Graduate College Resources: Thesis & Dissertation Process and deposit information

MS Defense (thesis)

MS students are not required to have a public defense.
You are responsible for scheduling the room and equipment. See Reserving Rooms
Work directly with Advisory Committee to determine defense date and time.
See Graduate College Academic Calendar for deadlines
MS exam deadline is anytime prior to deposit deadline
You are required to fill out an Exam Notification Form and submit to Becca Snook via email at snook@illinois.edu
Committee consists of at least three members of the graduate faculty; at least one must be from an area of specialization other than the student (Appendix 5 in FSHN grad student handbook). Advisor is typically chair.
Student must contact the department thesis format checkers directly to schedule their thesis check.
Current department thesis checkers: Dr. Matthew Stasiewicz and Dr. Hong Chen
Once Exam Notification Form is approved, Becca will send the MS Exam Result form and the Thesis Approval Form (TDA) to your committee chair.
Forms are sent via Adobe Sign, once chair signs, the form will route to remaining committee members.
After student has thesis format approved, thesis format checker will email Becca the approval. I will then upload the Thesis Approval Form (TDA) to the Graduate College. This will allow you to proceed with your deposit.
Registration Requirements:
MS students are not required to register during the term in which they defend or deposit
Deposit Information:
Thesis Resources: https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis
Thesis department checker will email Becca with format approval
Becca will upload TDA form to Grad College and email student once complete
Do not deposit until Becca has confirmed the TDA is uploaded

MS Final (non-thesis)

Human Nutrition and Clinical and Community Nutrition Concentrations will complete a Final Case Study Presentation
View step-by-step guidelines and Faculty Evaluation Tool here: Final Case Study

PhD Qualifying Exam

Work directly with your Qual Committee to determine exam date and time.
You are responsible for scheduling the room. See Reserving Rooms
You are required to notify the department by filling out the Exam Notification Form – Department Form that needs signed by advisor.
Submit to Becca Snook via email at snook@illinois.edu
Committee consists of at least three members of the FSHN faculty
at least three areas of specialization must be represented (Appendix 5 in FSHN grad student handbook)
Advisor/co-advisor may or may not be a member of the committee, but cannot serve as chair. If the advisor/co-advisor is a committee member, a 4th or 5th committee member must be named
Once Exam Notification Form is approved by the department head, Becca will send the Qualifying Warrant form to your committee via Adobe Sign.
Form is sent via Adobe Sign, once chair signs, the form will route to remaining committee members.
Qual exam is a department requirement and results are not submitted to the Graduate College.

PhD Preliminary Exam

Work directly with your Advisory Committee to determine exam date and time.
You are responsible for scheduling the room. See Reserving Rooms
If exam is via Zoom, check with Committee Chair to see if they prefer to set up the Zoom meeting.
You are required to fill out a Preliminary Exam Request via the Graduate College Student Portal. They request 3 week notice.
Committee consists of at least 4 voting members
at least three must be members of the graduate faculty
at least two must be tenured
and at least one must be in an area of specialization other than the student (Appendix 5 in FSHN grad student handbook).
Advisor cannot serve as chair.
You will receive an approval email from the Grad College with an exam result form.
Becca will download the PER form and send via Adobe Sign to committee chair, once chair signs, the form will route to remaining committee members.
Once form is completely signed, Becca will upload to the Grad College.
Registration Requirements:
PHD students must be registered in the term they take their preliminary exam

PhD Defense

PHD students are required to have a public defense. This will take place as a FSHN 597 seminar. See FSHN Public Defense for more directions.
You are responsible for scheduling the room and equipment. See Reserving Rooms
Work directly with your Advisory Committee to determine defense date and time.
See Graduate College Academic Calendar for Defense Exam and deposit deadlines
You are required to fill out a Final Exam Request via the Graduate College Student Portal. They request 3 week notice.
Committee consists of at least 4 voting members
at least three must be members of the graduate faculty
at least two must be tenured
and at least one must be in an area of specialization other than the student (Appendix 5 in FSHN grad student handbook).
Advisor cannot serve as chair.
If you did not fill out the form before your exam, contact Becca Snook prior to filling out the Final Exam Request
Student will receive defense exam committee approval email directly from Graduate College with access to your exam forms.
Becca will send the FER and TDA forms via Adobe Sign to committee chair, once chair signs, the forms will route to remaining committee members.
Once forms are completely signed:
Final Exam Result Form (FER) will be uploaded to Grad College immediately.
Thesis/Dissertation Approval (TDA) will be uploaded to Grad College after Becca receives final approval from department thesis checker.
Student must contact the department thesis checkers directly to schedule their thesis check.
Current department thesis checkers: Dr. Matthew Stasiewicz and Dr. Hong Chen
Registration Requirements:
PHD students must be registered in the term they defend
PHD students are required to register for 1 credit in FSHN 597 in term they defend.
PHD students are not required to be registered in the term they deposit
Deposit Information:
Thesis Resources: https://grad.illinois.edu/thesis
Thesis department checker will email Becca with format approval
Becca will upload TDA form to Grad College and email student once complete
Do not deposit until Becca has confirmed the TDA is uploaded