Doctoral candidates will not be recommended to the Board of Trustees for the doctoral degree unless they have the requisite number of dissertation credits. The cover sheet must be signed by each member of the Dissertation Committee to indicate approval of the topic and its plan of execution. An examination cannot be held unless it has been publicly announced in the Campus Chronicle. The examination must be held on the Amherst campus. All members of the Dissertation Committee must be present at the defense.
Departments differ in allowing others to attend.
The result of a Final Oral Examination is forwarded to the Office of Degree Requirements directly following the examination. The dissertation must be typed in a prescribed style and format on acid-free paper. The Graduate School is the final and only arbitrator of what is an acceptable dissertation. The original dissertation and one copy are required, and fees must be paid to cover binding and microfilming costs. The dissertation will be cataloged in the Library of Congress and in the University of Massachusetts Amherst Library.