2 - Program Procedures Applicable to All Students

The following subsections guide you through established procedures and policies in roughly the order you are likely to encounter them in your program

This handbook is not intended to reiterate the material in the Graduate Catalog, although there is some duplication. Rather, its intent is to inform you of the particular requirements and procedures of this department. Please refer to the Graduate Catalog for other general university requirements. It is your responsibility to inform yourself of all procedures, fulfill all graduation requirements, and meet all deadlines. To assist you, you have been—or will be—assigned an initial faculty advisor to introduce you to the other faculty members, advise you with respect to initial registration, and help you select a faculty mentor and advisory committee. Upon arrival, please see the department secretary in 350 CB for information about your temporary advisor. The secretaries will also be able to provide you with your office and desk space assignment.

As a new graduate student, you should regularly check the bulletin boards and windows around the Chemical Engineering Office for postings of general information and procedures. Specific information pertinent to you will be communicated to you through a personal mail slot located just outside the main office. Incoming mail should be addressed to you, Department of Chemical Engineering, 350 CB, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602. We request that you check this box at least daily for mail and other information.

2.1 - Admission Status

Your admission to the graduate program was assigned a status of either regular or provisional. For U.S. students, a GPA of 3.0 in chemical engineering courses and an overall GPA of 3.3 are required for regular admittance into the graduate program. Regular admission permits you to pursue either the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees. If your status is provisional, then you may only enroll in the M.S. program and are not eligible for Ph.D. candidacy unless you complete an M.S. degree first. Additionally, provisional status carries some restrictions or provisions, itemized in a letter to you from the graduate coordinator that must be met to continue in the program. Generally, this will require you to obtain a particular grade level in your first semester or first

Admittance to the graduate program in chemical engineering is extended to students most likely to derive the greatest benefit from attending BYU. All candidates must meet admission standards set by the Graduate School. Additionally, candidates for the Chemical Engineering graduate program must have an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering or a related field at the time of their admittance. Additional factors considered in admitting students include

• Academic aptitude as indicated by previous grades, previous degrees, GRE or other national/international test scores, admission interviews with faculty, recommendations, etc.
• Research aptitude as indicated by letters of reference, prior research experience, demonstrated communication skills, and capacity for critical analysis and creative work.
• Demands on department resources as determined by outside fellowships, communication skills, intended research area, statement of research purpose, and tuition/stipend requirements.

No one of these factors either assures or precludes admittance to the program. Your admittance indicates our confidence in your abilities and your potential to succeed.

2.2 - Degree Status

Admitted M.S. students may immediately begin work on their M.S. degree. Students desiring a Ph.D. degree must be admitted to candidacy before undertaking course work and research beyond that required for the M.S. degree. Admission to Ph.D. candidacy is granted by the department only after successful completion of the core courses and the qualifying exam as discussed later in Section 3. The status of a student who does not gain admission to Ph.D. candidacy is automatically changed to an M.S. program.

2.3 - Registration Requirements

All graduate students must be registered for a minimum of 6 total hours per year (sum of Fall/Winter Semesters and Spring/Summer Terms) to avoid automatic cancellation of enrollment by the University. If your enrollment is canceled, you must apply for readmission. Additionally, a student must be registered for a minimum of 2 credit hours (or pay the equivalent fee) during the semester in which he defends the M.S. thesis or the Ph.D. dissertation.

Until you complete your approved study-list course work, you should generally enroll in more than 2 credit hours per semester. After your study-list courses have been completed, Department or advisor tuition support will only cover 2 credit hours per semester. These hours generally consist of research (699R/799R) and seminar (691R/791R) credits. Be aware that although the university considers 2 hrs full-time for advanced graduate students with respect to university privileges, providers of student loans may require you to complete extra paperwork to prove you are still a full-time student in order to delay loan repayment.

It is a department requirement that all graduate students enroll for two credit hours during the Spring/Summer terms (one credit hour Spring, one credit hour Summer). It is also required that all graduate students enroll in 691R/791R every Fall and Winter Semester they are at the university working on their graduate degree.

