6.5 Doctoral Committees and Examinations

Committees are formed and examinations given at various stages of graduate study in order to monitor and ensure the quality of graduate work. This chart provides an overview of committee requirements. For complete information, see the relevant sections below.

* Committee nomenclature may vary by department; for example, the qualifying exam is sometimes called a comprehensive exam

** See the Registration Requirements section of this handbook

Qualifying Examination and Qualifying Examination Committee

The Graduate College does not require qualifying examinations, but departments may. Qualifying exams, usually given at the end of Stage I of the doctoral work, evaluate the student’s knowledge in the field and preparation for the doctoral program. The format of these examinations may be written, oral, or both, as determined by the program. The program must clearly communicate information about the format and rules (i.e., closed-book) to all students in advance. Departments may internally appoint committees to conduct these examinations.

Dissertation Committee

The dissertation committee does not need to be formally appointed or approved. The purpose of this committee is to advise the student with dissertation research and effectively monitor the student’s progress, often before the student is ready to form the final examination committee. The Graduate College encourages formation of a dissertation committee as early as possible after the successful completion of the preliminary examination. In units with preliminary examinations that include the presentation of a proposal for the doctoral research, the dissertation committee membership may be substantially the same as the preliminary examination committee. The dissertation committee membership may also be the same or essentially the same as the final examination committee. There is no time limit on the duration of service of the dissertation committee, other than the length of time that the student is allowed to complete the degree.

Preliminary and Final Examination Committees

The Graduate College requires preliminary and final examinations for all doctoral degrees, and the Dean of the Graduate College appoints doctoral committees in accordance with the membership requirements.

Registration. Students must be enrolled for the entire academic term in which the preliminary exam occurs. See Chapter 6.3 Registration Requirements for Doctoral Degrees for details.

Committee appointment process. The preliminary examination is conducted by a committee appointed by the Dean of the Graduate College upon recommendation of the executive officer of the unit. Persons authorized by the department to submit committee requests (as assigned in the Graduate College Roles & Access Manager) may make requests on behalf of the executive officer. The committee must be appointed before the exam takes place, and the Graduate College strongly recommends submission of the Request for Appointment of Doctoral Examination Committee form at least three weeks in advance of the exam date.

Once a committee has been appointed it remains active for 90 days or until a pass or fail result is submitted to the Graduate College, except in the case of a Defer result, see below. Any revisions to the membership of an active committee must be approved by the Graduate College in advance of the examination.

If the examination did not take place within 90 calendar days after the date on which the Graduate College appointed the committee, the committee is dissolved and a new committee must be appointed before the examination occurs. The newly appointed committee may, but is not required to, consist of the same members as the dissolved committee.

Membership Requirements

• Committees must include at least four voting members, at least three of whom must be members of the Graduate Faculty, and at least two of whom must also be tenured at the Urbana-Champaign campus.
• The chair must be a member of the Graduate Faculty. At the department’s discretion, a co-chair may be appointed. If appointed, a co-chair must meet all the requirements that apply to the chair.
• If there are more than four voting members on the committee, at least half of the voting members must be members of the Graduate Faculty.
• The tenure requirement can be met by term members of the Graduate Faculty who retired or resigned with tenure for a period following their resignation or retirement, according to the Policy on Graduate Faculty Membership (Chapter 10 Graduate Faculty Membership).
• Upon departmental request, the Dean of the Graduate College may also appoint non-voting members to doctoral committees. Non-voting members do not need to be present at the examination. Non-voting members may be appointed but are rare on preliminary examination committees.

Remote participation. Synchronous remote participation of the student or committee member(s) is permitted on preliminary and final examination committees under the following conditions:

• Technology must allow all participants to communicate throughout the examination and to access all materials presented. Video technology is encouraged for remote committee members and required for a student participating remotely.
• The chair (or co-chair) is responsible for coordinating the use of any technology, for recessing the examination if technical problems prevent full participation, and for making arrangements to resume the examination promptly.

Role of the committee chair. Each committee must have a chair. The committee chair is responsible for convening the committee, conducting the examination, ensuring all members can participate fully, communicating any required revisions to the student, and submitting the appropriate forms to the department in which the student is enrolled for submission to the Graduate College. For final exams, the committee chair may designate another voting member of the committee to communicate the required revisions.

