Policies and Procedures Concerning Candidacy
and Defense Exams

Updated 9/2008

Expectations of students on the oral candidacy exam vary from department to department. For some departments, the oral is a test of breadth and depth of knowledge. For others, it is a defense of the dissertation proposal. And for still others, it is a combination of both of these elements. You are responsible for knowing your departmental expectations with regard to the candidacy and defense exams. What follows concerns Graduate School policies and procedures.

  • The following forms must be filled out (typed) by your departmental assistant, signed, and sent to the Graduate School, 502 Main Building.

- The form to set up the oral candidacy exam
- The form to set up the defense

  • Your exam committees (for both the candidacy and defense) must consist of at least three teaching and research (T&R) faculty, one of whom is your adviser. Refer to your departmental guide to determine what the standard is in your department. Normally, committee members are chosen from your departmental faculty. If you would like someone from outside your department or the University to sit on your committee, you must first obtain the permission of your department. At least two committee members must be physically present at the examination.
  • If you would like the Graduate School to find the outside chair for you, the form must be received by us at least 10 business days prior to the exam. If you plan to obtain your own outside chair, please return the form at least 48 hours before the exam. Even though you plan to obtain your own chair, the Graduate School still must formally notify the members of your committee and the outside chair of the date/time/location of the exam.
  • The outside chair will probably not be familiar with how exams are conducted in your department. He/she will discuss departmental procedure with the members of your committee prior to the exam.
  • The duties of the chair of the oral candidacy exam, as a representative of the Graduate School (who does not vote), are to ensure that:

- The examination is conducted in an orderly fashion;

- It is conducted over a period of not less than one and one-half hours and not more than two and one-half hours (the distribution of time among the examiners and all other details being settled before you are admitted to the room);

- The subject matter is well covered; and

- Examiners do not answer their own questions or guide you in answering those questions. The purpose of the examination is to find out how much you know and to determine whether this knowledge is sufficient for a Ph.D. candidate.

  • The duties of the chair of the dissertation defense, as the representative of the Graduate School, are to see that the examination is conducted in an orderly fashion over a period of not less than one hour. The subject matter of this examination is your dissertation and the general field in which the dissertation falls. Although the chair does not vote, he or she may ask questions of you.
  • On a committee of three, two votes are required to pass. On a committee of four, three votes are required to pass, and on a committee of five, four are required. In the event that one committee member is absent, the vote to pass must be unanimous. On a committee of three, if one member is absent, the exam must be canceled and re-scheduled.
  • The outside chair then writes a defense report and submits the typed form to Barbara Turpin, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, describing the conduct of the exam and providing the vote of the committee on your performance.
  • If you feel that your exam was not conducted fairly, contact your outside chair immediately so that your concerns can be incorporated in the report to Dean Turpin.