See the attached sheets for regulations about Master's and Doctoral committees. Your committee must have a copy of your Ph.D. dissertation at least 2 weeks before the defense. Your committee has the right to request copies before these minimum deadlines. If possible, you should talk at least once to each member of your committee, if only to check that they think that the defense can go forward. Remember that the more time your committee has to read your work and give you comments, the less chance there is of unpleasant surprises at your defense.
All defenses are public.
Your talk should be accompanied by a handout of not more than 15 pages giving the highlights of your work. You should assume that people have read your work. You should show your handout to your committee chair, who will help you judge its appropriateness for your defense. You must place a copy of your work in the Department so that non- committee members who come to your defense can read it. Each committee member may ask you questions about your work.