In light of the current special circumstances and to alleviate concerns and ensure students’ peace of mind, the following measures, approved by the University Board on 03/04/1404, are hereby communicated for implementation:

• Thesis defenses will proceed as usual. Additionally, Master’s students of the October and February 1401 intake will have their defense sessions extended until 15 Shahrivar, with no changes to the grading conditions.

• To facilitate the conduct of Master’s thesis defenses and according to the recent directive from the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, if stable internet connectivity is available for all members of the defense committee, fully virtual sessions may be held until the end of Mordad, in coordination with the respective faculty.

• It is mandatory that students submit their defense authorization requests, and obtain their advisor’s approval on Portal 1 at least 10 days prior to the defense date.

• For hybrid defenses, the Graduate Studies representative must ensure that all external examiners have reliable internet connectivity. If a stable connection is not available, the defense session cannot take place.