Geography, Environment, and Sustainability

Thesis Defense and Internship Presentation

Thesis Defense:

When you have successfully completed all other requirements for the degree, the chair of your thesis committee will, in consultation with the other committee members, schedule your final oral thesis defense. You have to inform the department when you are doing your defense two weeks before the date so they can publish the thesis title, date, time and location. The defense takes place during the semester you plan to graduate and must be successfully completed no later than the published UNCG date of completion of thesis defenses (mid-November/mid-April). Expect to make modifications to your thesis following the defense, so schedule your defense well in advance of this deadline! Defenses are typically scheduled for one hour, but may run shorter or longer, at the discretion of your committee. In a typical defense, which is open to the public, you will be asked to summarize your research. Following your summary, committee members and the audience may ask questions about your research. When there are no more questions, the committee will ask you to step outside while they deliberate. Then they will call you back in to inform you of the outcome, which will either be a pass, conditional pass or, rarely, fail.

Internship Presentation:

When your internship is completed to the satisfaction of your committee, you and your advisor will schedule your presentation with the Geo Club advisor. The presentation takes place during the semester you plan on graduating and must be successfully completed no later than the published departmental date for completion of internships (mid-November/mid April). Presentations are typically scheduled for the last Wednesday of the semester during the Geo Club meeting time. Depending on the number of presenters, presentation time may run as little as 10 minutes or as long as 20. In a typical presentation, which is open to the public, you will be asked to summarize your research. Following your summary, committee members and the audience may ask questions about your research. When there are no more questions, the committee will ask you to step outside while they deliberate. Then they will call you back in to inform you of the outcome, which will either be a pass, conditional pass or, rarely, fail.