by the Chair as necessary, schedules a date, a time, and a room for the defense. The Candidate submits details, including the date, time and location of the exam, names of their committee members, title of the dissertation, as well as a dissertation abstract to the Ph.D. Program Advisor or Program Coordinator. The Ph.D. Program Advisor or Program Coordinator will include the event on the iSchool Web calendar in addition to sending email announcements to relevant faculty, staff, and student lists inviting the public to attend.

Immediately Prior to the Start of the Examination:

  • The Candidate must be physically present at the exam.
  • The Chair (or at least one Co-Chair), the GSR, and one general committee member must be physically present at the exam.
    • If the Candidate is not physically present, then the exam must be rescheduled.
    • If the Chair is not physically present, then the exam must be rescheduled.
    • If the GSR is not physically present at the time of the exam, a substitute GSR may be secured subject to Graduate School rules. If no GSR can be found, then the exam must be rescheduled.
    • If a general member is not physically present then, the exam must be rescheduled to a later time/date.
  • A majority of the Supervisory Committee must be physically present at the exam, e.g. a Supervisory Committee with the minimum 4 required members (Chair, GSR, and 2 general members) must have the Chair, the GSR, and at least one general member physically present at the exam. A Supervisory Committee with 5 members (Chair, GSR, and 3 general members) must have the Chair, the GSR, and at least one general member physically present at the exam. The remaining general member may be ‘present’ via the use of audio/visual technology.

Once the Exam Starts:

  1. The Supervisory Committee will meet initially in private, with or without the Candidate present.
  2. The Chair announces when the Candidate and the public may join the Co