All students who are in the United States on a student visa must be registered for 9 credit hours per semester unless they have completed their course work. When they have completed their course work, they may register for fewer hours provided that the graduate coordinator has granted written approval. This approval letter must be submitted to the University International Student Office.

2.4 - Core Courses

All Ph.D. and M.S. graduate students are required to take the four core courses

ChEn 531 - Thermodynamics
ChEn 533 - Transport Phenomena
ChEn 535 - Kinetics and Catalysis
ChEn 601 - Directed Graduate Studies

as soon as possible, usually during their first year unless equivalent graduate-level courses have been taken as an undergraduate or transferred from another graduate program. These courses contain chemical engineering fundamentals of which every chemical engineer with an advanced degree should have mastery.

2.5 – Honor Code and Behavior Standards

Honor Code Standards

In keeping with the principles of the BYU Honor Code, students are expected to be honest in all their academic work. Academic honesty means, most fundamentally, that any work you present as your own must in fact be your own work and not that of another. Violations of this principle may result in a failing grade in the course and additional disciplinary action by the university.

Students are also expected to adhere to the Dress and Grooming Standards. Adherence demonstrates respect for yourself and others and ensures an effective learning and working environment. It is the university and department’s expectation that each student will abide by all Honor Code standards. Please call the Honor Code Office at 422-2847 if you have any questions about those standards.

Preventing Sexual Discrimination or Harassment

Sexual discrimination or harassment (including student-to-student harassment) is prohibited both by the law and by Brigham Young University policy. If you feel you are being subjected to sexual discrimination or harassment, please bring your concerns to a professor. Alternatively, you may lodge a complaint with the Equal Employment Office (D-282 ASB) or with the Honor Code Office (4450 WSC).

Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability that may affect your performance in any course, you should contact the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (2170 WSC). This office can evaluate your disability and assist the professor in arranging for reasonable accommodations.

Student Academic Grievances

The university has an established procedure for handling graduate student academic grievances. If consulting with the faculty member or the graduate committee chair does not resolve a grievance, a graduate student should describe the problem to the department graduate coordinator and/or the department chair. If difficulties persist, the student may ask the college dean and finally the graduate dean for review. All grievances must be presented within a year of the semester in question.

The Graduate Student Academic Grievance Policy can be found under the resource section of the Graduate Studies Web site (http://ww.byu.edu/gradstudies).

Equal Opportunity Office

Brigham Young University does not allow unlawful discrimination based on race, gender, color, national origin, religion, age, veteran status, or disability in the academic or employment setting. This includes unlawful sexual harassment, which is a violation of university standards as well as state and federal laws and may be considered grounds for discipline. Persons who believe they have been unlawfully discriminated against or unlawfully sexually harassed should contact the Equal Opportunity Office located in room D-282 of the ASB.

2.6 - Choosing a Research Advisor and Project

For students starting in the fall semester (the most common time) the selection form is due Oct. 1 after starting the program. For students who are admitted “off-track” for the winter semester or spring term, full financial aid is not immediately available from the department, and so the student must obtain initial support from a faculty advisor. Therefore, these students should begin discussions with potential advisors and complete the advisor selection form as part of the application process.

The department has established a process designed to make the best possible match between each student and a faculty research advisor. No prior commitments between students and faculty are to be made outside of this process. The first step is for you to learn about faculty research interests and types of available projects as described on the department's website. You should contact and interview at least six faculty members whose research work seems interesting to you. Ask them about possible research projects and available funding. It may also be helpful to talk with current graduate students in the program to get additional perspectives. The department will provide you a form in which you indicate the six faculty members you interviewed and give a ranked list of your top three choices for advisor; the completed form must be returned to the department secretary by the indicated deadline (see below). The department will then make decisions regarding advisers. Once you have a permanent advisor your desk assignment can be relocated to an office within the area of the chosen research group, and you can begin formulating a study list and advisory committee.

