Final Semester

Commencement at Ohio State is a festive event. All graduating students receive their actual diploma, and doctoral students are recognized individually for their achievements.

Commencement Information

Final Semester Procedures and Timeline, Doctoral

PhD Degree Requirements

The Graduate School uses these requirements to audit your record to determine if you are eligible to graduate.

1. Submit Application to Graduate via GRADFORMS (Due: Third Friday of the semester or summer term)
2. Submit Application for Final Examination via GRADFORMS. Must be submitted by the student and approved by the defense committee at least two weeks before the defense date.
3. Undergo Dissertation Format Check (Due: At least two weeks before the defense). Submit a complete dissertation draft to the Graduate School at grad-schoolformatreview@osu.edu. Learn more about format review and submission
4. Deliver copy of dissertation to Graduate Faculty Representative as soon as you receive GFR assignment email notice from Graduate School
5. Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Examination via GRADFORMS (Due: Immediately following conclusion of exam)
6. Make required revisions to dissertation document
7. Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Document by posted deadline via GRADFORMS
8. Convert final dissertation document to embedded-font PDF and submit to OhioLink (No later than 8 a.m. on the deadline day. All documents must be approved by 5 p.m. on the deadline day in order to meet degree requirements.)
9. Request Delay of Final Document (if applicable) via GRADFORMS. Learn more about access and distribution of your document.
10. Take the Survey of Earned Doctorates and submit the Certificate of Completion form to the Graduate School (When complete, email certificate to Grad-SchoolETD@osu.edu)
11. Commencement
    • If attending, the Graduate School will contact you by e-mail to provide instructions for doing an audio recording of your name, so your name is pronounced appropriately at commencement.
    • If not attending, complete the commencement section on the application to graduate on GRADFORMS to indicate how the diploma should be disbursed.

Final Semester Procedures and Timeline, Master’s

Master’s Degree Requirements

The Graduate School uses these requirements to audit your record to determine if you are eligible to graduate. 

• Submit Application to Graduate via GRADFORMS (Due: The third Friday of the semester or summer term)
• Complete Master’s Examination (Due: Must be completed no later than the published deadline for the semester or summer term of graduation.)
• Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Examination via GRADFORMS (Due: Immediately following conclusion of exam)
• Undergo Thesis Format Check (if applicable)Have a format review of your thesis with the Graduate School no later than the posted examination deadline for the semester. Format reviews are optional for Master’s students, but strongly recommended. Submit a complete thesis draft to the Graduate School at grad-schoolformatreview@osu.edu. Learn more about format review and submission.
• Make required revisions to thesis document
• Verify that your committee has approved and submitted Report on Final Document by posted deadline via GRADFORMS
• Convert final thesis document to embedded-font PDF and submit to OhioLINK (No later than 8 a.m. on the deadline day. All documents must be approved by 5 p.m. on the deadline day in order to meet degree requirements.)
• Request Delay of Final Document (if applicable) via GRADFORMS. Learn more about access and distribution of your document.
• Commencement (If not attending, complete the commencement section on your application to graduate on GRADFORMS to indicate how your diploma should be disbursed.)

End-of-Semester

Students who apply to graduate in a given semester and find that they cannot complete degree requirements by the posted deadlines can opt to utilize an option at Ohio State called End-of-Semester.

Students who take this option have until the last business day before the start of the next semester to complete all degree requirements, including defending a dissertation or thesis, submitting the final approved document, and taking care of all related paperwork and fees.

Meeting the End-of-Semester deadline means that a student will officially graduate the following semester and will not have to be enrolled in that semester, nor re-apply to graduate. The student's degree is conferred at the next commencement ceremony, and this is the date of graduation that will appear on the student’s official transcript.

Format Revisions

Within a few hours of the document submission, the Graduate School will notify the student via email that the document has either been accepted or that the document needs revisions.

If the document needs revisions, the student must make the corrections and upload the revised version to the OhioLINK site.

Survey of Earned Doctorates

The Survey of Earned Doctorates began in 1958 as an annual survey and has evolved as the definitive source of information on the nation's new research doctorates.

Sponsors are the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, National Endowment for the Humanities, USDA, and NASA. 

Data collected are shared with colleges and universities across the United States to assist in decisions about funding and advocating for graduate education. The information is confidential; none of the data will personally identify a respondent. 

Ohio State doctoral candidates may complete the survey any time during their semester of graduation.