Deadlines and Important Instructions for KSAS and WSE PhDs, D.Eng. and Master’s Degree Completion

Students should always check with their program a semester prior to their intended semester of completion to understand timeline, requirements, and other important considerations.

Graduating students need to file an application for graduation with the registrar’s office for the semester in which they intend to complete their degree.

Whiting School of Engineering Students

(If submitting a Whiting School of Engineering Master’s Essay/Thesis/Project or PhD/D.Eng dissertation:*)

• Please forward the ETD Submission Approval  email to your department academic staff and include your exact degree, department, and expected conferral semester in the body of the email. (Example: MSE, Civil Engineering, Fall 2013).*
• You must include the title of your dissertation/essay/project typed in the body of the email in title case format with correct spelling and punctuation — Please do not use all upper case or all lower case letters.*
• You must attach the abstract and title page from your dissertation (not the whole dissertation).*
• Your name will not be placed on the degree candidate’s listing for approval by the Graduate Board (PhDs) or the WSE Graduate Committee (Master’s) and President of the University until the email has been received by the appropriate deadline.*
• You are highly encouraged to cc: [email protected] on this email, however, it is your responsibility to follow the preferred notification process as set out by your department administrator that the dissertation/essay/project has been accepted by the ETD Office

Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Students

(If submitting a Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Master’s Essay/Thesis or PhD dissertation, please visit our new website.

Further Instructions for WSE Graduate Students: 

• Although students will receive a submission confirmation email, their dissertation/theses must be approved and accepted by the library before the student can be placed on the final degree candidate’s listing for approval. Students will receive a second approval confirmation email once their dissertation/theses is accepted. The library will notify the HGB of all accepted submissions.
• The GBO exam, reader’s letters, dissertation, and department certification must be completed and submitted by the above deadlines for the graduate student’s name to be put on the Graduate Board’s degree completion list.
• An Application for Graduation must be received by the Registrar’s Office. Graduate students should return the completed form to the Registrar’s Office and not the Graduate Affairs and Admissions Office. If no Application for Graduation is on file in the Registrar’s Office, the student will not be included on the degree candidates list signed by the president.
• Should a student’s degree requirement materials be received after the deadlines listed below that student’s name will be added to the next semester’s Graduate Board list for completed degrees and there may be registration requirements.

Other Important Considerations:

• To complete before the start of a semester and avoid registration, Final Graduate Board Oral Exams must be completed at least two weeks before the start of classes and all materials must be submitted to Graduate Board and Dissertations submitted to the Commercial Binding Office prior to the first day of classes.
• Graduate Board Exams may be held throughout the academic year. Written requests to schedule a GBO examination should be submitted in writing at least three weeks prior to the proposed examination date. Students must be registered for the semester in which they take their exam.
• Dissertations should be provided to the examiners at least two weeks before the date of a final exam. Students and advisors are responsible for distributing copies to the examiners.
• Dissertations must be completed and electronically submitted to the library by the below dates.

Conferral Date: August 28, 2026

July 22, 2026,  WSE PhD Dissertation Submission Deadline
July 27, 2026 NOON WSE PhD ETD Approval Deadline
WSE PhD, D.Eng. and Master’s Dissertation/Essay/Project/ETD Deadlines

PhD Students must submit their dissertation to the ETD Office by 5:00pm on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 It will take approximately 48 hours for the ETD office to approve your final submission if there are no edits or corrections. 

After submission, students should check their JHU email often and immediately follow all instructions from the ETD office regarding corrections and/or edits.

Upon receipt of the ETD approval email, students should forward immediately to their department and cc their cognizant academic affairs office. This email is essential to degree conferral.

If final ETD approval has not been secured by 12:00noon on Monday, July 27, 2026, then the PhD student will be moved to the next conferral cycle and will not graduate in the Summer 2026 term.

August 7, 2026, WSE Master’s Project/Essay/Thesis and D.Eng. ETD Submission Deadline
Master’s students completing projects or an essay/thesis internal to their department (whether or not they are publishing through the ETD) must submit a fully completed project/essay/thesis either by their departmental internal deadline or by August 7th (the WSE divisional deadline), whichever comes first.

D.Eng students must submit their dissertation/final project to the ETD Office by August 7, 2026 AND must receive the final approval email (not the initial submission acknowledgement email) from the ETD office NO LATER than by Wednesday, August 12, 2026 by close of business (5:00pm).