Doctoral Final Examination Form

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Information & Deadlines

Doctoral students must pass a PhD dissertation defense or a doctoral final exam, depending upon the degree to be awarded. In order to have a degree awarded in any given semester, the exam must be passed by the deadline, and the form must be completed through this process within the following week. The doctoral examination committee is comprised of at least five members meeting Graduate School and program requirements. This includes a chair and a specifically identified outside member. Work with your program well in advance of the defense or exam to identify appropriate committee members, including an approved outside member.

Signatures Required

Signatures must be obtained in a multi-part process explained and initiated below. The Graduate School and your graduate program must approve your committee, and the form will be sent to your committee members upon completion of your exam. All members must sign the form.

Submission & Routing Information

At least two weeks before your defense or exam, complete the landing page with your name, program, and the names and colorado.edu e-mail addresses of the committee chair and the other committee members. Click “submit.”

On the form, add the date of your examination/defense and student ID number. Read and acknowledge the information on the form and select “finish” to route the form through the following process:

The form will be sent to the Graduate School for review of your committee.
Following Graduate School committee approval, the form will be routed to your program for review in advance of the exam.
After the exam/defense has been conducted, work with your graduate program assistant to route the form to your committee members.
Committee members will receive the form simultaneously and all members must sign the form. More than one dissenting vote disqualifies the candidate in the final examination.
When all members have signed and the form is complete, you will receive a pdf version of the form with signatures via e-mail. The form will also be forwarded to your program, committee members, and to the Graduate School.

Additional instructions are available here.

Select the college where your unit is housed:

Please Select the A&S Division:

Exam Date - Please use format mm/dd/yyyy (eg: 01/01/2026)

Student Information

Student ID (9 Digits)

First Name

Last Name

Colorado.edu e-mail

List Committee Members Below

Committee Chair Information:

Name (First and Last)

Colorado.edu e-mail