thesis defense abstract

Dissertation Manual

Students can reference the content and drop-downs below for understanding their dissertation requirement and the thesis defense process. Reference a downloadable PDF version of this guidance .

Another Formatting Sample

Topics on this page

Formatting requirements, required sections, guidelines, and suggestions, preparing for your defense, assessing learning outcomes, after the defense, after your graduation date, including previously published materials in your thesis..

Are you planning to include previously published materials in your thesis? If you do, you need to check the copyright status of those materials and, if necessary, request permission form the copyright owner to re-use them, even if you are the author.

Copyright is a legal protection provided to creators of original works of authorship registered in a tangible medium. It gives copyright owners the exclusive right to copy, distribute, perform, adapt or display their works. Many academic authors transfer their copyright to publishers when they publish a book or an article, which means they might need the publishers’ permission to re-use those materials.

Before requesting permission, check your copyright transfer contract with the publisher to see if they already gave you some rights back, such as the right to re-use the materials in your own publications. If not, check the publisher’s website to find information about “Rights and Permissions”. Most academic publishers have agreements with the Copyright Clearance Center to process those type of requests; it is common to see a link saying “Get permissions” somewhere on the book/article/journal or publisher website. Re-use of materials that you authored on your own thesis is usually free of charge.

If there is no easy link to request permissions on the publisher’s website, you may have to contact them directly. Here is an example of the type of information you should include in your permissions request . Remember to keep all the documentation for your records since you might have to share those permissions when submitting your thesis to UR Research and ProQuest.

Still unsure or need more information? Check the following presentation slides or set up an appointment with a Scholarly Communication specialist :

Moriana Garcia (River Campus Libraries – River Campus)
Linda Hassman (Miner Libraries – University of Rochester Medical Center)
Jonathan Sauceda (Sibley Library – Eastman School of Music)

The dissertation must be written in English, except where the subject matter demands otherwise, and an exception has been approved by the school’s dean for graduate studies.

The narrative of the thesis should be formatted for 8.5 x 11-inch paper in portrait format (text running across the shorter dimension of the page).
All margins must be at least 1.25” (one and one-quarter inches), including those on tables, figures, and appendices. Tables or figures may be printed in landscape layout (content running across the longer dimension of the page) if necessary. See page number section for numbering on those pages.
Font size must be at least as large as 10-point Arial or 12-point Times New Roman.
Fonts in figures and tables may be smaller than 11-point, but all must remain legible when reduced to 50% size.
The front matter (abstract, biographical sketch, dedication, contributors and funding sources, table of contents, etc.) and body of the text must be double-spaced.
After the title page, each page in the thesis, including pages with tables, figures, references and appendices, must include a page number.
Page numbers must be placed in the top margin of each page, preferably in the top right.
If you are including any landscape-oriented pages, number all your pages in the upper right corner rather than centered at the top of the page, because at least half the time, the numbers will be in the correct position to appear in the upper outside corner when the thesis is printed double-sided.
For information on how to make these changes, please reference this link .

Your dissertation should follow the order of the drop-downs below. Click into each drop-down to understand requirements and best practices.

