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The table below contains the important due dates for planning your dissertation defense for the 2020-2021 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.
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.
**Deadlines extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Helpful webpages:
- Rackham Doctoral Degree Deadlines
- Rackham Resources for Grad Students in response to Covid-19 (includes Adjusted 2021 Winter and Spring-Summer Term Academic Deadlines)
- Frequently Asked Questions - Rackham Extended Deadlines Winter 2020
- Rackham Completing the Doctoral Degree Requirements
| Defense Term & Conferral Date | Selection of Committee Members | Schedule Defense Date | Copies to Members | Pre-Defense Mtg | Reader Reports Due | Members forms due to Rackham | Last Recommended Defense Date | Rackham Defense Deadline |
Fall 2020 12/20/2020 |
6/23/2020 | 8/14/2020 | 8/21/2020 | 10/2/2020 | 10/9/2020 | 10/20/2020 | 10/23/2020 | 11/20/2020 |
Fall 2020 Grace Pd 4/30/2021 |
9/11/2020 | 11/2/2020 | 11/9/2020 | 12/21/2021 | 12/28/2020 | 1/6/2021 | 1/11/2021 | 2/8/2021 |
Winter 2021 4/30/2021 |
11/5/2020 | 12/25/2020 | 1/1/2021 | 2/12/2021 | 2/19/2021 | 3/2/2021 | 3/5/2021 | 4/2/2021 |
Winter 2021 Grace Pd 8/20/21 |
**3/20/2021 |
**5/11/2021 |
**5/18/2021 |
**6/29/2021 |
**7/6/2021 |
**7/15/2021 |
**7/20/2021 |
**8/17/2021 |
Sp/Su 2021 8/20/2021 |
**3/20/2021 | **5/11/2021 | **5/18/2021 | **6/29/2021 | **7/6/2021 | **7/15/2021 | **7/20/2021 | **8/17/2021 |
Sp/Su 2021 Grace Pd 12/19/2021 |
4/23/2021 | 6/14/2021 | 6/21/2021 | 8/2/2021 | 8/9/2021 | 8/18/2021 | 8/23/2021 | 9/20/2021 |
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense To Do List
- Review Rackham’s Completing the Doctoral Degree Requirements webpage
- Select Dissertation Committee Members by: 4-6 months before Defense Date
- Choose second reader if Math (AIM’s 2nd reader is 2nd advisor) by: 4-6 months before Defense Date
- Submit Dissertation Committee Member form to Graduate Office by: 4 months before Defense Date
- Choose defense date with committee members by: 10 weeks before Defense Date
- Inform Grad Office of defense date & request a room reservation by: 10 weeks before Defense Date
- Give copies of thesis to committee members by: 9 weeks before Defense Date
- Schedule Pre-Defense Meeting at Rackham for on or before: 3 weeks before Defense Date
- Remind Readers to submit reports to Graduate Office by: 2 weeks before Defense Date
- Remind Committee Members to turn in form to Rackham by: 3 days before Defense Date
- Defend your thesis on: Your Defense Date
- Schedule Post-defense Meeting at Rackham for on or before: Rackham Conferral Date
Sample Timing for a Winter Grace Period Conferral of April 30, 2021
- Select Dissertation Committee Members by: November 5, 2020
- Choose second reader if Math (AIM’s 2nd reader is 2nd advisor) by: November 5, 2020
- Submit Dissertation Committee Member form to Graduate Office by: November 5, 2020
- Choose defense date with committee members by: December 25, 2021
- Inform Grad Office of defense date & request a room reservation by: December 25, 2021
- Give copies of thesis to committee members by: Friday, January 1, 2021
- Schedule Pre-Defense Meeting at Rackham for on or before: February 12, 2021
- Remind Readers to submit reports to Graduate Office by: February 19, 2021
- Remind Committee Members to turn Forms into Rackham by: March 2, 2021
- Defend your thesis on: March 5, 2021
- Schedule Post-defense Meeting at Rackham for on or before: April 2, 2021
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."
