The General Announcements states, "All oral thesis defenses must take place on the Rice University campus with the candidate and all thesis committee members in physical attendance." Generally, defenses are expected to take place in person, however, your department may have a virtual defense component requirement as well. Please check with your department about the expectations of the thesis defense before registering your defense. You do not need permission from GPS to host a virtual defense.

Students should register their defenses with the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies via events.rice.edu/rgs and must include the zoom link for any hybrid defense below the abstract.

For tips on how to approach an online thesis defense, click here.

Updated March 2023