Ph.D. Program – Doctoral Examinations

The Doctoral Examinations are comprised of three separate examinations. They are designed to test and reinforce the competency, specialization, and preparation of students for carrying out dissertation research and writing and to test the student’s final dissertation. The requirements of the Doctoral Examinations include a Preliminary Exam with written and oral components, a General Exam on the student’s final prospectus, and a Final Exam focused on the dissertation defense.

Each set of the doctoral exams operates on a specific timeline. Deviations from this timeline for the preliminary and general exams are not permitted without the express authorization of the Ph.D. Committee. Deviations from and extensions of the timeline for the Final Exam require the support of the Supervisory Committee Chair.

Preliminary Exams

The intention of the preliminary exams is to test a student’s breadth of knowledge of the literature pertaining to their substantive area of interest and their regional focus. The Preliminary Exam is comprised of a written exam on the student’s substantive focus, a written exam on the student’s regional focus, and an oral defense covering both subjects, taking place, respectively, at the end of the 7th, 8th, and 10th weeks of winter quarter in year 2. The Supervisory Committee, excluding your GSR, is responsible for administering the Preliminary Exam.

Two written exams

The written exams are based on two individualized reading lists, one each for the student’s substantive and regional foci. Students are responsible for having knowledge of and being able to discuss, synthesize, and critique the items on their reading lists. They are not responsible for items that are not on the reading lists. The reading list is created through consultation with the student and their Supervisory Committee and the final version must be approved by all Committee members. All reading lists depend on the student’s interests and are therefore different in length and character. However, students can access the reading lists of many previous students for review.

The exams each consist of three questions written by the Supervisory Committee. The student chooses one question to answer for each exam. The written responses to each exam should be between 3,000-5,000 words. The Supervisory Committee consults to design the six questions (three for each exam), then sends the questions to the GPA no later than the 6th week of winter quarter. The GPA distributes the exam questions to each student via email at the start of the exam and then student submits their written response via email to the GPA within 24 hours.

Students are encouraged to meet with their Supervisory Committee about the nature of the exam questions and strategies for studying and writing responses. However, the Supervisory Committee cannot tell the student the exact questions that will be on the exam.

Oral exam

The oral defense takes two hours and takes place within two weeks after the written portion is completed. It covers the same material as the written exams and Supervisory Committees can ask new questions or questions to clarify and build upon the student’s written exam responses.

The entire preliminary exam (including both written exams and the oral defense) will be graded as a whole on a pass/failure/high pass basis. The Chair of the Supervisory Committee is responsible for moderating the Committee discussion of the grading, communicating the final grade to the students, and sending the final grade to the GPA via email.

Policies on failing the Preliminary Exam

In the occasion that a student fails any part of the preliminary exam, in consultation with their Supervisory Committee and the Ph.D. Committee, they will be required to retake the preliminary exam again in spring quarter of that year. The Supervisory Committee can decide whether the student must retake both the substantive and regional exams or only one. In either case, a written exam and oral defense are required. Only once the student has passed the preliminary exam may they schedule the general exam.

Any student who fails their preliminary exams is considered to be on academic probation and forfeits any possibility of Jackson School funding for the entire subsequent year.

Scheduling the Preliminary Exam

The written exams are scheduled by the JSIS PhD program. The first exam, on the student’s substantive focus, takes place during the 24-hour period from 10:00 am on Friday of the 7th week of the quarter. The second exam, on the student’s regional focus, takes place during the 24-hour period from 10:00 am on Friday of the 8th week of the quarter. Students who are non-native English speakers can request extra time on their exams from the Ph.D. Director. Such requests must be submitted to the Director of the PhD Program no later than December 1 of the student’s second year.

The oral defense is scheduled by the student in consultation with their Supervisory Committee. As scheduling can be complicated, students should schedule their oral defense of the Preliminary Exam no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of the 6th week of winter quarter. To schedule the oral defense, fill out this form and submit it to the GPA via email or in person.

