To be admitted to PhD candidacy, each student is required to prepare a written research proposal and present it to their dissertation committee as part of a candidacy examination (this takes the place of the “prelim” requirement of previous years). For more info on forming your dissertation committee, please see here.
Purpose of Exam
This examination allows the committee to assess the student’s conceptual and research mastery of a topic that will become the focus of a PhD dissertation. This exam will focus on evaluating both the written proposal document and the oral proposal defense. This is a final technical checkpoint after satisfying the GPA requirement for the three required graduate courses in the program. This is an opportunity for committee members to help enhance the research quality by offering suggestions and opportunities for collaboration. Specifically, this examination is used to evaluate the student’s:
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(4) ability to anticipate and propose pitfalls and alternative strategies
Oral Exam Guidelines
Students should plan for an oral presentation of no longer than 30 minutes uninterrupted. Students should plan on 90 minutes for the entire examination, to allow time for questions during and after the presentation (schedule exam for 2 hours). Students are expected to answer the questions from the examiners without the help of the supervisor.
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- adequate progress toward identifying an important and impactful research problem
- the creation of a viable research strategy/specific plans
- presentation of preliminary results to warrant continuation on the track toward PhD candidacy
- an overall scholarly understanding of the research area
Qualifying Exam Rubric
As of Starting spring 2025, the Qualifying Exam Rubric will be included with the Candidacy Exam form. The detailed rubric can be found here. All , here, CHE Qualifying Exam Rubric All committee members will have a copy of the rubric and will have the option to write comments and provide to the student. These comments will not be reflected on the DocuSign.
Progress in this preliminary research proposal will be scored as pass, conditional pass (with conditions such as “re-write document” or “take additional coursework”), or fail. Students who fail the examination on their first attempt may be asked to repeat will have the opportunity to retake it within one long-semester or will otherwise . Students who fail the examination on their second attempt will be transferred to the terminal Master’s degree program.
- 2nd year students will be assigned a spring date as to which they are required to complete their oral exam by.
- A fall meeting (early September) with the Graduate Advisor will occur to explain the process of the candidacy exam, rubric and exam dates.
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