2.7 - Advisory Committees

All members of the advisory committee should be an important resource for you. Take advantage of the members' particular expertise and counsel as the project develops. Do not wait until your research is finished to find out that a member of your committee had a constructive idea that would have saved you time and effort. The advisory committee will also evaluate your progress in semi-annual reviews. For Ph.D. students the advisory committee, with the department graduate coordinator included as a voting member, has the important role of deciding Ph.D. candidacy.

The advisory committee assists you in choosing appropriate courses, provides guidance in your research, and helps evaluate your progress. The chairman of your advisory committee is your research mentor or thesis/dissertation advisor and must be from the Chemical Engineering Department. Once you and your advisor have decided on a research project, the other members of your advisory committee should be selected in consultation with your advisor. A Ph.D. candidate should select at least 2 committee members; then the department will assign 1 additional member from among the ChEn faculty. An M.S. candidate should select at least 1 committee member; then the department will assign 1 additional member from among the ChEn faculty. This should occur by the end of your first semester. The committee members you select should be faculty, not necessarily from Chemical Engineering, who have an interest in your project and are likely to contribute unique insights toward its successful completion. Additionally, you should select faculty members with whom you will feel comfortable in periodically discussing problems and issues as they arise in your work. To organize your advisory committee, simply ask the chosen faculty member to serve as a member of that committee. His signature on the study list form indicates his consent to serve. Advisory committee members selected by the student may be changed in the same manner, but courtesy dictates that changes should only be made for compelling reasons, such as a faculty member on leave or a major change in research emphasis.

In order to be qualified to serve on your advisory committee, a person must have “graduate faculty status”, which is given by the BYU Graduate School to regular, part-time and adjunct faculty who meet the Graduate School requirements of experience and scholarship requisite with advising graduate students. Please check with your advisor or a member of the department graduate committee to confirm who has graduate faculty status. Also note that the current policy is that the graduate advisor and at least two graduate committee members must be regular chemical engineering department members.

All members of the advisory committee should be an important resource for you. Take advantage of the members' particular expertise and counsel as the project develops. Do not wait until your research is finished to find out that a member of your committee had a constructive idea that would have saved you time and effort. The advisory committee will also evaluate your progress in semi-annual reviews. For Ph.D. students the advisory committee, with the department graduate coordinator included as a voting member, has the important role of deciding Ph.D. candidacy.

The advisory committee assists you in choosing appropriate courses, provides guidance in your research, and helps evaluate your progress. The chairman of your advisory committee is your research mentor or thesis/dissertation advisor and must be from the Chemical Engineering Department. Once you and your advisor have decided on a research project, the other members of your advisory committee should be selected in consultation with your advisor. A Ph.D. candidate should select at least 2 committee members; then the department will assign 1 additional member from among the ChEn faculty. An M.S. candidate should select at least 1 committee member; then the department will assign 1 additional member from among the ChEn faculty. This should occur by the end of your first semester. The committee members you select should be faculty, not necessarily from Chemical Engineering, who have an interest in your project and are likely to contribute unique insights toward its successful completion. Additionally, you should select faculty members with whom you will feel comfortable in periodically discussing problems and issues as they arise in your work. To organize your advisory committee, simply ask the chosen faculty member to serve as a member of that committee. His signature on the study list form indicates his consent to serve. Advisory committee members selected by the student may be changed in the same manner, but courtesy dictates that changes should only be made for compelling reasons, such as a faculty member on leave or a major change in research emphasis.

In order to be qualified to serve on your advisory committee, a person must have “graduate faculty status”, which is given by the BYU Graduate School to regular, part-time and adjunct faculty who meet the Graduate School requirements of experience and scholarship requisite with advising graduate students. Please check with your advisor or a member of the department graduate committee to confirm who has graduate faculty status. Also note that the current policy is that the graduate advisor and at least two graduate committee members must be regular chemical engineering department members.

