Exam Scheduling
We highly recommend you contact the members of your graduate committee about your defense at least one term before you want to defend. Keep in mind that in any given term, faculty may be scheduling attendance at multiple defenses and that other students may have already scheduled a defense on the day you have selected. The FWCS Department strongly advises against scheduling during week 10 or finals week.
After you have finalized your defense date, MS and PhD students should reserve a large classroom for the public presentation for at least 1 hour and also reserve a smaller conference room for the immediate next 2 hours for the private oral exam. If you are holding a remote defense via zoom, you should schedule for 3 hours total. The FWCS Department is happy to help with room reservation and creating a branded flyer for your event if notified early, please contact the FWCS Graduate Advisor for instructions. You will have a better chance of having good attendance at your defense if you complete the Exam Scheduling form early and work with front office staff on advertising your public presentation.
You must schedule the exam with the Graduate School using the Exam Scheduling Form. The Graduate School requires that you submit this form at least two weeks prior to a doctoral preliminary exam, a master's final exam or a doctoral final exam. The Department strongly recommends that you submit this form three to four weeks prior to your defense. If the graduate faculty appointments of any people serving on your committee have lapsed, this will allow FWCS staff to address the issue before you defend. You are responsible for:
- Informing the Graduate School of the date, time, and place of each exam
- Confirming the committee membership - including your Graduate Council Representative
- Notifying and reminding the committee of the exam date, time, and place
Provide your committee with a clean copy of your thesis/dissertation at least three weeks prior to your defense. Touch base with your Major Professor about the timeframe they deem appropriate for this. They may want you to give your committee more time. You also need to meet the formatting requirements set by the graduate school for your thesis/dissertation and those are articulated here: https://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/progress/thesis-guide. If you have questions about formatting/submitting your thesis to the graduate school, Julie Kurtz (Julie.kurtz@oregonstate.edu) is your best point of contact.
One dissenting vote is permitted for both thesis and non-thesis degrees. No more than two re-examinations are permitted by the Graduate School, although academic units may permit fewer re-examinations.
Review ALL content on the Graduate School’s Deadlines website for Master's or Doctoral students (https://gradschool.oregonstate.edu/progress/deadlines)
Scheduling Presentation and Conference Rooms
Please schedule defense rooms promptly, as soon as you confirm dates and times. Waiting to schedule rooms will limit your ability to find a room that suits your needs. The FWCS Department cannot guarantee classroom space during week 10 or finals week.
HMSC Seminar & Defense Rooms:
HMSC based defenses can be scheduled through the HMSC Room Reservation Request Form.
Corvallis Seminar & Defense Rooms:
Rooms are booked in the order they are requested. Please contact the FWCS Graduate Coordinator for instructions.