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Neurosciences Graduate Program Neurograd
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  3. Program Requirements
  4. Exams and Evaluations
  5. Dissertation Defense

Dissertation Defense and Final Examination

The Dissertation Defense is a defining moment for NGP students and the final milestone in the program. The writen dissertation is a comprehensive document that should abide by the formatting guidelines of UC San Diego. NGP students are required to present their dissertation defense orally. and open to the general public. The final recommendation for awarding the PhD degree is decided by the student's doctoral committee. 

Writing the Dissertation

The Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affaists (GEPA) provide a submission manual titled "Preparation and Submission Manual for Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Thesis"  

Student should use this guide and attend a formatting webinar prior to writing their dissertation. All final dissertation formatting and submission will be approved by GEPA. 

 

Deadlines and Timeline

  • Two Quarters Before: Send an update to your doctoral committee, add/edit doctoral committee members, discuss your final date in lab and final quarter you will be enrolled. Consult the Program for any questions about offboarding
  • Quarter Before: Schedule your Meeting -> Complete the Apply for Graduation Form
  • [Deadline] Week 4 of the Quarter you will Defend: Complete Graduate Affairs File for Doctoral Degree Form
  • Day of: NGP will send the Final Report Form and send you an Exit Survey
  • [Deadline] Degree Filing Deadline: The Final Report must be routed to Graduate Affairs prior to Finals Week. An exam held on finals week may not be filed for the current quarter. Link to Academic Calendar

Apply for Graduation

Students must "Apply for Graduation" early in the quarter in which they plan to receive their degree. Below is the internal form that the Neurosciences Graduate Program uses to document upcoming Dissertation Defenses. This form is used to offboard and collect student information. 

Link: https://ucsd.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eba7Ap98cF7pTkG 

 

 

Final Examination and Final Report

It is the student's responsibility to schedule their oral presentation. The exam date must be prior to the final week of instruction, for the defense date to be on file for the current quarter. For example, if instruction ends on December 12, an oral defense of December 16th will be filed for Winter Quarter, rather than Fall Quarter. 

Students will inform the graduate program of their exam date using the form above and aim to submit their paper to the doctoral committee at least 10 days before the exam date. the Program Administrator will route a Final Report to their Doctoral Committee (using Docusign).