The examination may be written in part, and may be subdivided into parts or given all at one time at the discretion of the options concerned. The student must petition for this examination, on a form obtained from the Graduate Office, not less than two weeks before the date of the examination. Ordinarily, more than two weeks are needed for the necessary arrangements. The candidate is to provide a copy of his or her completed thesis to the members of the examining committee at least two weeks before the final oral examination. The date of the examination and the composition of the examining committee will not be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies until the thesis is submitted in completed form, i.e., ready for review by the dean, the members of the examining committee, and the Graduate Office proofreader.
Registration is required for the term in which the thesis defense is undertaken.
May. Two copies of the thesis are to be submitted in accordance with the regulations governing the preparation of doctoral dissertations, obtainable from the Graduate Office. For special option regulations concerning theses, see specific graduate options. Before submitting the final, corrected thesis to the Dean of Graduate Studies, the candidate must obtain approval of the thesis by the chair of his or her division and the members of the examining committee, on a form that can be obtained at the Graduate Office. With the approval of the option concerned, a portion of the thesis may consist of one or more articles published jointly by the candidate and members of the Institute staff or other coauthors. In any case, however, a substantial portion of the thesis must be the candidate's own exposition of his or her own work.