Students are eligible for the dissertation defense examination when they have completed any remaining electives, completed their teaching requirement, and have the approval of their research committee. The Research Committee (later to serve as the Defense Examination Committee) is selected soon after the student has passed the Comprehensive Examination as described above. A member of the Department Graduate Committee will serve as the Monitor of the Defense Examination. The Monitor will run the examination and see to it that all department policies are followed. If the member of the Department Graduate Committee who serves as the Monitor is not a regular member of the student's defense committee, then the Monitor will only serve in an ex-officio capacity and will not be a voting member of the defense committee at the time of the defense. The committee will meet with the student as soon as practical after the comprehensive examination to approve the research project and be informed of any progress that has been made. Normally the committee meets every 6 months during the research phase of the student's graduate training.
The student will present their second of two research seminars to the department during the semester just prior to their defense.
When the Dissertation is completed it is given to the committee members for their review and any input prior to the defense. The format of the dissertation must meet all KUMC guidelines as listed in documents obtained from the Office of Graduate Studies, 5015 Wescoe. After initial approval by the committee members and at least three weeks prior to the date the defense is scheduled, a Do-All form must be sent to the Graduate School for their approval. The Do-All form indicates that this is a request for a Doctoral Defense on a specific date and indicates who is on the committee (Chair and members). The room for the examination should be reserved at this time.
The mentor and student will carry out the following procedures. At least one week prior to the date of the defense, a copy of the dissertation is placed in the Anatomy conference room so that any department faculty member can read it prior to the defense. Announcements of the defense will be mailed out to all departments at KUMC and posted in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. The defense date is also listed in the KUMC Weekly Calendar which is sent to all faculty at KUMC and is posted on the KUMC Pulse website (http://www2.kumc.edu/publications/Weekly/). Also at this time, the student will give appropriate information to the Department administrative director so that a student biographical sketch outline can be prepared. Copies of this biographical sketch will be given out to the committee and the audience on the day of the defense. Copies of the format of this biographical sketch are in the Departmental office for use by the student and the office staff.
The defense examination is run by the Monitor of the Defense Examination committee who was selected from the Department Graduate Committee. This is not a seminar, but rather is a formal defense. It is therefore run by the Monitor and not by the student. The Student's Mentor or the Monitor will introduce the student. The Monitor will direct all questions from the floor to the student after the research material is presented. After all questions from the floor are answered, the Monitor will ask all to leave the room except the student and the committee. The committee will then ask any additional questions they have for the student. Any additional comments regarding the format of the dissertation will also be given at this time. When all questions are answered, the student is asked to leave the room and a vote is taken by the committee.
If an approval is obtained from the majority of the members, the student passes. A discussion of honors will also be conducted. The committee Chairperson (Mentor) will then sign the Do-All form and indicate the result of the vote, but the dissertation will not be signed by the committee members at this time.
After the Do-All form is signed by the Chairman and the appropriate box is checked as to the results of examination, the form is copied and put in the students file and the original is forwarded to the Office of Graduate Studies for their records.
When the student has addressed all comments made by the committee members and made appropriate changes to the dissertation, the dissertation will be signed by the Mentor and members of the committee. All copies of the dissertation required by the department and the University will be turned in at the time of the signing. An unbound copy will be given to the department and the mentor and bound copies will be turned in to the graduate school. Until all copies are turned in, the student has not met the requirements for the Ph.D. and cannot officially graduate.
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