| Preliminary examinations
Each doctoral student is required to take preliminary examinations, consisting
of written examinations and an oral examination, no earlier than the end
of the second year of graduate study and not later than one semester before
the final oral examination. As indicated in Section
3.4, ‘all doctoral students must attain candidacy for the degree
within six (6) calendar years from the date of admission.’
1. Written examinations
a. Format of the exam. The written portion of the examination
may be conducted in one of two ways.
- Each member of the advisory committee prepares a set of questions
for the student's response, and the answers to each set are returned
to the appropriate faculty member for grading. The professor decides
on the specific format of this exam.
- Standardized departmental examinations may be used for all students
in a program. These examinations are given at specified times during
the year, and scheduled dates are announced well in advance. Where
written departmental examinations of this kind are used, the student
will be expected to make arrangements to schedule these examinations.
Regardless of which method is employed, the questions involved may
cover any phase of the course work taken by the student during graduate
study or any subject logically related to an understanding of the subject
matter in the major and minor areas of study. The questions are designed
to measure the student's mastery of his/her field and the adequacy of
preparation for research. Committee members must notify the DGP when
a student has completed the written examination.
b. Written examinations in the minor field. Requirements for
written examinations in the minor field are left to the discretion of
the program in which the student is minoring.
c. Failure to pass the written examination. Failure to pass
the written portion terminates the student's work at this institution,
subject to departmental and/or school/college policies with respect
to re-examination.
2. Preliminary oral examinations
With approval from the DGP, upon satisfactory completion of the written
portion of the preliminary examinations, and after completion of all course
work relevant to the examination, the student must submit a
Request to Schedule the Doctoral Oral Examination, indicating that
he/she wishes to schedule the preliminary oral examination. If the Graduate
School Representative has already been assigned to the student's committee,
then the Graduate School responds to the request within five working days
of its receipt in the Graduate School. If the Graduate School Representative
has yet to be assigned, the Graduate School may take up to 10 working
days to respond to the request.
After the Graduate School has approved the scheduling of the preliminary
oral examination, the Records Unit mails the signed and dated request
form to the committee chair, committee members, Graduate School Representative,
and graduate student listed on the form. A file copy of the approved request
form will be sent to the DGP.
The preliminary oral examination is conducted by the student's advisory
committee and the Graduate School Representative and is open to all Graduate
Faculty members. The Graduate School will notify the student and the examining
committee. The oral examination is designed to test the student's ability
to relate factual knowledge to specific circumstances, to use this knowledge
with accuracy and promptness and to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding
of the field of specialization and related areas.
a. Passing the oral examination. A unanimous vote of
approval by the members of the advisory committee is required for the
student to pass the preliminary oral examination. Approval
may be conditioned, however, on the successful completion of additional
work in some particular field(s).
Students may appeal all committee actions by written application to
the DGP or the Department Head. If no resolution is obtained at this
level, an informal appeal then goes to the Dean of the College. If necessary,
a formal grievance may be filed with the Dean of the Graduate School
(refer to NC
State policy on grievance procedures for students).
b. Failure to pass the oral examination. Failure to pass the
preliminary oral examination terminates the student's work at this institution
unless the examining committee recommends a re-examination. No re-examination
may be given until at least one full semester has elapsed, and only
one re-examination is permitted in a given doctoral program.
3.
Candidacy
A doctoral student is admitted to candidacy by the Graduate School upon
successfully passing the preliminary examinations. This does not include
students receiving a 'conditional pass'.
4.
Final Oral Examination
As with the preliminary oral examination, the chair of the student's
advisory committee is in charge of conducting the final oral examination.
The student, through the DGP, submits a Request
to Schedule the Doctoral Oral Examination, indicating that he/she
wishes to schedule the final oral examination.
The final oral examination is scheduled after the dissertation is complete
except for such revisions as may be necessary as a result of the examination,
but not earlier than one semester or its equivalent after admission to
candidacy and not before all required course work has been completed or
is currently in progress.
If the Graduate School Representative has already
been assigned to the student's committee, then the Graduate School responds
to the request within five (5) working days of its receipt. If a Graduate
School Representative must be assigned, the Graduate School may take up
to ten (10) working days to respond to the request. The student
has the responsibility of contacting the Graduate School Representative
when scheduling the final examination.
After the Graduate School has approved the scheduling of the final oral
examination, the Records Unit mails the signed and dated request form
to the committee chair, committee members, Graduate School Representative,
and graduate student listed on the form. A file copy of the approved request
form will be sent to the DGP.
The student should be sure to include the most current title of the dissertation,
as the Graduate School mails information about the scheduled examination
to the NC State Official Bulletin for publication.
a. Format of final examination. Though the format
of the doctoral examination may vary according to the culture of individual
graduate programs, all examinations include three elements.
- Presentation by the candidate. The candidate typically
presents the methodology used, the data collected, and the conclusions
reached as reported in the dissertation. For the purpose of dissemination
of research, it is required that the presentation of the dissertation
be open to the university community.
- Questioning of the candidate. Any member of the
university community is allowed to ask questions of the candidate.
If the need arises, graduate faculty members not on the advisory committee
may meet in a restricted session after the presentation to ask additional
questions of the student and express any concerns they have to the
committee and student. The questioning phase may continue with a closed
session in which the advisory committee questions the candidate.
- Deliberation and decision. Only the advisory committee
and the Graduate School representative, if one has been appointed,
are present.
Throughout the process, the chair of the candidate’s advisory
committee has the obligation to maintain a scholarly atmosphere and
to keep academic integrity and the student's best interest foremost.
b. Outcome of final examination
- Passing the final oral examination. A unanimous vote of approval
of the advisory committee is required for passing the final oral examination.
Approval may be conditioned, however, on the student's meeting specific
requirements prescribed by the student's advisory committee.
- Failure to pass the final oral examination. Failure of a
student to pass the examination terminates his or her work at this
institution unless the advisory committee recommends a re-examination.
No re-examination may be given until one full semester has elapsed
and only one re-examination is permitted.
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