Thesis Defense and Graduation Procedures

This information is offered to guide BPhil candidates as they plan for graduation and the thesis defense; students are encouraged to share this document with their thesis advisors.

You are responsible for reading the following information. Not adhering to the requirements listed below could jeopardize your graduation.

If you have any questions or require any assistance as you progress, please contact David Hornyak by email or phone (412-624-6884).

Home School Graduation Procedures

Because the BPhil is jointly-awarded by the Honors College and your home school of admission (Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Business, etc.), you must follow all procedures, regulations, and deadlines established by your home school regarding application for graduation. Most important, at the time you apply for graduation with your home school, you must inform them that you are also pursuing the BPhil; they will instruct you regarding any additional requirements they may have because you are pursing the BPhil (e.g., additional forms they may require you to complete).

Scheduling the Defense

The thesis advisor and student should coordinate a time and location for the defense with the committee members. Scheduling should take into consideration that the final, edited copy of the thesis in proper Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) format must be submitted to the UHC no later than NOON on the LAST WEEKDAY OF CLASSES of the TERM IN WHICH YOU WILL GRADUATE; failure to do so could jeopardize your graduation. If you anticipate any problems meeting this deadline, you should contact David Hornyak immediately.   

The student needs to secure a room for the defense. Students can use rooms their department generally reserves for master's theses defenses; at the thesis advisor's direction, the student may contact their department's administrator to arrange for the room. Additionally, the Honors College has rooms that can be used for the defense; if interested, please contact David Hornyak or Karen Billingsley, UHC Assistant to the Dean, by email or phone (412-624-6880) regarding availability.

Once the defense is scheduled, the student must inform the Honors College by completing the following form:

BPhil Defense Info Form (Microsoft Word version)

BPhil Defense Info Form (PDF version)

BPhil Defense Info Form (PDF fill-in form version)

Students should complete this form and submit it directly to David Hornyak. Please submit this form as soon as the defense is scheduled, but no later than TWO WEEKS before the date of the defense. 

Structure of the Defense Itself

The BPhil defense is a public defense, so initially there will be both members of the committee and non-committee members in the room. The thesis advisor is considered the "chair" of the committee, facilitating the process. The general format of the defense is as follows:

  • An initial presentation by the student providing an overview of the research and the findings. The student should assume the audience has familiarity with the topic of the research. In other words, the student should tailor the presentation to the committee members and not to the lay persons in the audience. Most students can provide this overview in about 20 minutes.
  • Open questions from the audience. At this point in the defense, both the committee and non-committee members can ask questions. There is no set time limit for questions. It is up to the thesis advisor, as chair, to end this section of the defense. Because this public portion is often a unique component of the BPhil defense that most graduate thesis defenses do not include, some guidelines for when to end this part of the defense are: when the committee begins to monopolize the discussion; when the non-committee audience members appear to be out of questions; or when the audience starts asking questions that seem to be off track from the student's research.
  • The chair dismisses the non-committee members in attendance, allowing the committee members to ask the student questions in private. This should take as long as required according to guidelines for master's thesis defenses within the chair's discipline.
  • The chair dismisses the student and the committee discusses the student's research project, signing off on the paperwork for the defense, verifying completion of the thesis. If revisions to the thesis are required, the entire committee (or only the committee chair) may withhold signing the paperwork until the revisions have been approved.
  • The chair invites the student back into the room and congratulates the student on a successful defense (the committee can offer feedback/comments to the student as appropriate).

The entire defense (including the committee's deliberations) generally does not take longer than two hours (the room for the defense should be reserved for at least two hours).

External Examiner Procedures

The external examiner will make all travel and lodging arrangements and the UHC will reimburse reasonable expenses related to travel and lodging. The external examiner must provide original receipts as well as name, address, phone number, email address, and Social Security Number to Karen Billingsley in order to be reimbursed.

In addition, the external examiner will receive an honorarium. If the student and/or the thesis advisor wishes to have the honorarium available to give the external examiner at the time of the defense, the external examiner's name, address, phone number, email address, and Social Security Number must be provided to Karen Billingsley no later than two weeks before the date of the defense; it is the student's responsibility to obtain the honorarium check from the Honors College prior to the defense.

Thesis Copies Prior to the Defense

If the student would like the UHC to make copies of the thesis and mail it to the committee before the defense, one copy of the thesis must be provided to David Hornyak at least four weeks before the date of the defense in order to ensure adequate processing time in the UHC and to give the committee ample time to review it. In addition to the thesis copy, names and addresses of all individuals to whom the thesis is to be sent must also be provided.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Procedures

After successfully defending the thesis and making any necessary revisions required by the committee, the final BPhil theses document must be submitted as an ETD. For specific information, see the University's ETD website and the UHC ETD information webpage.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that students review the information on the University's ETD website prior to beginning to write the thesis and that students attend the available training workshops offered.

Students are to follow these steps to complete the BPhil process once any necessary revisions have been made to the thesis (all documents noted below must be submitted directly to David Hornyak):

  • Two copies of the abstract with your thesis advisor's complete name typed and with your advisor's initials in the top right corner of each page; the abstract must be double-spaced with title and student's name at the top of the first page (see ETD template for proper format)
  • Two copies of the title page
  • Upload the file to the ETD submission page, formatted correctly with all appropriate bookmarks and hyperlinks; email David Hornyak after your upload is complete

IMPORTANT: The ETD must be uploaded and all documents noted above must submitted to David Hornyak no later than NOON on the LAST WEEKDAY OF CLASSES of the TERM IN WHICH YOU WILL GRADUATE; failure to do so could jeopardize your graduation.

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