Tasks and deadlines

Schedule Oral Defense	5:00 p.m. Friday of the 6th week of winter quarter
Send Bibliographies to Committee and GPA	5:00 p.m. Friday of the 6th week of winter quarter
Complete First Written Exam (Field Focus)	10:00 a.m. Friday of the 7th week of winter quarter
Complete Second Written Exam (Regional Focus)	10:00 a.m. Friday of the 8th week of winter quarter
Complete Oral Defense	5:00 p.m. Friday of the 10th week of winter quarter

General Exam

The General Exam is the dissertation prospectus defense and tests the substantive knowledge and methodology related to the proposed dissertation research. The intention of the oral defense of the dissertation prospectus is to assess a student’s preparation to commence the data collection and writing of their dissertation. The Supervisory Committee will pose specific questions on the student’s chosen methodology and their substantive knowledge of their dissertation research topic on the basis of their final prospectus draft, which will be submitted at least three weeks prior to the defense. The general defense will be graded on a Pass/Failure/High Pass basis.

Please note: your entire Supervisory Committee is responsible for administering your General Exam.

General Exams can take place at any time during spring quarter of year 2. However, students must submit their prospectuses to their committees, and cc the GPA, no later than Friday of the 7th week of the quarter. They must complete their oral exam no later than Friday of the 10th week of the quarter.

Committee members at General Exam

At least four members of the committee, including the Chair and GSR, must be present at the General Exam. Students are advised that it is their responsibility to ensure that the designated members of their committees, particularly the Chair and GSR, are available physically for the general exam. If they cannot be present, students should substitute or rotate in other members well in advance, including the Chair and GSR. The GSR must be physically present for the exam, while other members are allowed to video conference in. For complete rules about video conferencing, please see the Graduate School’s policies. You should inform the GPA if anyone needs to video conference so they can arrange any necessary logistics.

The exam

The student should prepare and deliver a 20-30-minute presentation of their prospectus at the start of the exam. The committee will then question the student on the research question and methods proposed in the prospectus. The committee will also provide advice on the execution of the dissertation research and development of the dissertation itself.

The Chair will bring the warrant to the exam and, providing the committee approves the prospectus, will ask all committee members to sign the warrant. The Chair will then return the warrant to the GPA so they can record the results in MyGrad.

Policies on failing the General Exam

If the student fails the General Exam, they have up to two more chances to pass the exam, but the Jackson School will consider them to be in unsatisfactory progress status. JSIS will recommend to the Graduate School that the student be put on probation and the student will not receive funding from JSIS during the subsequent year. If the student does not pass the General Exam on their third try, taken no later than winter quarter of the third year, they will be dropped from the program.

Alternatively, if only some aspects of the prospectus are concerning to the Supervisory Committee, they can decide to pass the student, but require revisions. In this case, the revisions will be clearly specified and a deadline for submission of revisions to the Chair will be given.

Conferral of candidacy

Once the student fulfills all curricular requirements as described in the scheduling process and successfully passes the General Exam and the GPA receives the signed warrant from the committee, the student is eligible for doctoral candidacy status (Ph.C.). Three days after the last day of the quarter in which the General Exam was passed, the GPA will recommend the student receive candidacy status using the MyGrad portal. When the Graduate School approves candidacy, the student is identified and designated as a Candidate and is awarded a candidate certificate, arriving approximately four months after the end of the quarter.

Scheduling the General Exam

Jackson School doctoral students are advised that the General Exam can only be scheduled if the student has (a) completed 60 credits, (b) received numerical grades in at least 18 credits of course work at the UW; (c) successfully passed all JSIS program requirements as designated on the Schedule; and (d) received the approval of the Supervisory Committee Chair as fully prepared to proceed to the General Exam stage.

To ensure the student has completed these requirements, they are required to meet with the GPA at the start of spring quarter of their second year. Once the student has confirmed they have successfully completed all requirements, they can start the process of scheduling their exam.

Ph.D. students are responsible for scheduling their General Exam in consultation with their committee and the GPA. Once Ph.D. students and their committee agree on a date and time, the student should request the GPA arrange a room for the exam. The student must then request a General Exam using their MyGrad Program portal. General Exams should be requested at least three weeks before the exam is scheduled. The GPA will ensure that the warrant is in the Chair’s box before the exam.

Tasks and deadlines

Submit Prospectus to Committee and GPA	5:00 p.m. on Friday of the 7th week of spring quarter
Schedule General Exam in MyGrad Program	5:00 p.m. on Friday of the 7th week of spring quarter
Complete General Exam	5:00 p.m. on Friday of the 10th week of spring quarter
GPA Recommends Candidacy to Graduate School	5:00 p.m. on Wednesday after last week of spring quarter

Final Examinations

The Final Examination (Final Exam) consists of the defense of the written and completed dissertation. The Reading Committee is responsible for reading and evaluating the dissertation prior to the Final Exam. The Final Exam is an oral exam conducted by the complete Supervisory Committee. All students must be enrolled for a minimum of two credits during the quarter they take their Final Exam and during the quarter they intend to graduate (if these quarters differ).

