Thesis Submission and Defense Process

Each thesis committee includes three panelists who will read the thesis and participate in the thesis defense. Of the three panelists, one must be the student's primary academic adviser, and at least one must be a full-time Gallatin faculty member. If the academic adviser is a full-time Gallatin faculty member, the student may opt to ask two other non-Gallatin faculty members to serve on the committee.

Students are responsible for selecting and confirming the participation of each panelist. Students should consult with their primary advisers about composing the committee. The M.A. program directors are also available to help students with this process.

At this stage, the student solicits feedback from the adviser and other committee members, but does not submit the thesis to Gallatin.

To submit the thesis to Gallatin and to the thesis committee, students should use the online Thesis Submission form.  This form will send copies of the thesis to the adviser and to the second and third reader.  At this stage, Gallatin will contact the adviser to confirm his or her approval of the thesis.  Gallatin must have confirmation of the adviser's approval before the student will be allowed to schedule the defense.

Students completing an artistic thesis that entails a performance must arrange to have the committee members see the performance no less than one week before the defense.

By the time the student has submitted the thesis to Gallatin, he or she should be finalizing arrangements for the defense. Students should consult with all three panelists regarding the dates and times when they are available. When an acceptable date and time have been arranged, the student should complete the online Thesis Defense Registration form, which must be submitted at least three weeks prior to the defense. In addition to the date and time of the defense, the student should provide on the form the names of the committee members and their email addresses. A defense confirmation will be emailed to the student, the adviser, the second reader, and the third reader.

Please note: The student is responsible for acting as the liaison among the three members of the defense committee. Students must work with their committee members to find an acceptable date. The defense will, of course, be contingent upon final approval of the thesis itself by all three committee members. If one of the members rejects the paper, or requests substantial revisions, the defense date may have to be postponed unless changes can be made in time.

Students should also be aware that they may encounter some difficulties in finding committee members or arranging a date for a defense in January or September because of the limited availability of faculty during the summer months and winter recess.

If the thesis is approved at the defense, the committee will sign the final approval document and forward it to the Registrar's Office. Students who have passed the defense and have met all other degree requirements will be eligible for graduation.

If the committee asks for revisions, the student will have a specified amount of time to produce them and have them approved. (Such revisions may or may not set back the graduation date, depending on how long they take.) The committee may also ask for minor editorial changes, which will not delay graduation. Students will have up to 30 days to make these changes and submit the final thesis to Gallatin. In some cases, the committee may ask to see the revised thesis before it is added to the Gallatin Master's Thesis Archive.

At the time of the defense, the committee will complete the Instructions for the Final Thesis form. This form indicates what type of changes the student needs to make to the thesis before submitting the final thesis to Gallatin.

Within 30 days after the defense, the student must submit the final, corrected version of the thesis (please see the formatting guidelines for more information). The final thesis must be submitted electronically by completing the online Final Thesis Submission form.