The Archaeology faculty requires a complete document draft for any defense.  Copies of the appropriate document must be provided to all committee members at least two weeks before the proposed defense date.  A "complete document" will include: the cover sheet; abstract; table of contents; a list of illustrations; complete body of text; conclusions and summaries; the bibliography; all figures, maps, tables, charts, and other illustrations; and all appendices. 

B.   Academic timing of requested defense 

1. Students bringing a Senior Honors Thesis to defense are expected to provide a copy of complete draft to all committee members no later than March 5 for spring degrees or November 15 for fall degrees. 
2. Students bringing a M.A. paper or thesis to defense during spring semester of their second year are expected to provide a copy of a complete draft of their work to the faculty committee no later than the first Monday following Spring Break. 
3. All M.A. Thesis and Ph.D. proposal and dissertation defenses must be scheduled during the regular fall and spring semester class periods only.  Semester breaks and the summer semester are periods for which the faculty have other commitments, and thus will not be available to participate in exams or defenses. 
4. Ph.D. students should remember that general university guidelines require approval to bring the dissertation to defense before an exam may be scheduled; this entire procedure can take up to five weeks 

C.   Guidelines for defense 

The student should prepare a short oral synopsis or review of the research -- the length of which will vary with the document coming to defense.  For a research paper, thesis, or dissertation, such a review should include:  A short resume of the problem; a description of how the student selected the problem, how data were collected, what analytical techniques were employed, significance of the research, and a short recap of the results of the research.  For a proposal defense, all the above except results should be addressed.  Slides, overheads, and other A-V materials may be included.  After this synopsis, the committee will conduct an oral examination of the candidate.