Upon successful completion of the examination, the chair of the Qualifying Exam will provide you with an Application for Advancement to Candidacy. When it is filled out and signed by the Graduate Adviser and your major professor, you pay a candidacy fee of $65 at the Cashier’s Office and return the form to Graduate Studies. When you advance to candidacy a Dissertation Committee is appointed. (For information on who is eligible to serve on a dissertation committee, please consult the section on COMMITTEES).

PLAN A - the Dissertation Committee is composed of five faculty members, three of whom direct you in your research and preparation of your dissertation. The entire committee then administers the final oral exam which generally deals with the relationship of the research to the overall discipline. The exam may be restricted to members of the committee or it may be open to other faculty members and guests. At present, only the Department of Philosophy and the Graduate Groups in Atrnppfl?r1c and Statistics employ Plan A.

PLAN B - the Dissertation Committee is composed of three faculty members who guide you and pass upon the merits of your dissertation. After presentation of the dissertation, you may, at the discretion of the committee, be required to defend your dissertation in an oral examination.

Note: This is a guidance committee. All members are expected to be actively involved in the progress of your research, not just your major professor.

Note: This is a guidance committee. All members are expected to be actively involved in the progress of your research, not just your major professor.

You may download and print the Advancement to Candidacy forms, depending on your plan of study:

PLAN A form

PLAN B form

Nonresident PhD students are eligible for a Re in N Tuition Fees upon advancing to candidacy. The candidacy form MUST be filed with Graduate Studies prior to the first day of the quarter in which the reduction will take place. Graduate Studies will NOT backdate your candidacy for eligibility purposes.