The student defends the dissertation in a meeting with the student's research committee. It is a public meeting, open to students and faculty. The student should confer with the research committee chair regarding expectations. The dissertation defense may not take place less than six months following University Graduate School approval of the candidate's Nomination of Research Committee for the Ph.D. Degree Form.

Complete the following steps in preparation for the dissertation defense meeting:

1. Select a meeting date and time. - The doctoral candidate and the research committee agree on a date and time for the student's dissertation defense meeting.
2. Student completes and submits an SPH Dissertation Defense Eligibility Verification Form. -  The form is available at https://one.iu.edu/task/iub/current-sph-students. This form must be submitted to the graduate recorder in the School of Public Health-Bloomington records office in SPH 123 a minimum of forty (40) calendar days in advance of the proposed defense meeting date.
3. Student receives an email message. - After the Graduate Recorder verifies the student's eligibility and a meeting room has been booked, the student will receive an email message confirming the meeting date, time, and location. The email message will also include detailed instructions for submitting the PhD Defense Announcement eDoc, found within the University Graduate School Task Center, located at https://one.iu.edu/collection/iub/university-graduate-school. 
4. Student completes the PhD Defense Announcement eDoc with the University Graduate School. - At least 35 days in advance of the proposed meeting date, the student must initiate a request to post an announcement of the defense meeting.  The form may be found within the University Graduate School Task Center, located at this link: https://one.iu.edu/collection/iub/university-graduate-school.  The student must complete, save, and submit this eDoc. A successfully submitted eDoc will route to the School of Public Health - Bloomington recorder, the student's research committee chair, and finally to the University Graduate School for final approval.
5. University Graduate School approves the request to post the defense announcement. - Step four must be completed, resulting in the form routing to the University Graduate School at least thirty days in advance of the proposed meeting date, or the request will be denied. If the request is denied, a new request form would have to be completed and submitted by the student. Following University Graduate School approval of the PhD Defense Announcement eDoc, an announcement of the student's dissertation defense meeting will be posted on the website of the University Graduate School.
6. Student submits a draft of the dissertation to the research committee. - At least four weeks before the defense meeting date, the student must submit a draft of the dissertation to the committee to examine before the final defense meeting takes place.

The time frames for submission of the defense meeting request and announcement are enforced to ensure that the defense announcement is posted well in advance of the defense meeting date. This is a University Graduate School requirement. Failure to meet these deadlines will delay the scheduling of the final defense meeting.

Following the defense meeting, the research committee chair will report the outcome to the School of Public Health-Bloomington Recorder. The chair will also assign a letter grade to the dissertation credits on the student's transcript.