Graduate Student Offboarding
This page has been created to support students as they look to close out their studies at the University of Utah. Regardless of whether you're a research student or not, there is valuable information here you should review. If you have pursued a coursework-only degree, simply skip ahead.
For research students, there are several additional steps related to the final defense and the clearance from the Thesis Office. Please take the time to review the information below, and schedule with the Graduate Advisor for follow-up questions.
The Thesis Office
The Thesis Office has ample resources available to you. This office is responsible for approving the formatting of your finalized document. This format approval is the final step in the completion of a research degree. Email is the fastest way to get a response from this office. Please email them at: thesis@gradschool.utah.edu
Review the Thesis Office submission deadlines.
University of Utah Thesis Office YouTube Channel: How-to Series
Resources to highlight include:
The Thesis Office Handbook. This resource is robust. Please review the document to familiarize yourself with the expectations, and how to progress through this process with ease.
Document templates available for download. These include Word, LaTeX and Overleaf. Templates do not guarantee format approval however they are a helpful tool.
The Preliminary Review Process. Editors report that individuals who submit for preliminary review, require fewer edits prior to the final format approval. You may submit with only a portion of the document complete- in fact, this is what editors prefer. By doing so, you will familiarize yourself with the formatting expectations earlier in the writing process, rather than correcting these much further along in the writing process.
In Preparation for Final Defense
As you schedule your final defense you will need to find a two-hour window of time that all committee members are available. Start by asking committee members about a two-week window of time and find out when they are unavailable. After finding the commons days that committee members are free, identify the two-hour window of time the presentation will be held.
Scheduling
Suggestion: Use one of the following tools to simplify the scheduling process (a) When2Meet and (b) schej.it
Room Reservations
Request a room reservation from the department.
Complete the defense announcement form.
Meeting Invites
Regarding Meeting Invites for the Committee
If you send your committee members a Microsoft Outlook meeting invite, ensure that you have removed the autogenerated Microsoft Teams meeting. (Details here.) Please only send a Zoom link to the committee members who must be remote. This will ensure the local committee members attend the presentation in-person. The department’s expectation is that the committee chair should be present in-person at the time of the final defense. It is advised that all professors within the department attend in-person.
Power Point Templates
U of U Powerpoint Templates, are available for download.
Three weeks before the defense.
Send your thesis/ dissertation to the committee members for their review. After the professors have had sufficient time to review the document, it is suggested that you seek feedback from the committee members, particularly those who are not co-authors, or have been less involved in the writing. You may choose to have an in-person meeting with the committee members, or you can seek this feedback over email. By seeking this feedback, this allows you to address their comments/ concerns prior to the final defense. Please ensure that these items are addressed in the presentation.
As you approach the date/ time of your scheduled presentation, send several reminders to the supervisory committee including the date/ time/ location. Please send more reminders than you think necessary.
Suggestion: To support a smooth defense, you might consider “banking” Powerpoints that you created for prior presentations- at the end of your defense presentation. These can be helpful if a particular question comes up regarding a component of your research.
During Your Defense
Designate a notetaker during your final defense. These notes will come in handy with the edits to your thesis/ dissertation. This notetaker could be a friend- or even better, would be a committee member. Often the committee chair will do this, however it is important to discuss this prior to the presentation time.
Ask your committee members if they would like to review the document after you have made the requested edits and prior to submission to the Thesis Office.
After Your Defense
Allocate time to allow yourself a breather. Consider taking a weekend, before diving into the edits. Complete the requested edits, and following your committee’s approval submit to the Thesis Office. You will need to provide the University IDs of all committee members. Please note: This system has difficulty with Gmail email addresses. Please reach out to thesis@gradschool.utah.edu to request any links are sent directly to the committee member with a Gmail.
Final Items
Prepare your lab for your graduation and departure
Ensure that all data and papers can be accessed by the supervising professor.
Refer to this article from UIT about access following degree completion.
Another, somewhat dated article about IT access upon concluding time at the U.
Return keys to the academic department. You'll receive a letter documenting these have been returned and you'll be able to receive money back from Income Accounting.
Graduation Celebrations
University Commencement 2025 will occur on Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. MDT
Each college will hold their own convocation ceremony. Learn about the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering Convocation.
Order graduation regalia through the Campus Store.
Diplomas
Questions about diplomas can be answered here.
If you'd like to have a different name listed on your diploma, learn more here.
For Students on Payroll
Following termination from your U of U position, access in Campus Information System (CIS) will change. To account for this, download payroll and tax documents (W2- yearend tax documents) while you still have access.
Update mailing address, so that you'll recieve U of U tax documents mailed to your current residence.
International Students it is very important to communicate your program end date to department administration (Graduate Advisor- Courtney Phillips and Administrative Manager- Tiffany Hortin). The program end date can be either the final day of exams for the term in which you defend- or the defense date. Please specify the date (mm/dd/yy) that is listed as the I-20 program end date.
Update Contact Information
It is important to keep your mailing address current to receive all official university correspondence/information, such as: refund checks, financial aid information, graduation information, etc.
Domestic students can complete this independently through CIS. International students need to contact ISSS and update contact information through UAtlas.
Diplomas will be mailed to the currently listed mailing address.