- Register for the semester in which you intend to graduate.  August graduates should register for zero credits of dissertation research (HBM 699).

- Check your transcript to see if all your grades have been recorded.  Notify the Program Coordinator if any grades are missing.

- Review your financial account with the University and pay any outstanding bills.  Unpaid bills will prevent issuance of your diploma.

- Apply on-line for graduation (embed link to the Graduate School used in current version of these instructions).

- Consult the Graduate School’s Guidelines for the Preparation of Theses & Dissertations for the accepted format for your dissertation.

- Send the names of your dissertation committee members to the Program Coordinator for completion of the Dissertation Committee Approval form.  This form must be signed by the Program Director and submitted at least one month before the defense date.  If the outside member is not a Stony Brook University faculty member, you must also submit that person’s CV with the form.

- Reserve a seminar room and conference room for the defense.

- Complete a Doctoral Defense Announcement form and send it to the Program Director who will submit it to the Graduate School.  Note that this form must be received by the Graduate School at least 21 days before the defense date.

- Send the title and date for your dissertation defense seminar to the Program Coordinator, as well as any images that may be used to make the seminar flyer uniquely your own (jpeg or gif format).

- After the defense, give a photocopy of the dissertation signature page to the Program Coordinator.  The original page is submitted with the dissertation to the Graduate School.

- Submit your dissertation to the Graduate School according to their guidelines and deadlines.  Notify the Program Coordinator that the dissertation has been submitted so that a completion statement may be filed with the Graduate School.