All doctoral graduates whose degrees have been awarded in October, 2008 and February, 2009 are eligible to march at the Columbia University Commencement Exercises and be hooded at the Teachers College Commencement Convocation.

All doctoral candidates who meet the following requirements are eligible to march at the Columbia University Commencement Exercises and be hooded at the Teachers College Commencement Convocation.

Ed.D. students must have:

1.	Filed an application for an oral defense to be held on or before April 27, 2009 in the Office of Doctoral Studies (ODS). (Deadline date to submit application -- April 6.)
2.	Successfully defended a dissertation with a line 1 on or before April 27, 2009. Students who defend with a line 2 must have sufficient time to make edits and deposit in order to participate.
3.	Deposited their Ed.D. dissertation and abstract, revised after the oral and approved by their Committee, with ODS by 4:00 p.m., May 1, 2009.

Ph.D. students must have:

1.	Filed an application for an oral defense to be held on or before April 27, 2009 in the Office of Doctoral Studies (ODS). (Deadline date to submit application -- April 6.)
2.	Successfully defended a dissertation with a line 1 on or before April 28, 2008. Students who defend with a line 2 must have sufficient time to make edits and deposit in order to participate.
3.	Filed their approved FINAL copies of their dissertation with BOTH ODS and GSAS by 4:45 pm on Friday, May 15, 2009. Ph.D. students must deposit one copy of the dissertation in ODS at Teachers College and two copies of the dissertation in the Office of Defense Scheduling and Dissertation Secretary of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (107 Low Library at the University).

Students seeking an exception to the eligibility requirements listed above must submit a request in writing to Mora Sorial, Director of Student Relations, Box 109 – 310 Thorndike, sorial@tc.edu before March 27, 2009.

General Information

Hoods may not be worn during the Columbia Commencement Exercises.

Diplomas will be ordered only after all requirements are met and are usually available six weeks from the date of completion. Completion for Ed.D. students occurs when the student deposits the dissertation and abstracts, which have been corrected in accordance with the dissertation secretary's evaluation, and paid the microfilm fee. Completion for Ph.D. students occurs when their approved FINAL copies of their dissertation are filed with both ODS and GSAS. Students will be notified by the Registrar's Office about how to obtain the diploma once requirements have been met.

Doctoral graduates whose degrees have been awarded in October 2008 and February 2009 will be listed in the Teachers College Commencement Convocation Program as a graduate. May 2009 candidates will be listed as “pending completion of degree requirements." For the most up-to-date listing of dates visit the Calendar of Events and Deadlines on the Teachers College, Office of Doctoral Studies website.