Graduation and Awarding of Degrees
The New School confers degrees three times a year: in January, May, and August. The
commencement ceremony for all graduates is held in May. All degree requirements specified in the
NSSR catalog (including the internship for clinical psychology students) must be completed before the graduation date in order for a degree to be conferred.
PhD students intending to graduate must complete the
PhD Questionnaire when prompted to do so or contact their student advisors. Visit the registrar's
graduation page for more information.
Dissertation Committee Guidelines
PhD candidates should consult their department handbook on policies concerning the formation of the dissertation committee. All PhD candidates are required to select a fourth member of their dissertation committee from outside of their department and
discipline. The external member may come from NSSR, The New School, the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium, another accredited U.S. university, or an international university. Students will be encouraged to develop working relations with a faculty
member outside of their department as they complete their course requirements and constitute their committee. The external member will join the dissertation proposal defense (in departments with this requirement) and remain an active part of the committee
through the final defense.
Students may opt out of this requirement provided that when forming their committee (and before their proposal defense), they receive written permission from their dissertation chair and the associate dean for Faculty Affairs and Curriculum. Students
who do not choose an external dissertation committee member will be assigned an NSSR “dean's representative,” who will read their dissertation manuscript before the defense and take part in the dissertation final defense only.
To request a dean’s representative, please contact
Ellen Freeberg; please also fill out this
form.
PhD Dissertation Style, Format, and Submission Guidelines
PhD students who are ready to defend their dissertations should speak with their department advisors for policies, procedures, deadlines, and guidelines. Completed dissertations must be submitted electronically.
Please
consult the following resources for help submitting your dissertation or thesis.
Resources and guidelines
NSSR Style and Format Guidelines for Dissertation (PDF)
Doctoral candidates with general questions about their dissertations or graduation can email [email protected].