Inclusion of non-Graduate Faculty members. Departments may request the inclusion of non-Graduate Faculty members who make a significant contribution as voting members of the committee; these individuals must be approved in advance by the Dean of the Graduate College. To request the approval of a non-Graduate Faculty member to serve as a voting member, a curriculum vitae for the individual and a justification from the chair of the committee must accompany the doctoral committee appointment request. Non-Graduate Faculty voting members, must have earned a terminal degree in their field of study and must have demonstrated expertise that qualifies them to judge the quality of the student’s research and its contribution to the field. Each voting member must be well-positioned to vote independently and must be free from conflicts of interest. Additional guidance for nominating external members is available on the Graduate College website.

Format and Results of a Preliminary Examination

Format

• Preliminary examinations may be oral or written or both, depending on the unit’s policy, and generally evaluate the student’s overall and specific knowledge in the field. Preliminary examinations also usually include an oral presentation to review the feasibility and appropriateness of a student’s dissertation research proposal.
• The doctoral degree program prescribes the scope, format, and procedures associated with the examination, including the composition of the committee. The program must clearly communicate information about the format and rules (e.g., closed-book) to all students in advance. The student must be promptly notified of the examination result.
• All voting members of the committee must participate in the oral examination, the deliberation, and determination of the results of the oral examination.
• No audio or video recording of the examination or deliberation may be made without the express permission of the student and all members of the committee.

Results

Decisions of the preliminary examination committee must be unanimous and are recorded on the Preliminary Exam Result form. The committee may make one of three decisions:

• Pass the student.
• Fail the student. A program may, but is not required to, grant the student another opportunity to take the examination after completing additional course work, independent study, or research, as recommended by the committee. However, if a second attempt is given, a new committee must be appointed by the Graduate College. The new committee may, but does not have to, consist of the same members as the original committee.
• Defer the decision. If this option is chosen:
  • the same committee must re-examine the student,
  • the second exam must occur within 180 calendar days of the date of first exam, and
  • the outcome of the second exam must be pass or fail.

After a fail result, a student will only be allowed to take the preliminary examination one additional time while working toward the completion of any one program of study.

Format and Results of a Final Examination (Defense)

Format

• The examination consists of an oral examination open to the academic community of the university followed by a private deliberation of the committee. The student is informed of the result immediately following the deliberation.
• All voting members of the committee must participate for the entire duration of the final examination the deliberation, and determination the of the result.
• Students must adhere to departmental procedures or requirements. These procedures and requirements must be clearly communicated to all students in advance of the exam.
• For final examination committees, the student’s dissertation adviser (i.e., director of research) need not be the chair of the committee. Co-directors of research are acceptable.
• For final examination committees, committee members should be chosen for their expertise in the student’s research area but may also be chosen to give diversity in viewpoint, methodology, or academic discipline. The faculty of a department may establish procedures or requirements for introducing diversity in the membership of the final examination committee (e.g., by including members from more than one sub-discipline within the department, from other departments, or from other institutions).
• No audio or video recording of the examination or deliberation may be made without the express permission of the student and all members of the committee.

Results

The decision of the final exam committee is recorded on the Final Exam Result form. The voting members of the committee must make one of two decisions:

• Pass the student. The student passes the final exam if the Director(s) of Research vote pass and no more than one of the remaining Committee members votes fail. The Committee will indicate on the Final Exam Result form if revisions are required. The Committee will sign the Thesis/Dissertation Approval form following the examination and after the completion of any required revisions.
• Fail the student. The student fails the final exam if a Director of Research votes fail or if two or more Committee members vote fail. A program may, but is not required to, grant the student another opportunity to take the examination after completing additional research or writing, as recommended by the committee. However, a new committee must be appointed by the Graduate College. The new committee may, but does not have to, consist of the same members as the original committee.

After a fail result a student will only be allowed to take the final examination one additional time while working toward the completion of any one program of study.

Second preliminary exam. If more than five years elapse between a doctoral student’s preliminary and final examinations, the student is required to demonstrate that their broad knowledge of the field is current by passing a second preliminary examination (see Chapter 6.2 Time Limits for Doctoral Degrees for details).

Preliminary and Final Exam Results

The results of the Preliminary Exam and the Final Exam should be communicated to the student and to the Graduate College as soon as possible after the conclusion of the exam regardless of the result. The Committee Chair is delegated to record the results of the exam and the votes of all committee members. Committee members will be included in the results notification provided by the Chair. The executive officer or authorized person must affirm the accuracy of the result. The result of the examination is communicated to the student and to the Graduate College as soon as possible after the conclusion of the exam. The result must be received by the Graduate College no later than 90 days after the appointment of the committee. Examination result decisions are maintained by the Graduate College.