Dissertation Defense

In preparation of your dissertation defense, please review the following procedures to assure that there are no delays and that the necessary forms have been completed and submitted to the appropriate departments. The dissertation guidelines and all mentioned forms can be found on the Graduate School's Form Page unless otherwise noted.

Checklist for Preparing for Dissertation Defense- Departmental and Graduate School guidelines that must be followed when writing your dissertation.

Thesis Reviewers Report- This form must be signed by all of your committee members and submitted to the Linguistics Department's Graduate Program Assistant (GPA) two weeks prior to the scheduled defense date. Once the GPA receives the signed form, a room will be reserved. A defense will not go forward unless all three committee members agree that the thesis is ready and each have signed the Thesis Reviewers Form. In addition, please email the GPA a brief abstract (limit to 600 characters including spaces) to be posted to the Graduate School's website.

Dissertation- The final draft of your dissertation needs to be submitted to the GPA two weeks before defense for public to review.

Doctoral Dissertation Coversheet- Complete this form and print it on the same paper that you will use for the official copy of your dissertation. Your committee members do not sign the coversheet until after the defense. Your mentor will be the last of your committee member to sign the form once all revisions requested at the defense have been completed and approved. After your mentor signs the coversheet, your dissertation will then be reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). The DGS needs three weeks to review your dissertation, so please keep this in mind when you schedule your defense. After the DGS reviews and signs the coversheet, your dissertation can be submitted to the Graduate School.

Abstract- (No form required.) Your defense is open to the public and will be announced on the Graduate School's Doctoral Dissertation Defense Schedule page and on GULINGUIST. You will need to send the GPA an electronic copy of your abstract one week prior to your defense. Your abstract will be included in the announcement of your defense.

Depositing your Dissertation in the Graduate School:

Prior to defending your dissertation, it is recommended that you meet with a representative from the Graduate School for a preliminarily format check of your dissertation. To schedule an appointment stop by ICC 302 or send an email to: gradacadaffrs@georgetown.edu. Once your dissertation is approved by the Department of Linguistics, you can then deposit your dissertation with the Graduate School. When you deposit your dissertation you will need the following:

Doctoral Dissertation Coversheet with the required signatures of your committee members and the DGS.

Official Copy of Dissertation.  The paper used on the final copy of the dissertation to be submitted to the Graduate School must be at least 20 pound weight and have at least 25% rag or cotton fiber content. Both the weight and rag content of the paper will be noted on the box when your purchase it, and can usually be confirmed by viewing the watermark in the paper.

Dissertation Publishing Form- This form is available in the Graduate School, ICC 302.

Survey of Earned Doctorates Form- This form is available in the Graduate School, ICC 302.

Graduation:

Application for Graduate Degree Form- Instructions on completing the form and the deadlines for submitting the application to the Graduate School are explained on the form itself.

All forms can be found on the Graduate School's Form Page unless otherwise noted.