The culmination of each student’s graduate career is the Final Exam, or dissertation defense. This is an opportunity for the student to present their dissertation research in a public forum, and to discuss this work in depth with their Supervisory Committee.
Review the appropriate checklist for the format of your Final Exam:
Timeline
Before Final Exam
| Task | Deadline |
| Review Graduate School Thesis Submission Deadlines Review Graduate Final Thesis Submission Instructions and Guidelines |
|
| Schedule Final Exam with Supervisory Committee ~ The UW Graduate School and the MCB Program requires the Chair and GSR to attend the Final Exam ~ For Hybrid Exams, the Chair and/or the GSR must request prior approval from the MCB Program to attend virtually |
At least three months before exam |
| Establish 3 member Reading Committee and email roster to Maia Low The Chair is required to be on the Reading Committee |
At least three months before exam |
| Schedule room for In-Person Exam OR Zoom meeting for Virtual/Hybrid Exam ~ In-Person: For room reservation assistance, contact Maia Low (UW) or Carolina Chambers (FH) ~ Virtual/Hybrid: Follow the Remote Thesis Defense Instructions and designate Maia Low, Alice Ven, and your Advisor(s) as alternate hosts |
At least three months before exam |
| Confirm credit requirements have been met via MyUW Academics Tab (Grades box) ~ 18 total graded credits ~ 27 total MCB 800 credits |
At least three months before exam |
| Submit thesis to Reading Committee | At least five weeks before exam |
| Schedule Final Exam on MyGrad | At least three weeks before exam |
| Email your dissertation title, date, time, and location of exam to Alice Ven and Maia Low MCB will promote your defense via social media, email and print |
At least three weeks before exam |
| Receive Committee Signature Form, MCB Exit Survey and other exam materials from Alice Ven | At least three weeks before exam |
| Activate Electronic Thesis/Dissertation (ETD) account through UW ETD Administrator Site | At least three weeks before exam |
| Email Reading Committee Electronic Thesis Approval Instructions | At least three weeks before exam |
Day of Final Exam
Remember to bring all required documents to your final exam.
| Required document | Submission instructions |
| Committee Signature Form | In-Person Exam: In-person signatures by committee members. Scan and email to Maia Low or drop off at MCB Office. Hybrid Exam: In-person signatures for those attending in person and email signatures for those attending virtually. Scan and email to Maia Low or drop off at MCB Office. Virtual Exam: Email signatures by committee members (facilitated by Maia Low). Scan and email to Maia Low or drop off at MCB Office. |
| Doctoral Dissertation Reading Committee Form | Approval by Committee submitted via MyGrad |
After Final Exam
| Task | Deadline |
| Submit MCB Exit Survey | Last day of quarter |
| Format thesis for submission to ETD | Day before upload/submission |
| Upload dissertation to ETD | By 11:59 p.m. PST on last day of quarter View UW Academic Calendar for exact date (last day of finals week) |
| Upload survey of Earned Doctorates (via SED) | 11:59 p.m. PST on last day of quarter |
Information about ETD Submission
Have questions about ETD publishing? Contact the UW Libraries ETD team.