Steps Preceding the Final Oral Examination

1. The abstract and dissertation must be approved by the Supervisory Committee Chair and the readers prior to filing the Application for the Final Oral Examination in the Office of Graduate Studies. The application, signed by the readers and supervisory committee chair, must be presented for approval to the Doctoral Programs Specialist in the Office of Graduate Studies at least three weeks prior to the date of the oral examination. If the oral examination is waived, the deadline is three weeks prior to the last published date for holding oral examinations.
2. At the time your application is submitted, a preliminary review of the title page and abstract from copies provided by the student is made by the Doctoral Programs Specialist. Your final oral examination instructions will be given to you when the application is received. The instructions will include directions on how to retrieve the Report on Completion form, Signature Page, Survey of Earned Doctorates, the Dissertation Information Form and uploading your dissertation to ProQuest and Digital Commons. Please read the instructions carefully so that you will have a complete file when you wish to deposit your dissertation.

The Supervisory Committee has the right to recommend changes in the abstract and the dissertation at the time of the final oral examination. Such changes, should they be requested, normally are made by the student in consultation with the Supervisory Committee Chair and are incorporated in the final versions of the abstract and dissertation that will be uploaded to ProQuest and UNL's Digital Commons.