Exams and Dissertation

A student must successfully complete General and Final Exams in order to receive a Ph.D. The format of the General Exam is determined by the Supervisory Committee and should be agreed upon by the committee at least four months before the exam. After the committee and student agrees on a date and time, the student should submit a Request for General Examination. If written exams are included, the student should submit copies of the completed exams to the IPhD Program’s Coordinator for the student’s file. Once the student has successfully completed the General Exam and the warrant has been submitted to the IPhD Program office for entry into the Graduate School system, the student becomes a Candidate and usually devotes the remainder of study towards research and writing of the dissertation.

After the Reading committee has read a complete draft of the dissertation and the entire Supervisory Committee agrees the student is prepared to defend the dissertation, the student should schedule the Final Exam and submit a Request for Final Examination. Upon successful completion of the Final Exam and submission of the final version of dissertation, the degree is conferred.

For complete instructions regarding General and Final Exams refer to the Graduate School website.