2.8- Study List

A study list must be submitted and approved before the beginning of the student's second semester. Failure to submit your study list on time may cause your registration to be placed on hold for the next semester or term. The Graduate Study List is your officially approved course of study for the advanced degree. All courses listed on it must be successfully completed before the degree can be granted. With the approval of your advisory committee, it is possible to change courses on your study list. You may take classes unrelated to your graduate work while at BYU, but they should not appear on the study list and department/advisor tuition funds will not be used for them. Courses on your study list may be repeated to improve grades.

The steps in preparing the study list are as follows:

1. Obtain a study list form and instructions from the department secretaries.
2. Make a tentative selection of the classes which you think would be appropriate for your interests and meet all of the requirements for your particular degree.
3. Discuss these selections with your advisor and make modifications as necessary.
4. Have a study list signed by each member of your advisory committee.
5. Obtain the signature of the department graduate coordinator.
6. Submit the study list to the department secretary. The study list will be input into the computer for matching against degree requirements and pointing out deficiencies.
7. You will receive a copy of your study list in your mailbox. If it is not approved, you must immediately work with the secretary and your advisor to resolve the problem.
8. Once the study list is approved, subsequent changes may be made by following the same procedures using a Study List Change form.

2.9 - Transfer Credit

Students who wish to transfer credit from another university towards a graduate degree at BYU must follow the procedure outlined in the Graduate Catalog under "Credit Policies."

2.10 - Course Grades

Although a "C" is an acceptable grade in the graduate program, you must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 for all courses on your study list. If your semester GPA drops below this level, you will automatically be placed on academic warning. The second time a semester GPA falls below 3.0, the student evaluation will receive a "marginal" classification on the annual evaluation. This will affect your financial assistance, evaluation status, and perhaps your continuation in the program. If the cumulative study list GPA falls below 3.0, the student is not permitted to graduate and may be dismissed from the program. No D credit may apply toward a graduate degree

2.11 - English Course Work

If English is not your native language and you did not do sufficiently well on the English proficiency exam required for admission, you may be required to take additional English coursework. Even if required by the department, these courses do not count toward degree credit requirements.

2.12 – Semi-Annual Progress Evaluations

Each graduate student will receive progress evaluations twice each year, in winter and fall semesters. This is a chance for the student to demonstrate the exciting things he or she is learning and doing and concomitant progress toward graduation. Between January 1 and March 31 each winter semester, the graduate student will convene a progress review meeting with a majority of his or her thesis/dissertation advisory committee. The student will present results of coursework, qualifier examinations, prospectus status, publications, and research. The department will schedule this meeting. It typically lasts around 15 minutes but may be as long as necessary to complete the review. The meeting may follow any format suitable to the committee and accordingly may be combined with research presentations, prospectus defenses, etc. Prior to the meeting, the student should note on the evaluation form which milestones have been completed on the included timeline (see below) and bring the form to the meeting. At the conclusion of the review, the advisory committee members present will indicate whether the student’s progress is satisfactory, marginal, or unsatisfactory, and all advisory members present will sign the evaluation form.

At the beginning of the fall semester each year, the department will review students’ progress according to established milestones and deadlines. In consultation with the student’s research advisor, the departmental graduate committee will determine if the student’s progress is satisfactory, marginal, or unsatisfactory, based on objective criteria such as GPA, and objective progress toward graduation on the timelines given below.

All semi-annual evaluation results are entered into departmental and Graduate School records. Each student with an evaluation less than “Satisfactory” will receive a letter indicating the evaluation outcome. If the evaluation of any student is less than satisfactory, the graduate coordinator will outline in the letter the expectation that is not being met, the required changes in the student’s performance, and a date by which the expectation must be met. This date can be the next regularly scheduled review (6 months) or sooner, consistent with the amount of work required. The advisor and the thesis/dissertation advisory committee will meet at the indicated date to consider student improvement. If this subsequent review is also less than satisfactory, the case is referred to the department graduate committee. The student’s program will be terminated unless there is a compelling and exceptional justification for the graduate committee, with the concurrence of the student’s advisory committee, to petition the university for an exception to policy, and the petition is granted.

