Doctoral Preliminary Exam and Candidacy

As a graduate faculty member, you should be familiar with preliminary examination requirements and procedures and admission to candidacy for doctoral student, especially if you are approved for certification and serves as a major professor to doctoral students. Even if you are not directing doctoral students, you should be familiar with information on this page since you might serve as a doctoral supervisory committee member.

Preliminary Examination 

Doctoral students must be given a written preliminary examination, which may be supplemented by an oral examination as prescribed by the supervisory committee.

A full-time doctoral student should normally complete the preliminary exam within three years of entry into the doctoral program or after receiving the Master's. The examination may be scheduled after the program of study is filed and at a time deemed appropriate by the supervisory committee. Once the supervisory committee and the student decide when the examination is to be taken, the student should notify the Graduate School one month before the scheduled date by submitting the electronic Request for Preliminary Examination Ballot form (available here Links to an external site.).

Within one week following the completion of the preliminary examination, including those of any oral portion, the supervisory committee must sign and return the ballot to the Graduate School. The student is considered to have passed the examination and to be recommended to candidacy if at least three fourths of the supervisory committee voted to approve candidacy.

If the student fails the prelim exam, the supervisory committee may approve a second examination with no more than one dissenting vote. The student is then placed on probation and must wait a minimum of 3 months prior to rescheduling, if approved by the supervisory committee. A second failure constitutes denial of admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree in the field of study of the graduate program.

Admission to Candidacy

Satisfactory performance in the preliminary examination is an indication that the student is prepared to perform independent work toward completing a dissertation and results in the student being classified as a doctoral candidate, upon affirmative recommendation by the supervisory committee.  A doctoral student must be admitted to candidacy at least seven months prior to their final defense.

• After achieving candidacy, there must be continuous enrollment in a minimum of one hour each fall and spring semester until the degree is completed.
• The period of candidacy may last up to five years from the end of the semester in which the preliminary exam was passed.