A degree candidate who has or will have satisfactorily completed the minimum credit Plan of Study, the language and/or other research tool requirements, the comprehensive examination, and the draft of his or her dissertation will be permitted to undertake an oral defense of the dissertation. The thesis or dissertation committee will have conferred with the candidate and had a suitable copy of the manuscript in their hands at least 30 days prior to the oral examination and defense.

The degree candidate's committee shall consist of the major adviser (chair), two faculty members qualified in the major discipline, two faculty members qualified in support areas of study, one expert faculty member (or visiting professor) for the subject of specialization, and a graduate faculty observer from outside the student's major department. The subject of the examination shall be the background, methods, results, and conclusions of the student's dissertation research and the relationship of these results and conclusions to the major discipline. The dissertation defense will be open to all graduate faculty, although faculty from outside the committee may not participate directly in the oral examination.