Termination of a student’s program will affect the visa status of foreign national students as they will no longer be associated with the university. Financial support for a student (tuition payments, etc.) can be withdrawn for failure to complete timely “full committee” reviews (winter semester) or to respond to reasonable requests associated with either semi-annual review.

The semi-annual evaluations are based on the following criteria. The timeline normally starts with the fall semester that the student takes the core classes: ChEn 531, 533, 535 (normally the first semester).

Ph.D. Student Timeline and Evaluation Criteria

1. Student completes objectives on a timeline according to department expectations. Objectives with a solid line have “hard” deadlines: a satisfactory rating presumes on-time completion. Objectives with a dotted line are “soft” deadlines that are evaluated at the committee’s discretion.
2. Student completes study list courses with GPA  3.0.
3. Student demonstrates innovative and independent research leading to high-quality publications and mentors other students.
4. Student behaves ethically.
5. The faculty will ask the student about these items:
   
   1. First Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. The study list is completed, submitted, and approved.
      2. The student knows the study title and research goals.
   2. Second Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. The student thorough understands and has “ownership” of the research project.
      2. The student has made contributions and innovations towards the research project.
   3. Third Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. The status of publications and presentations.
      2. Who are the major players and thought leaders in the field.
      3. What unique contribution he/she has made in the research.
      4. What mentoring (new grad or undergrad students) has been done.
   4. Fourth Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. The status of publications and presentations.
      2. Interactions with major players and leaders in the field.
      3. What new directions he/she has identified in the research.
      4. Anticipated Ph.D. defense date.
   5. Fifth Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. Why the student has not graduated yet.
      2. The status of publications and presentations.

M.S. Student Timeline and Evaluation Criteria

1. The student complete objectives on a timeline according to department expectations. Objectives with a solid line have “hard” deadlines: a satisfactory rating presumes on-time completion. Objectives with a dotted line are “soft” deadlines that are evaluated at the committee’s discretion.
2. Student completes study list courses with GPA ³ 3.0.
3. The student demonstrates innovative and independent research leading to a high-quality publication and mentors other students.
4. The student behaves ethically.
5. The faculty will ask the student about these items:
   
   1. First Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. The study list is completed, submitted, and approved.
      2. The student knows the study title and research goals.
   2. Second Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. The student thoroughly understands and has “ownership” of the research project.
      2. The student has made contributions and innovations towards the research project.
      3. Anticipated date of M.S. defense.
   3. Third Year: The committee will inquire to determine:
      
      1. Why the student has not graduated yet.
      2. The status of publications and presentations.

2.13 – Individual Development Plan

An individual development plan (IDP) is a plan that the graduate student sets himself (and in consultation with the research advisor) that will identify talents, set a plan to develop these and other talents, evaluate talent development, and then set a plan for future career development and employment. The graduate student will evaluate and develop their own plan, and then meet with his/her advisor at least once a year to discuss the plan and set goals for the coming year. There will be a checkbox on the annual evaluation (Winter semester) to indicate that the IDP was evaluated with the research advisor during the past year. The University encourages graduate students in STEM areas to use this IDP: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/

2.14 - Comprehensive Exams

Passing a comprehensive examination is required of all graduate students. Ph.D. students must pass this exam at a higher level than M.S. students, and so it is also called a qualifying exam. One multiple-choice exam is given covering subject matter related to the three core courses, and to safety and statistics. This exam is mostly qualitative questions (in the form of multiple-choice questions), but some calculation may be required.

The comprehensive exam is offered each year during the first week in January. All beginning students must take the exam immediately following completion of the core courses, normally in the first year. A composite result of either "high pass," "pass," or "fail" will be communicated to you by the department shortly after the exam is graded. This composite score weights the results of the comprehensive exam and the grades of the 3 core courses.

It is important to do well on this exam. There is a minimum expectation of "pass" at the M.S. level and "high pass" at the Ph.D. level. Failure to obtain this minimum will immediately jeopardize your degree as detailed in item 8 of section 3.1 and item 7 of section 4.1. Departmental evaluations are based on all of the criteria mentioned in section 1.2 and scores on this exam barely sufficient to achieve the desired passing level may still be insufficient for an overall satisfactory evaluation if other evaluation areas are weak.