Required? Yes
The title of the thesis is typed in upper-and lower-case letters. This is to ensure that the words (such as proper names) within the title are capitalized correctly when listed elsewhere.
Do not include degrees or credentials of your advisor(s) and do not list other members of your committee. Committee members are listed in the Contributors and Funding Sources page. Include the word ‘Professor’ in front of the name of each advisor on the title page.
The name of your department and school appear on the title page. If you are in an interdisciplinary program, list the program name rather than a department, followed by the school(s).
Provide the year (but not the month or day) of your expected degree conferral. The degree conferral may, or may not, be the same year as the defense. Please refer to the PhD calendar for completion dates required for each of the five conferral dates through the year.
Required? No
This is a single statement on itsown page following the title page indicating an individual or group whom you wish to honor by the production of this work. If you include a dedication, it will be numbered as page ii. Acknowledgments are different; see details below.
The table of contents needs to include entries for all of the front matter except for the title page and table of contents page. Also include, as part of the front matter, entries for your List of Tables, List of Figures, etc. (if applicable). Following those entries, indicate the title and page numbers of the main divisions or chapters and the major subdivisions or subheading levels. The numbering and wording used in the Table of Contents must match the numbering and wording of the titles and headings in the front matter and text . See above for correct page numbering.
You need not include every level of subheading, but if you include any listings from a certain level, you must include all from that level. Levels can be indicated in the table of contents by indenting, numbering or both.
The bibliography and any appendices must be listed with their starting page numbers.
In one to three paragraphs, provide some basic facts about your scholarly life and career, without including personal data such as birth date. The information listed in this section should be limited to professional experience that is related to the field of the dissertation. These include the colleges and universities attended, the major fields of study at each, and the degrees and academic honors awarded. If you have relevant professional experience such as employment in your career field, you may describe it briefly. Follow this with a description of your work at the University of Rochester, including dates of residence, graduate programs pursued, name(s) of advisor(s), and all university appointments (e.g. fellowships, scholarships, research and teaching assistantships or traineeships). Do not include a complete scientific curriculum vitae or professional resume. Do not include future plans or employment.
Follow this narrative with a reference list of all works published or in review for publication during your time at the University, including content or results from the dissertation that have been published in full or in part. This listing may include publications mentioned on the Contributors and Funding Sources page. See that section below on including previously published articles as chapters in the dissertation.
Acknowledgments are a statement of appreciation from you to others such as mentors, advisors, colleagues, friends and family, for their support during your doctoral study. Recognition of colleagues’ or mentors’ direct contributions to this work and of awards or funding sources that provided support for the work will appear in a subsequent section on Contributors and Funding Sources.
This section does not have to have the same professional information as the biographical sketch.
The abstract should present a brief summary of the thesis indicating the purpose, the procedures or methods used, the results or product that was produced, and the conclusions you reached. The abstract should be written very carefully and proofread by your advisor because it will be distributed worldwide by ProQuest®/UMI in the electronic database “Dissertation Abstracts International.” In print indexes, the abstract will be truncated at 350 words, so you may wish to use this as a length limit. Electronic listings will include the full abstract regardless of length.
In this section, name all members of the dissertation committee. Then, any collaboration with others in carrying out your dissertation research or in publications reflecting that research must be clearly described, and your independent contributions must be made clear. The sources of financial support for your research must be listed. If you completed all the work independently without outside funding support, indicate this here as well.
You may include as chapters or sections in the dissertation your own work that has been previously published elsewhere, as long as that publisher’s copyright permits, and as long as your contribution to multi-authored work is made clear in this section. The dissertation will not be approved if any content is subject to governmental or other restrictions that limit freedom of publication.
Required? Not always (see below for more detail)
A disclaimer is required in any document or other information product containing Scientific and Technical Information (STI) that resulted from research and development or related activities funded byDOE or performed at LLNL or another DOE facility.
This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, nor any of their employees makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information,apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
Required? When applicable
If tables are included, all tables, whether on separate pages or included in pages of text, must be numbered and listed. Tables must be numbered uniquely and consecutively from beginning to end of the thesis. Table titles listed must be identical to the titles used within the body of the work.
If photographs, maps, diagrams, graphs or drawings are included, a list with numbers, titles, and thesis page numbers must be included. If more than one category of illustration is used, provide an individual List of Figures, an individual list of Schemes and an individual List of Symbols, etc., each starting on a new page.
As for tables, figures must be numbered uniquely and consecutively from beginning to end of the thesis, and figure titles listed must be identical to those used within the body of the work. A List of Symbols or List of Abbreviations may be included after the List of Tables and/or List of Figures. Provide, in alphabetical order, the abbreviations and the words they represent. Page numbers are not required.
Books, articles and other materials used in the dissertation should be listed according to the accepted bibliographic practice in the field of your thesis. A single bibliography at the end of the dissertation is preferred. If you list references or a bibliography at the end of each chapter, the first page of each should be listed in the Table of Contents. Bibliographies may be single-spaced.
Ethical scholarship requires that you show clearly the sources of the facts and concepts represented in your dissertation, whether published books and articles, unpublished historical documents or theses or personal communication with other workers in the field. The format of this documentation varies by field. Consult with your department and advisor for standard reference procedures in your discipline and apply them consistently. Plagiarism, even if unintentional, can result in forfeit of your degree.

