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The table below contains the important due dates for planning your dissertation defense for the 2021-2022 academic year. Be sure to familiarize yourself with Rackham's Completing the Doctoral Degree Requirements in order to ensure a successful conferral of your Ph.D. Please note the Rackham Deadlines are firm.
Grace Periods allow a Ph.D. student to confer within the extended time period without registering and paying tuition for the following semester. For example, a student who confers in the Winter 2021 Grace Period does not need to register or pay tuition for the Spring/Summer semesters.
International Students should take care to plan ahead for OPT or I20 extensions. A minimum of 90 days is required for processing. Be sure to read the International Center's webpages below carefully.
Helpful webpages:
- Rackham Doctoral Degree Deadlines
- Rackham Resources for Grad Students in response to Covid-19
- Rackham Completing the Doctoral Degree Requirements
| Defense Term, Conferral Date, & Commencement Date | Selection of Committee Members | Schedule Defense Date | Copies to Members | Rackham Pre-Defense Mtg | Reader Reports Due | Committee Member evals due to Rackham | Last Recommended Defense Date | Rackham Post- Defense Deadline |
Winter 2022 4/29/2022 4/29/2022 |
11/26/2021 | 1/7/2022 | 1/14/2022 | 2/25/2022 | 3/4/2022 | 3/14/2022 | 3/18/2022 | 4/1/2022 |
Winter 2022 Grace Pd 8/19/2022 12/18/2022 *COVID extension |
4/12/2022 |
5/24/2022 |
5/31/2022 |
7/12/2022 |
7/19/2022 |
7/29/2022 | 8/2/2022 | 8/16/2022 |
Sp/Su 2022 8/19/2022 12/18/2022 *COVID extension
|
4/12/2022 |
5/24/2022 |
5/31/2022 |
7/12/2022 |
7/19/2022 |
7/29/2022 | 8/2/2022 | 8/16/2022 |
Sp/Su 2022 Grace Pd 12/18/2022 12/18/2022
|
5/16/2022 | 6/27/2022 | 7/4/2022 | 8/15/2022 | 8/22/2022 | 9/1/2022 | 9/5/2022 | 9/19/2022 |
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense To Do List
- Select Dissertation Committee Members & 2 Readers & inform Math Grad Office by: 4-6 months before Defense Date
- Choose defense date with committee members, inform Math Grad Office, & request room from Math Undergrad Office by: 10 weeks before Defense Date
- Give copies of thesis to committee members by: 9 weeks before Defense Date
- Complete Rackham Pre-Defense by: 3 weeks before Defense Date
- Remind Readers to submit reports to Math Grad Office by: 2 weeks before Defense Date
- Remind Committee Members to complete Rackham Thesis Evaluations by: 3 days before Defense Date
- Defend your thesis on: Your Defense Date (recommend at least 2 weeks prior to Rackham Requirement Deadline)
- Complete Rackham Post-defense submission by: Rackham Requirement Deadline
Sample Timing for a Winter Grace Period Conferral of August, 2022
- Select Dissertation Committee Members & 2 Readers & inform Math Grad Office by: January 17, 2022
- Choose defense date with committee members, inform Math Grad Office, & request room from Math Undergrad Office by: February 28, 2022
- Give copies of thesis to committee members by: March, 7, 2021
- Complete Rackham Pre-Defense by: April 18, 2022
- Remind Readers to submit reports to Math Grad Office by: April 25, 2022
- Remind Committee Members to complete Rackham Thesis Evaluations by: May 5, 2022
- Defend your thesis on: May 9, 2022
- Complete Rackham Post-defense submission by: May 23, 2022
How to Set up a Zoom Defense
Be sure to login to Zoom with your umich account.
Set up your Zoom meeting as follows:
- Passcode - Yes (Be sure to give it to the math-grad-office.)
- Waiting room - No
- Alternative Hosts - Your advisor(s); After your defense, they need to be able to go to a breakout room to discuss your defense without you.
- Do not "enable join before host"
- Mute Participants upon Entry
- Do not restrict to U-M users or your parents won't be able to get in.
- You may want to record for posterity's sake - that's up to you.
- As soon as you open the meeting, click chat and disable chatting between attendees.
- As soon as you open the meeting, click participants and disable "Allow participants to unmute themselves."