Committee members at the Final Exam

At least four members of the committee, including the Chair and GSR, must be present at the General Exam. Students are advised that it is their responsibility to ensure that the designated members of their committees, particularly the Chair and GSR, are available physically for the general exam. If they cannot be present, students should substitute or rotate in other members well in advance, including the Chair and GSR. The GSR must be physically present for the exam, while other members are allowed to video conference in. For complete rules about video conferencing, please see the Graduate School’s policies. You should inform the GPA if anyone needs to video conference so they can arrange any necessary logistics.

Scheduling process

Your Final Exam must be completed no later than the Friday of the 10th week of the quarter in which the student intends to graduate. During the quarters before and the quarter of the student’s intended graduation, they should be in regular contact with their committee and provide them with drafts of the dissertation. The Supervisory Committee is responsible for determining the student’s readiness to take the Final Exam.

Once the student and the committee agree to schedule the exam, the student must agree upon a date and time with the committee. The student should email that information to the GPA and cc the Committee Chair. The GPA will arrange a room for the exam and convey that information to the student. The student should then go to the MyGrad Portal Student View to request a doctoral exam, at least two weeks before your Final Exam. The student must also email their final dissertation to their committee (and cc the GPA) at least three weeks before the Final Exam. The GPA will ensure that the warrant is in the Chair’s box before the exam.

The exam

The conduct of the final exam meeting differs and will be determined by the Committee Chair and communicated clearly to the student. In most cases, the student will be asked to leave the room while the committee confers as to whether the student is ready to defend the dissertation and the defense can proceed. If the committee decides to proceed, the student delivers a short presentation of their dissertation. The committee will then question the student on their research and findings. The student will be asked to leave the room a second time while the committee confers, and will then be brought back into the room to hear the committee’s determination.

The Chair will bring the warrant to the exam and, providing the committee approves the dissertation, will ask all committee members to sign the warrant. The Chair will then return the warrant to the GPA so they can record the results in MyGrad. The Chair will also bring the Doctoral Thesis Supervisory Form for the committee to sign and return the signed copy to the GPA for processing before they send a digital copy to the student.

For the purposes of the Ph.D. Program only, the Reading Committee should assign its evaluation of the grade for the dissertation as Distinction, Pass, or Fail. The Reading Committee should also indicate whether the work should be nominated for the Graduate School Distinguished Dissertation Award. Reading Committee members should make these notes directly on the warrant before returning it to the GPA.

Revisions, reexamination, and dismissal from the program

A Supervisory Committee may formally pass a student but require revisions to the dissertation before it is deposited. In this case, the student and the Supervisory Committee should create a schedule for the student to submit revisions to the committee and the committee to approve the student’s dissertation for official deposit. It is possible for a student to pass a Final Exam in one quarter and complete their revisions and submit their thesis during the following quarter. No more than one quarter should pass between the Final Exam and depositing the dissertation. If students need to submit revisions during the following quarter, they are responsible for registering and paying for at least two dissertation credits during that quarter.

A Supervisory Committee may require a student to complete further study and be reexamined at a later date. In this case, the student should discuss next research steps with their committee and work out a feasible timeline for reexamination. The student must formally reschedule their Final Exam as described under Scheduling Process.

A Supervisory Committee may also determine that a candidate is not recommended for further work towards the doctoral degree. The effect of this recommendation is the termination of the student’s enrollment in the doctoral program. This is extremely rare and the student can mitigate this with regular communication and direction from the Supervisory Committee Chair.

Submitting dissertation on ETD

Once the student has passed the Final Exam, they must upload their dissertation into the ProQuest ETD Administrator website. Before uploading your document, students must make sure it is formatted to the Graduate School’s specifications. The dissertation must be uploaded no later than 11:59 p.m. on the last Friday of your graduating quarter.

Graduation process

Once the Supervisory Committee approves a student’s dissertation and informs the GPA that the student has passed their Final Exam, assuming all other requirements have been met, the GPA will recommend the student for graduation. Students are not responsible for applying for graduation. If you have any questions about this process, please email the GPA.