At least six months before you plan to defend your dissertation, you should contact the graduate coordinator of your program for details regarding the submissions defense. During the months leading up to the anticipated defense, your graduate coordinator will walk you through the process and explain any department specific nuances.

You also will want to take full advantage of internal reviews of the dissertation before uploading the thesis for defense registration, in order to minimize the number of errors in the registration version.

Pay careful attention to the five PhD degree cycle deadlines. In each degree cycle, there is a deadline for the last day to complete your degree requirements, consisting of uploading the final abstract and dissertation to ProQuest®, submitting a UR Research authorization form, and completing two required surveys. There are no exceptions to the deadlines.If a deadline is missed, your name cannot be approved by the Council on Graduate Education and presented to the Board of Trustees until the following degree date.

Before the defense is scheduled, your graduate coordinator will need:

PDF of the Thesis
Names of all committee members
Faculty person that has been contacted and confirmed to be the Chairperson
Definitive date and time that all committee members have agree upon
Name as you would like it to appear on the Diploma
Your personal e-mail address that will be active for up to 3 months after graduation date.
A complete address to use for commencement and diploma mailings- that will be active for up to 3 months after graduation date.
Zoom link, if applicable.

thesis presentation competition

Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

Consider signing up for the University’s Three Minute Thesis competition as another way to prepare. Students are challenged to describe their thesis research to a global audience—in only three minutes.

Learn more and sign up

After the oral defense, each faculty member of each final oral defense committee completes an evaluation of the rigor of the defense process and of the candidate’s degree of achievement of the University’s PhD Learning Outcomes. Because the PhD degree is granted by the University rather than by the individual schools, end-of-program PhD learning outcomes that apply to all disciplines are identified and assessed at the University level.

As part of these learning outcomes, the University PhD graduate must have demonstrated the ability to:

Select and defend important problem or topic for study
Demonstrate mastery of relevant knowledge in the field
Apply rigorous methods of the discipline
Produce a valuable product and accurately appraise its importance
Communicate effectively in academic writing
Effectively defend the work when questioned.

The committee chair will certify the outcome and submit that information the University Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs office.

The student must make all corrections to the dissertation. This includes any identified by the committee, as well as corrections the graduate program staff asked for. A document prefaced with the letters UGE has been saved to the record in the PhD defense registration site.

Once corrections are made and approved as instructed above, the student will create an account and upload the final corrected copy to ProQuest/UMI. The student retains the copyright for the dissertation and it remains the student’s intellectual property.

The student will go to this website and create an account. Be sure all information is entered accurately.
Complete the ProQuest publishing agreement form.
The final uploaded copy in ProQuest is inspected by University Graduate Education staff to be sure all corrections were captured.
Complete the UR research authorization form indicating choices for access. Click here for the UR Research Form (Online) .
One may limit access to the dissertation for a certain period of time. If that time expires, an email to [email protected] to extend the embargo will be required.
Complete the University of Rochester PhD Experience Survey and the National Survey of earned Doctorates . The University Graduate Education office will automatically be notified once these surveys are complete.
The ratings and related comments from both students and faculty are analyzed by University Graduate Education at least annually, in aggregated and de-identified form. Results are reported to the University Council on Graduate Studies and leaders of graduate programs to inform program improvements.

Please view your school academic calendars to understand the specific registration dates and requirements for graduation. Links to academic calendars are available on this page .

