1) Students submit an M.A. paper, Ph.D. dissertation prospectus, or Ph.D. dissertation to all committee members.
2) Departmental members of the committee read a submitted M.A. paper or submitted dissertation prospectus within two weeks. They read a submitted
dissertation within three weeks.
3) Departmental members of the committee notify the chair of the committee of their approval or disapproval of a decision to schedule an oral.
4) The chair of the committee notifies the Graduate Advisor of the committee's
recommendation. Oral exams will be scheduled only under one of two conditions:
a) All departmental members of the committee approve of the scheduling of
the oral exam.
b) The chair of the committee requests that an oral exam be scheduled without
the approval of all members of the committee. In this circumstance, both
the student and the Graduate Advisor are to be informed that not all
departmental members of the committee think that the paper, prospectus,
or dissertation is ready to go forward.
5) The Graduate Advisor asks the Graduate Secretary to schedule an oral exam. The Graduate Secretary will schedule an exam only upon the direct request of the
Graduate Advisor and through no other route.
6) The Graduate Secretary will schedule an oral exam to be held within two weeks
from the date of the final decision to proceed with the exam. Students should be
aware that the oral exam for an M. A. paper and dissertation prospectus may take
place up to a month after the submission of the paper or prospectus and that the
oral exam for a dissertation may take place up to five weeks after the submission of the dissertation. Students should also be aware that the scheduling of oral exams may take longer during the summer months.
7) The Graduate Advisor will approve requests to attend graduation ceremonies
before the oral defense of the dissertation has been held only if condition 4a(above)has been met.
8) If an oral exam cannot be scheduled because neither condition under number 4
above is fulfilled, the student may request a change in his or her committee. No
faculty member will be obligated to serve.
9) A copy of the dissertation will be made available in the departmental office once the oral exam is scheduled.
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