• Identify three potential external examiners.
• Contact the potential external examiners to verify their availability.
• Nominate to the Program Committee, the names of the three potential external examiners

• Assemble the examination committee according to Graduate Calendar regulations.
• Send the completed PhD/DVSC Final Examination form to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (OGS) at least four (4) weeks prior to the anticipated date of the final examination for approval

• Send the final draft thesis to the external examiner along with a covering letter
• Provide copies of the final draft to each member of the examination committee.

• If the Department/school provides a doctoral examination announcement, the student should submit the abstract and curriculum vitae to the Graduate Program Assistant. The only c.v. information which should be listed in the announcement will be: place of birth, previous degrees and Universities, awards during graduate study, and a list of publications (published or accepted for publication). Total c.v. information should not exceed 10-12 lines in the announcement.

• If the department/school wishes the doctoral examination to be listed in "At Guelph", the student's name, thesis title, and the time and place of the examination should be sent to the editor of "At Guelph".
• The department/school prepares and distributes either a detailed doctoral examination announcement or a more simplified version, sending a copy to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.
• The department/school verifies all arrangements for the external examiner's visit or video conference, including Red Car service (airport limousine), hotel accommodation, etc., as required. Also reminds the external examiner that the external examiner's report should be submitted to the chair of the department/school at least seven days before the examination. Please note that the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies will not release the external examiner funding allotment to the department/school until a copy of the external examiner's report has been received in the office.

• The Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies will send the set of examination forms to the chair of the examination committee.

Members of the advisory committee, following their review of the final draft of the thesis, indicate on the Examination Request form whether they consider that the thesis is ready for examination. This constitutes advice to the candidate. Regardless of the recommendation of the advisory committee, the candidate may submit a signed Examination Request form to the department chair and request that the examination be arranged.

The signed and dated Examination Request form is sent to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies at the time the thesis is to be sent to the external examiner. Normally, the date of the final examination is established at this time and is to be no sooner than four (4) weeks after the date on which the thesis is forwarded to the external examiner (unless other arrangements are agreed to by all members of the Examiniation Committee)

The external examiner submits a report, comments, and any suggestions for revision to the department chair at least seven days before the examination. It is understood that, as a result of the final oral examination, corrections arising from the external examiner's report and from the comments of the examination committee may be necessary to produce an acceptable revised final draft of the thesis.

1.     The chair of the examination forwards the chair's report, the external examiner's report and the set of signed examination forms to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies. The external examiner's report is also forwarded unless it has been sent to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies previously.
2.     If the candidate is successful, he/she will submit via the Atrium, one PDF copy of the thesis in the final form, as soon as possible thereafter. The Certificate of Approval, duly signed; the Theses Non-Exclusive License, and the Request to Restrict Circulation of Thesis  (if required) must be     submitted at the same time to the Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies. In order to be eligible for graduation at the next Convocation, the candidate must make this submission no later than the "last date" stated in the Calendar.
3.     If the candidate is not successful, subsequent actions are based on the reasons for rejection. A second opportunity for defence of the thesis may be granted.

The thesis will be housed permanently in the Electronic Thesis an Dissertations section of the Atrium at McLaughlin Library and subsequently harvested by the National Library of Canada , where it may be accessed at Theses Canada. If the student requires a bound copy of the thesis, please refer to item #14 in the thesis submission checklist.