Once a student completes all these steps, they will receive a confirmation email from Proquest and a confirmation email from the University.

The Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs office will be in contact to confirm correct name spelling on the diploma and to collect a valid mailing address that will be good for 6-8 weeks. If a student has a U.S. address, the diploma will be mailed directly from the company via USPS. If the student supplies an international address, we will receive the diploma and mail it back out with tracking information to the student.

Each of these processes is taking longer than expected because of the current COVID-19 mailing conditions.

In general, you will receive your electronic diploma about a week after you graduate and it will take another 6-8 weeks to receive the paper copy. Diplomas are mailed to the graduate in tubes.

The University bookstore has options for diploma covers.

Get additional information on Diploma and Transcript Orders .

Download the full dissertation guide

An in-depth PDF version of this guidance is available. Download the guidelines now.

Get the PDF

Still have questions?

We encourage you to reach out to the graduate coordinator of your program for information specific to your needs. We’ve also compiled this additional dissertation resources guide with external resources that can help you understand copyright details, embargo processes, and more.

However, if you have general questions or feedback on this dissertation guide, you can submit them via the form below.

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Preparing For Your Dissertation Defense

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) & David Phair (PhD) . Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2021

P reparing for your dissertation or thesis defense (also called a “viva voce”) is a formidable task . All your hard work over the years leads you to this one point, and you’ll need to defend yourself against some of the most experienced researchers you’ve encountered so far.

It’s natural to feel a little nervous.

In this post, we’ll cover some of the most important questions you should be able to answer in your viva voce, whether it’s for a Masters or PhD degree. Naturally, they might not arise in exactly the same form (some may not come up at all), but if you can answer these questions well, it means you’re in a good position to tackle your oral defense.

Viva Voce Prep: 13 Essential Questions

What is your study about and why did you choose to research this in particular?
How did your research questions evolve during the research process?
How did you decide on which sources to include in your literature review?
How did you design your study and why did you take this approach?
How generalisable and valid are the findings?
What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?
How did your findings relate to the existing literature?
What were your key findings in relation to the research questions?
Were there any findings that surprised you?
What biases may exist in your research?
How can your findings be put into practice?
How has your research contributed to current thinking in the field?
If you could redo your research, how would you alter your approach?

#1: What is your study about and why did you choose to research this in particular?

This question, a classic party starter, is pretty straightforward.

What the dissertation or thesis committee is assessing here is your ability to clearly articulate your research aims, objectives and research questions in a concise manner. Concise is the keyword here – you need to clearly explain your research topic without rambling on for a half-hour. Don’t feel the need to go into the weeds here – you’ll have many opportunities to unpack the details later on.

In the second half of the question, they’re looking for a brief explanation of the justification of your research. In other words, why was this particular set of research aims, objectives and questions worth addressing? To address this question well in your oral defense, you need to make it clear what gap existed within the research and why that gap was worth filling.

#2: How did your research questions evolve during the research process?

Good research generally follows a long and winding path . It’s seldom a straight line (unless you got really lucky). What they’re assessing here is your ability to follow that path and let the research process unfold.

Specifically, they’ll want to hear about the impact that the literature review process had on you in terms of shaping the research aims, objectives and research questions . For example, you may have started with a certain set of aims, but then as you immersed yourself in the literature, you may have changed direction. Similarly, your initial fieldwork findings may have turned out some unexpected data that drove you to adjust or expand on your initial research questions.

Long story short – a good defense involves clearly describing your research journey , including all the twists and turns. Adjusting your direction based on findings in the literature or the fieldwork shows that you’re responsive , which is essential for high-quality research.

You will need to explain the impact of your literature review in the defense

#3: How did you decide on which sources to include in your literature review?

A comprehensive literature review is the foundation of any high-quality piece of research. With this question, your dissertation or thesis committee are trying to assess which quality criteria and approach you used to select the sources for your literature review.

