Doctoral Graduation Requirements
Graduating Doctoral Candidates:
Step 1: If you intend to complete your doctoral degree this semester, complete the Doctoral Graduation Application Form through the Graduate School online application by April 10, 2026. Students who do not submit a Doctoral Graduation Form by this date will not be eligible to receive their degree this semester.
You must be registered in C E x99W – DISSERTATION during the semester of graduation. A minimum of 6 hours CE X99W Dissertation is required over the course of your degree in order to apply for graduation.
Graduate School online application and instructions: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/graduation/deadlines-and-submission-instructions#Doctoral
Copyright Tutorial - an overview of copyright issues that will be of importance when completing a thesis or dissertation.
Step 2: Graduating students should circulate a draft of the dissertation to their committee about 1 month prior to the final defense meeting.
Step 3: Final Defense meeting:
Officially schedule your Final Defense meeting: the form must be uploaded to the Graduate School form submission portal.
Reserve a conference room or classroom on campus where the public may view your presentation. While you may hold the defense virtually, you are required to provide a computer and a room where anyone can come to UT campus and see the defense.
To reserve a room, contact CAEE Administration caee-admin@utexas.edu.
Students must submit the Request for Final Oral Exam final defense and a copy of your dissertation Title Page to the Graduate School via email at least 2 weeks in advance of the defense.
Graduate Student Form Submission Access the form portal
The following materials should be submitted to the Graduate School via the Graduate Student Form Submission:
Request for Final Oral Examination required
Report of Dissertation Committee required
Co-Author Permission form if needed
Request to Delay Publication if needed
Change in Committee Request
Target deadline to schedule the dissertation defense: April 1, 2026.
Last day to hold a dissertation defense: April 10, 2026.
Final defense Oral Examinations
Upcoming Final defense meetings at UT Austin.
Step 4: The Graduate School will acknowledge the date of the defense and will follow up with an email including the final committee signature page, also known as The Report of the Dissertation Committee. Route this form to your committee faculty after the defense meeting.
Step 5: Final Submission
All required forms and final dissertation upload MUST be submitted to the Graduate School by April 24, 2026 before 3:00 pm Central time for graduation.
Format and dissertation template: Digital Submission Requirement
Upload the dissertation PDF to the Texas Digital Library: Thesis & Dissertation Submission System
And then upload these pages to the Graduate School: Access the form portal
Report of Dissertation Committee (gold sheet final signature page)
Co-Author Permission form if needed
Request to Delay Publication of a dissertation if needed
Please see the Graduate School’s website for Template, instructions, and more information on the process and deadlines:
https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/graduation/deadlines-and-submission-instructions
PhD Graduation Letter for CPT, OPT or employers before the diploma is sent, this DocuSign form routes to the Graduate Coordinator.
International Students: if you are graduating at the end of the spring semester, you will be billed for summer insurance. You may choose to waive enrollment in the summer student health insurance plan coverage using the Spring Graduate Insurance Waiver (PDF) request form.
Diplomas
Prior to graduation, you will receive a “Degree Candidate” email from the Office of the Registrar (sent to the email on file with the university), which will ask you to confirm your diploma name and the degree you will earn. Please remember to update your email if it has changed.
Effective spring 2021 and future semesters, degree candidates may select to have a diploma name that is different from the legal name on their student record. A diploma name can be updated the semester of graduation, but unless specified, your legal name will be the default name on the diploma. If you have designated a chosen name on your student record and would like your diploma name to match your chosen name, you will still need to update your diploma name during your graduating semester.
Options for how to receive your diploma are given online.
Commencement
The Graduate School hosts one convocation ceremony each spring. Students who graduated in the summer or fall semesters prior to the ceremony, and those who have applied to graduate in the spring, may participate. Learn more here about the Graduate School Convocation Ceremony.
Regalia must be purchased or rented for the ceremonies and details for required regalia can be found online at the links for each ceremony. You can purchase or rent regalia at the University Co-op. Check the co-op site for details and deadlines.
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In Absentia (Summer only) - https://gradschool.utexas.edu/academics/policies/in-absentia-registration.
Students in this special status cannot receive a fellowship, or work as a TA, GRA, or grader.
PDF Links: