Doctoral Dissertation Checklist
Beginning of Final Semester
- Apply to graduate (contact your program office)
- Review the Formatting Guide for information on how to draft & format your dissertation.
- Review the Submission Guide for information on how to submit your dissertation.
Scheduling Final Oral Examination
Once your supervising committee agrees that your dissertation is ready to be defended, the following documents must be uploaded to the Thesis and Dissertation Submission website and accepted by the Office of Graduate Education at least two weeks prior to the date of exam:
- Your dissertation
- Request for Final Oral Exam Form (pdf) (must include room number for in-person or a link to the virtual defense and must include digital or handwritten signatures from all committee members, including the Examining Committee Chair)
- UTD Copyright Training Certificate of Completion
Final Oral Examination
After your defense, your committee will sign the Report of Final Oral Examination and the Examining Committee Chair will submit the report to the Office of Graduate Education.
Before the Final Format Check
- Incorporate all changes from your committee and the Office of Graduate Education
- Submit your dissertation to Turnitin through the Graduate Student Citation Check in eLearning (and upload the digital receipt to the thesis and dissertation submission website)
- Review your Turnitin report with your supervising professor and have them sign your citation form
- Obtain any required permissions for previously published material
NOTE: You can only upload files to your online submission when your submission status is in “Needs Correction.”
Final Format Check and Dissertation Approval
By the deadline to upload dissertation for final/post-defense review:
- Upload the final draft of your dissertation (pdf file) to the thesis and dissertation submission website
You will be informed of any required corrections you need to make and will be notified when your dissertation is approved. You can track your progress on the thesis and dissertation submission website. All content and formatting changes and administrative files must be finalized and approved by the final approval deadline.
Required Documents
The following documents must be uploaded to the Thesis and Dissertation Submission website before the final deadline:
- Final approved dissertation
- UTD Copyright Training Certificate of Completion
- Survey of earned Doctorates Certificate of Completion
- Turnitin Digital Receipt
- Citation Form (pdf) signed by supervising professor and student
- Use of Human Subjects in Research Approval Memo (IRB) (if human subjects were used)
- Use of Animals in Research Approval Memo (IACUC) (if animal subjects were used)
Helpful Links
- LaTeX and Word templates for thesis formatting
- Windows Thesis/Dissertation Template (.zip) (updated 2/16/2018)
- LaTeX Template (.zip) (updated 1/25/2024)
- Sample Pages (pdf)
- Formatting Guide
- Submission Guide
- Administrative Form Examples (pdf)
- Regalia & Hooding CeremonyInformation