Typically, good research draws on both the seminal work in the respective field and more recent sources . In other words, a combination of the older landmark studies and pivotal work, along with up-to-date sources that build on to those older studies. This combination ensures that the study has a rock-solid foundation but is not out of date.

So, make sure that your study draws on a mix of both the “classics” and new kids on the block, and take note of any major evolutions in the literature that you can use as an example when asked this question in your viva voce.

#4: How did you design your study and why did you take this approach?

This is a classic methodological question that you can almost certainly expect in some or other shape.

What they’re looking for here is a clear articulation of the research design and methodology, as well as a strong justification of each choice . So, you need to be able to walk through each methodological choice and clearly explain both what you did and why you did it. The why is particularly important – you need to be able to justify each choice you made by clearly linking your design back to your research aims, objectives and research questions, while also taking into account practical constraints.

To ensure you cover every base, check out our research methodology vlog post , as well as our post covering the Research Onion .

You have to justify every choice in your dissertation defence

#5: How generalizable and valid are the findings?

This question is aimed at specifically digging into your understanding of the sample and how that relates to the population, as well as potential validity issues in your methodology.

To answer question this well, you’ll need to critically assess your sample and findings and consider if they truly apply to the entire population, as well as whether they assessed what they set out to. Note that there are two components here – generalizability and validity . Generalizability is about how well the sample represents the population. Validity is about how accurately you’ve measured what you intended to measure .

To ace this part of your dissertation defense, make sure that you’re very familiar with the concepts of generalizability , validity and reliability , and how these apply to your research. Remember, you don’t need to achieve perfection – you just need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your research (and how the weaknesses could be improved upon).

Need a helping hand?

#6: What were the main shortcomings and limitations created by your research design?

This question picks up where the last one left off.

As I mentioned, it’s perfectly natural that your research will have shortcomings and limitations as a result of your chosen design and methodology. No piece of research is flawless. Therefore, a good dissertation defense is not about arguing that your work is perfect, but rather it’s about clearly articulating the strengths and weaknesses of your approach.

To address this question well, you need to think critically about all of the potential weaknesses your design may have, as well as potential responses to these (which could be adopted in future research) to ensure you’re well prepared for this question. For a list of common methodological limitations, check out our video about research limitations here .

#7: How did your findings relate to the existing literature?

This common dissertation defense question links directly to your discussion chapter , where you would have presented and discussed the findings in relation to your literature review.

What your dissertation or thesis committee is assessing here is your ability to compare your study’s findings to the findings of existing research . Specifically, you need to discuss which findings aligned with existing research and which findings did not. For those findings that contrasted against existing research, you should also explain what you believe to be the reasons for this.

As with many questions in a viva voce, it’s both the what and the why that matter here. So, you need to think deeply about what the underlying reasons may be for both the similarities and differences between your findings and those of similar studies.

Your dissertation defense needs to compare findings

#8: What were your key findings in relation to the research questions?

This question is similar to the last one in that it too focuses on your research findings. However, here the focus is specifically on the findings that directly relate to your research questions (as opposed to findings in general).

So, a good way to prepare for this question is to step back and revisit your research questions . Ask yourself the following:

What exactly were you asking in those questions, and what did your research uncover concerning them?
Which questions were well answered by your study and which ones were lacking?
Why were they lacking and what more could be done to address this in future research?

Conquering this part dissertation defense requires that you focus squarely on the research questions. Your study will have provided many findings (hopefully!), and not all of these will link directly to the research questions. Therefore, you need to clear your mind of all of the fascinating side paths your study may have lead you down and regain a clear focus on the research questions .

#9: Were there any findings that surprised you?

This question is two-pronged.

First, you should discuss the surprising findings that were directly related to the original research questions . Going into your research, you likely had some expectations in terms of what you would find, so this is your opportunity to discuss the outcomes that emerged as contrary to what you initially expected. You’ll also want to think about what the reasons for these contrasts may be.

