Graduation and PhD Guidelines

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

All PhD candidates should review their department handbook to see details of policies governing the formation of a dissertation committee.

All dissertation committees require a minimum of three readers from the proposal defense (in departments with this requirement) to the dissertation defense.

NSSR strongly recommends that each dissertation committee include a fourth member from outside of the department and discipline to join before dissertation proposal development and to remain an active part of the committee through the final defense. With the approval of the dissertation chair, fourth readers may come from NSSR, The New School, the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium, another accredited U.S. university, or an international university. 

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 NSSRAcademicAffairs@newschool.edu.