2.15 - Prospectus

The prospectus is a written research proposal. Once you have formulated your thesis/dissertation problem and conducted a literature search, you should begin preparing your prospectus. Because it is a proposal, it should be completed and approved prior to significant and major work on the problem itself. The prospectus should:

1. Define and state the problem clearly
2. Include a comprehensive, critical literature review that puts the problem in perspective with the current body of knowledge and justifies its significance
3. Outline objectives and the significance of the work
4. Describe the methodology and approach that will be taken to solve the problem in sufficient detail to demonstrate that a successful conclusion can be obtained
5. Identify, in so far as possible, the student's unique and original ideas
6. Indicate work accomplished to date

Your prospectus is a valuable and essential part of your graduate program. This is a written document of no more than 30 pages for a PhD student (15 pages for MS), excluding front matter (title page, content, etc.), references, and appendices. The format must be double spaced with margins no less than 2 cm and font no smaller than 11 pt. Appendices are not required for the students to write nor required for the committee to read. It defines the scope of your research project so that both you and the faculty understand what must be accomplished to finish the degree. In this sense, it is an agreement that additional requirements will not be added later to the proposed project. It also requires you to plan, think creatively, and formulate your approach to the problem. It is not, however, binding with respect to proposed specifics, as research directions may appropriately change as the research unfolds. A copy of your prospectus with original signatures must be given to the department secretary to indicate the completion of this requirement.

An MS student prepares and submits a written prospectus. PhD students must orally defend their written prospectus before their entire committee. Your committee consists of a principal advisor and committee members (2 additional for MS and at least 3 additional for PhD) selected because of their expertise and willingness to help you in your research. One committee member is selected by the department and the others are selected by you.

For your written defense, you write and iterate drafts with your advisor until s/he indicates that the document is ready to go to the other committee members. The student delivers a copy to the committee members and must allow them 2 weeks to read and give feedback on the document. When the student has satisfied their concerns (this may be more than one iteration), the student may submit a final draft to all committee members for a final reading. Again the student must allow at least 2 weeks for the committee members to read and give feedback. After all the comments and concerns are addressed by the student, each committee signs the document and it is delivered to the department secretary for archiving. While the final signatures must be written on a paper document, the iterative feedback with committee members may be electronically or on paper, according to faculty preference.

Please do not shortcut this process. Attempting to skip or combine steps in the review process shortcuts your education and leads to frustration. Prior planning and good communication is the key to getting your documents approved and defended in a timely manner. We encourage you to communicate frequently with the committee and the department secretary during writing and review. Please remember that the faculty are very busy and cannot drop all other responsibilities to read a document or attend a defense on short notice. Prior planning by the student and excellent communication with all committee members will help prevent unfortunate situations.

PhD students may schedule an oral defense of their prospectus after they deliver the document to the committee members. Please be respectful of the busy schedule of faculty members. Please inform the department secretary of the date and time so the paperwork will be prepared ahead of time. Plan for a 1-hour block of time. Plan an oral presentation of not more than 25 minutes. Anyone may attend the oral presentation and ask questions. After those questions, only the advisory committee and candidate remain, and the candidate is questioned about his prospectus and preparation to conduct research leading to a dissertation. At the conclusion of the questioning, the candidate is dismissed and the committee discusses the students’ preparation and vote on admitting the student to PhD candidacy. See section 3.3 for details.

2.16 - Thesis/Dissertation

The thesis/dissertation must conform in form and style with university, college and department regulations. The college has prepared a template and instruction, which if followed, will ensure that you have no formatting problems that will delay your graduation. After your thesis/dissertation is written you must submit it to the Chemical Engineering department secretary who will check it carefully for formatting errors. If 3 errors are found, the secretary will return the document to the student without further review and have the student go through the whole document again and fix all errors. If less than 3 errors are found, the secretary will point those out and the student must fix them (and any others) before the document is submitted to the college office. The college secretary will also review for formatting, and if more than two errors are found, the document will be returned to the student without further review. The student must allow each secretary at least two days to do this check, so do not put this off to the end. If the document is returned because of formatting errors, this will cost you at least 2 days. The formatting templates can be found at https://engineering.byu.edu/thesis-dissertation-guidelines.