Second, you should discuss the findings that weren’t directly related to the research questions, but that emerged from the data set . You may have a few or you may have none – although generally there are a handful of interesting musings that you can glean from the data set. Again, make sure you can articulate why you find these interesting and what it means for future research in the area.

What the committee is looking for in this type of question is your ability to interpret the findings holistically and comprehensively , and to respond to unexpected data. So, take the time to zoom out and reflect on your findings thoroughly.

#10: What biases may exist in your research?

Biases… we all have them.

For this question, you’ll need to think about potential biases in your research , in the data itself but also in your interpretation of the data. With this question, your committee is assessing whether you have considered your own potential biases and the biases inherent in your analysis approach (i.e. your methodology). So, think carefully about these research biases and be ready to explain how these may exist in your study.

In an oral defense, this question is often followed up with a question on how the biases were mitigated or could be mitigated in future research. So, give some thought not just to what biases may exist, but also the mitigation measures (in your own study and for future research).

#11: How can your findings be put into practice?

Another classic question in the typical viva voce.

With this question, your committee is assessing your ability to bring your findings back down to earth and demonstrate their practical value and application. Importantly, this question is not about the contribution to academia or the overall field of research (we’ll get to that next) – it is specifically asking about how this newly created knowledge can be used in the real world.

Naturally, the actionability of your findings will vary depending on the nature of your research topic. Some studies will produce many action points and some won’t. If you’re researching marketing strategies within an industry, for example, you should be able to make some very specific recommendations for marketing practitioners in that industry.

To help you flesh out points for this question, look back at your original justification for the research (i.e. in your introduction and literature review chapters). What were the driving forces that led you to research your specific topic? That justification should help you identify ways in which your findings can be put into practice.

#12: How has your research contributed to current thinking in the field?

While the previous question was aimed at practical contribution, this question is aimed at theoretical contribution . In other words, what is the significance of your study within the current body of research? How does it fit into the existing research and what does it add to it?

This question is often asked by a field specialist and is used to assess whether you’re able to place your findings into the research field to critically convey what your research contributed. This argument needs to be well justified – in other words, you can’t just discuss what your research contributed, you need to also back each proposition up with a strong why .

To answer this question well, you need to humbly consider the quality and impact of your work and to be realistic in your response. You don’t want to come across as arrogant (“my work is groundbreaking”), nor do you want to undersell the impact of your work. So, it’s important to strike the right balance between realistic and pessimistic .

This question also opens the door to questions about potential future research . So, think about what future research opportunities your study has created and which of these you feel are of the highest priority.

Discuss your contribution in your thesis defence

#13: If you could redo your research, how would you alter your approach?

This question is often used to wrap up a viva voce as it brings the discussion full circle.

Here, your committee is again assessing your ability to clearly identify and articulate the limitations and shortcomings of your research, both in terms of research design and topic focus . Perhaps, in hindsight, it would have been better to use a different analysis method or data set. Perhaps the research questions should have leaned in a slightly different direction. And so on.

This question intends to assess whether you’re able to look at your work critically , assess where the weaknesses are and make recommendations for the future . This question often sets apart those who did the research purely because it was required, from those that genuinely engaged with their research. So, don’t hold back here – reflect on your entire research journey ask yourself how you’d do things differently if you were starting with a blank canvas today.

Recap: The 13 Key Dissertation Defense Questions

To recap, here are the 13 questions you need to be ready for to ace your dissertation or thesis oral defense:

As I mentioned, this list of dissertation defense questions is certainly not exhaustive – don’t assume that we’ve covered every possible question here. However, these questions are quite likely to come up in some shape or form in a typical dissertation or thesis defense, whether it’s for a Master’s degree, PhD or any other research degree. So, you should take the time to make sure you can answer them well.

If you need assistance preparing for your dissertation defense or viva voce, get in touch with us to discuss 1-on-1 coaching. We can critically review your research and identify potential issues and responses, as well as undertake a mock oral defense to prepare you for the pressures and stresses on the day.