Final Oral Exam – Portfolio/Dissertation Defense

Final Semester Timeline

It is very important to outline an individual timeline for the final semester of study. In order to allow adequate time for the submission of the Application for Final Oral Examination (see below) and for review of the portfolio/Dissertation to ensure that it is ready to be defended, a copy of the abstract and portfolio/dissertation, which has been proofed and approved by the Supervisory Committee Chair, must be provided to each member of the Reading Committee a minimum of 4 weeks prior to the oral examination, and to all members of the Supervisory Committee a minimum of two weeks prior to the Final Oral Exam (portfolio defense). The Supervisory Committee Chair also needs one-to-two weeks for their initial review prior to submission to the Readers. Failure to meet these deadlines published by the Office of Graduate Studies will potentially delay graduation.

DMA Final semester sample timeline

Remember that this is only a sample. With the number of deadlines in this final semester, it is critical that planning begin well in advance of the start of the semester. This timeline allows the full allotted time for Doctoral Lecture Recital preparation and Final Oral Exam (defense) preparation. It is understood that there may be slight overlap between the two timelines represented here. The Doctoral Dissertation Portfolio may be shared with committee members with the understanding that lecture recital components will be included at least one week prior to the Final Oral Examination. Since the Final Oral Examination requires coordination of committee member schedules, students are advised to begin the process of securing a date well in advance of completing forms that require the date to be listed.

In the final semester of study, students pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree must register for MUSR 999E, Doctoral Lecture Recital, and MUSC 999P, Doctoral Dissertation Portfolio. The Final Oral Examination is also given in this final semester.

The Final Oral Examination (also called the defense) draws from the student’s portfolio which includes the following:

• An abstract outlining the content of the entire portfolio,
• The student’s CV and Teaching Philosophy Statement,
• A short essay (2 pages maximum) describing long-term professional goals including the student’s research/creative activity trajectory,
• Teaching: A video-recorded teaching demonstration appropriate to the area of specialization (master class, ensemble rehearsal, etc.) and one-page self-evaluation of the teaching experience, and 
• All recital artifacts from Doctoral Dissertation Recitals as well as the artifacts from the Doctoral Lecture Recital.

All portfolio documents artifacts must be included in one singular .pdf document. The document will include links to all required previously-recorded performances. Approximately five weeks before the date of the oral examination, the completed doctoral portfolio is submitted to the Chair of the Supervisory Committee. 

PhD Final semester sample timeline

Remember that this is only a sample. With the number of deadlines in this final semester, it is critical that planning begin well in advance of the start of the semester. Since the Final Oral Examination requires coordination of committee member schedules, students are advised to begin the process of securing a date well in advance of completing forms that require the date to be listed.

Application for Final Oral Examination

If the Chair determines that the portfolio content/dissertation is suitable for review, the portfolio/dissertation is shared with the entire committee. The Readers of the Supervisory Committee must receive the completed and reviewed portfolio/dissertation at least four weeks prior to the date of the oral examination to ensure that they have adequate time for their final review. When the readers have received the portfolio, the student should complete and submit the Application for Final Oral Examination to the GKSOM Graduate Committee through the Graduate Forms Submission Portal. Once submitted, the GKSOM Graduate Program Coordinator will process the form, route it for signatures, and (if signed) submit it to the Office of Graduate Studies for approval. 

At least two weeks prior to the date of the Final Oral Examination (defense):

1. The Supervisory Committee Chair and the Readers sign the routed Application for Final Oral Examination indicating general approval of the portfolio content (the form will also be signed by the GKSOM Associate Director for Graduate Studies), or
2. The Supervisory Committee Chair generates a statement, signed by a majority of the Supervisory Committee, indicating that the Committee has taken action to reject an adverse report by one member of the Reading Committee and recommending that the candidate be permitted to stand for oral examination (This statement should be sent to the GKSOM Graduate Program Coordinator and copied to the GKSOM Associate Director for Graduate Studies), or
3. The Supervisory Committee Chair generates a statement indicating a specific plan for the student to revise the submitted document so that it may stand for defense at a later date. 

At the time the signed application is submitted, a preliminary review of the portfolio is carried out by the doctoral degree specialist in the Office of Graduate Studies and Final Oral Examination and Portfolio/Dissertation Deposit instructions are provided to the student.

Report of Completion

A few days prior to your Final Oral Examination, students will complete the top portion of the Report of Completion, submitting it to the GKSOM Graduate Program Coordinator through the Graduate Form Submission Portal so that it can be routed for signatures on the day of the exam.

Final Oral Exam

The Final Oral Exam (also called the defense) is primarily an oral defense of the portfolio/dissertation, but any topic related to portfolio/dissertation may be explored if the committee deems it appropriate. The duration of the oral exam is approximately two hours. The examination for the doctoral degree is open to members of both the university community and the public. The Supervisory Committee determines the defense’s format, character, and length. The examination may be devoted to the specialized fields represented in the portfolio/dissertation, to the Candidate’s general knowledge, or it may be designed to test judgment and critical reasoning. During the portfolio/dissertation presentation and general questioning, all persons may be present. At the end of the public hearing, there will be a closed questioning portion of the examination where all persons except the Candidate, Supervisory Committee, and invited faculty must be excused. 

The final oral examination over the portfolio may be waived only with the consent of the Graduate Dean. A waiver of the oral examination/defense should be considered only under the most adverse circumstances since the oral examination/defense is considered an integral part of the degree program by the faculty of the Glenn Korff School of Music.

If it is necessary, a defense may proceed with only three members of the committee present. The absent committee member, however, must approve the document and sign the necessary forms. Supervisory Committee members will meet briefly to discuss the outcome of the examination. The student is approved for the degree 1) if the members of the Supervisory Committee are unanimous in the decision to pass the candidate, or 2) only one examiner dissents. In the case of #2, the dissenting member is expected to file a letter of explanation with the Office of Graduate Studies.

If a student fails to pass the Final Oral Examination, the Supervisory Committee must send a report on the failure to the Graduate Studies Office, indicating what the student must do before taking a second oral examination. Another examination may not be held during the same semester or the same summer session during which the student fails to pass. A third attempt is not permitted.