The length of the document should be sufficient to cover the work performed, but verbose presentations may be returned to the student for considerable reduction and editing before further review. Specific page limitations are found in section 3.6 and 4.4. The manuscript must be in clear, correct English, and it is the student's responsibility to produce such a document. Students are encouraged to use the Writing Laboratory in 1010 JKB as needed, and international students should enlist the aid of the Linguistics Department to ensure that the manuscript is grammatically correct.

Each new student has the responsibility to choose at least one (MS) or two (PhD) advisory committee members in addition to their primary research advisor (see Section 2.7). Then the department chooses one additional committee member. The student has the responsibility to enhance his/her own education and research skills by working closely with all members of their research advisory committee. He/she should keep them informed of progress and of upcoming important dates, such as annual evaluations, the prospective defense, and the thesis or dissertation defense. Such communication is particularly important when planning a defense to ensure that all committee members will be available on the day of the defense.

When planning to defend a prospectus, thesis or dissertation, please remember that the faculty are very busy and cannot drop all other responsibilities to read a document or attend a defense, even when employment is pending. Prior planning by the student and excellent communication with all committee members will help prevent unfortunate situations in which a student cannot defend before he/she must leave campus for employment. You must allow committee members at least 2 weeks to carefully review a prospectus, thesis or dissertation. In turn the faculty committee member will do his best to return a carefully criticized document to the student. If the faculty recognizes that there are major problems with the document early in his reading, he may return it earlier and request that the student work on it before submitting it to him again.

The procedure for submitting a prospectus, thesis or dissertation is to first submit it to the primary research advisor. After multiple drafts back and forth, the advisor will indicate to the student when it is ready to go to the committee. The student must allow him/them 2 weeks to read and give feedback on the document. When the student has satisfied the concerns (this may be more than one iteration), the student may submit a final draft to all committee members for a final reading on the BYU Graduate Progress Portal (see https://gradprogress.sim.byu.edu) and through email or printed form as they prefer. After this final submission to the entire committee, the student may schedule a mutually agreeable time for a defense. There is a form required to apply for and schedule the defense.

Students, please do not shortcut this process. Attempting to skip or combine steps in the review process shortcuts your education and leads to frustration. Prior planning and good communication is the key to getting your documents approved and defended in a timely manner. We encourage you to communicate frequently with the committee and the department secretary during writing and review.

Writing a large scholarly document is not easy. Students often make the mistake of underestimating the time it takes to prepare such a document, placing undo pressure on themselves, faculty members and potential employers. While it may only take the better part of a semester to write the first draft, the subsequent review, revision and approval process will also require nearly a semester as shown in the schedule below:

As shown, you should plan to finish the first complete draft about 17 weeks ahead of the commencement in which you wish to graduate. Four weeks may be subtracted from that time if you do not care if the degree is not conferred until the following commencement. If so, you may leave campus after item 9 above. Students are strongly advised not to begin outside employment prior to submission of the final approved document. A student should not expect the above lead time to be shortened, as each document review by faculty can take up to two weeks and the document must be approved in sequential order by the research advisor and other members of the advisory committee.

2.17 - Application for Graduation

The graduation application is available by logging in to myBYU > click on School > click on Apply for Graduation.

1. You must have an active ecclesiastical endorsement on file to be eligible to apply for graduation.
2. Click on the link to review your Graduate Progress Report and make sure it is correct, including the names of faculty members on your graduate committee. You are the person most responsible for your degree, the Progress Report will either verify that you are right on track or it will guide you to problems that need to be solved before you will be able to graduate. If you feel that your Progress Report is incorrect visit with your department program manager to make corrections.
3. Type in your name exactly the way you would like it to appear on your diploma (diplomas) including periods and any other needed punctuation such as accents, etc.
4. Indicate whether or not you plan to attend graduation.
5. Click ‘Submit Application’ link.

