Upon acceptance of a final version of the dissertation (i.e. the version that will normally be presented to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences) by a student's Dissertation Committee, the student's public defense will be scheduled. A notice to announce the public defense to the University community must be posted at least one week in advance of the event.

The public defense of the dissertation will be a formal seminar. This meeting is conducted by the first reader, and a representative of the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (i.e. a faculty member from another department) must be present.  Following the successful completion of the public defense, the dissertation is formally accepted, symbolized by the signing of the title page by members of the Dissertation Committee. Signature by members of the Dissertation Committee verifies that all departmental requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy have been satisfied. If substantive questions about the dissertation are raised during the public defense, then the Dissertation Committee will meet in private to discuss what changes to the dissertation might be required to complete the defense successfully. The Dissertation Committee transmits a report of the results of the defense to the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. This permits the candidate to complete the final formal procedures for bestowal of the degree by the Graduate School.

Following the successful defense of her/his dissertation, the student should make sure that the degree application (green form) is completed and signed by all members of the Dissertation Committee; this form should be given to the administrative assistant for the graduate program for signature by the Department Chair or Director of Graduate Studies.