Candidacy for Doctoral Degree Download to print

To become a candidate for the doctorate, a student must pass a candidacy (comprehensive) examination in the field of the major subject. This examination will be taken when departmental requirements have been met, but it should not be taken later than nine months before the student expects to receive the degree. The content and scope of the examination are determined by the department concerned. The examination may be either written or oral or both. The student is not permitted to continue with the dissertation unless this requirement is satisfied. Failure on the candidacy examination and a subsequent prescription and reexamination are subject to departmental policy. When opportunities for such reexamination are exhausted without success, the student will be dismissed from graduate study.