If you need to change your graduation semester, contact the graduate program manager in your department.

While specific deadlines vary slightly from year to year, the deadlines listed below are 2019-2020 academic year. University deadlines are in bold, department deadlines are indicated in italics. These deadlines are firm.

Be sure to check with the department program manager for the exact dates for the year you plan to graduate. This website may be helpful if it is current: https://gradstudies.byu.edu/page/graduation

*These department deadlines are the FINAL day that specific items must be complete. While the hope is that no issues will arise during the weeks leading up to the final exam, they often do and the student is forced to postpone graduation to the next semester if the deadlines are not met. To avoid this you may want to review the dates and then move them earlier by few days to one week.

2.18 - Oral Defense

Please note that you must be registered for at least 2 credit hours in the semester that you defend your thesis/dissertation. Preferably, oral exams should not be scheduled or held during interim periods between semesters and terms. The procedure for submitting and defending your thesis or dissertation is:

1. When all members of your advisory committee agree that your thesis/dissertation is ready for defense and is in acceptable form, you must fill out the Departmental Scheduling of Final Oral Exam form and obtain signatures of your advisory committee members.
2. Submit this form to the department secretary and she will schedule your oral exam.
3. Submit a copy of your thesis/dissertation to the department secretary for her to review the document for format issues. She will review the document and give you a sheet indicating changes that need to be made to conform to department policy.
4. The first part of the oral defense is open to the public. You should prepare a 30 to 35 minute presentation of the work you have accomplished and its significance to your field. The public attendees are generally allowed to ask relevant questions during and after the presentation, but the exact format is set by the examining committee chairman, who is one of the advisory committee members assigned by the department. The department also allows a public or departmental seminar given in close proximity to the timing of the second part of the defense to count as the first part of the oral exam, provided the examining committee is present.
5. The second part of the oral defense is closed to the public. With the public dismissed, the examining committee will spend approximately one hour asking more probing questions about the problem, the methodology, the results, and the document itself. This constitutes the defense of the thesis/dissertation, and you, not your advisor, are responsible for defending the quality of the work.
6. At the conclusion of the defense, you will be excused while the examining committee discusses the results of the exam and votes. In case of a tie vote within the committee, the advisor’s vote will break the tie. The outcome of the committee vote may be any one of four grades:
   
   1. Pass - You must, however, satisfactorily resolve minor corrections indicated by committee members. This will be monitored by your advisor.
   2. Qualified Pass - The student must complete more extensive revisions. The chairman of the examining committee must send the graduate school written approval of the thesis when accepted to remove the qualified appellation.
   3. Recess - the student must retake the defense from the same committee after major conditions have been met, but no sooner than one month later. Only one recess will be granted to a candidate.
   4. Fail - the graduate degree program if the student is terminated.
      

2.19 - Submission of Thesis/Dissertation

After appropriate revisions of the thesis/dissertation, obtain from the department program manager the Approval for the Final Dissertation or Thesis (Form 8d) and obtain your advisor’s signature. Return the form and a final copy of the thesis/dissertation to the program manager. The program manager will submit the form and thesis/dissertation to the college for the Dean’s approval. The program manager will notify you by email when the thesis/dissertation has been approved and give you further instructions for submitting the ETD (Electronic Thesis/Dissertation.

2.20 – Writing and Publishing of Theses and Dissertations

The cost of publishing a thesis or dissertation documents is the responsibility of the student. Department and university computers may be used for data and word processing. The costs of printing drafts and copies of the documents should not be paid by the department. With permission of the department secretary and advisor, the student may use a department printer or copy machine if the costs are reimbursed to the department, including paper and machine costs (machine usage costs per page). Printing must be done at a time designated by the department secretary, and should be when the faculty and staff are not using the printers or copy machines. These rules also apply to prospectus documents.