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Final Oral Examination

The final examination is oral. The student must take the final oral examination in defense of the dissertation within five years after passing comprehensive examinations.  Any exception to this must be approved by the supervisory committee and the dean of the Graduate College, and ordinarily involves repetition of the comprehensive examination.

The oral defense is open to all members of the university community.  The oral defense engages the supervisory committee and the student in a critical, analytical discussion of the research and findings of the study, as well as a review of the relation of the dissertation to the specialized field in which it lies.  An announcement of the dissertation defense must be posted in prominent places in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Committee deliberations and the final vote are conducted in closed session.

The oral defense is given by the supervisory committee after the dissertation has been approved by the committee chair and the formal defense of the dissertation has been approved by the Graduate College.  In general, it is expected that oral defenses will be held on the ASU campus during regular business hours.  All members of the student's approved supervisory committee must attend the oral defense.  (When there are sound educational reasons for holding a defense under different circumstances, the student should contact the Graduate College for approval prior to scheduling the examination.)