8.7 Candidacy exam

The candidacy examination tests the student's knowledge of the major and minor cognate areas, research methods, and in general the capacity to undertake independent research and the ability to think and express ideas clearly. The Candidacy Examination Committee determines when the student is ready to take the candidacy examination and makes a recommendation to the ASGC chair.  The determination is based upon the assessment of both the student’s level of preparation and the completion of required course work. The candidacy examination must be scheduled at a time acceptable to all committee members. Students should not assume that faculty will be available during breaks or off-duty semesters. The student must be registered for at least three graduate credit hours during any term in which the candidacy examination is taken, and must electronically submit a "Doctoral Notification of Candidacy Examination" to the Graduate School for approval at least two weeks prior to the beginning of the oral portion of the exam.

The Candidacy Examination Committee oversees the preparation, administration and grading of the written portion of the candidacy examination. Other graduate faculty members may participate in the written portion at the invitation of the committee. The full committee reviews the written portion of the examination, conducts the oral portion of the examination and determines the outcome of the examination as a whole.

Written portion of the examination

It is appropriate that a student would ask, in regular meetings or in written communication, for advice about a decision, or for suggestions about resources. Committee members should not give students the answer or edit a student’s proposal. Instead, ask for clarification, probe or prompt the student to continue working through the issue. The goal of faculty mentorship is to guide the student to produce an independent work product, consistent with the purpose of the candidacy exam. (See Section 7.3 of the Graduate School Handbook - Graduate School Handbook, section 7.3)."The candidacy examination is a single examination consisting of two portions, written and oral...[the purpose of which is] to test a student’s comprehension of the field, allied areas of study, capacity to undertake independent research, and ability to think and express ideas clearly."

See Appendix G for specific division requirements.

Oral portion of the examination

In order for the examination to be judged satisfactory, the student must perform at a satisfactory level in all three areas (major, minor cognate and research methods). There is no specific relative weighting of the written and oral portions of the examination — each committee member reaches a conclusion concerning the student’s performance on the examination taken as a whole. Upon completion of the candidacy examination, each committee member indicates an evaluation of satisfactory or unsatisfactory by electronically signing the candidacy examination report form. The student will have successfully completed the candidacy examination only if the decision is unanimously affirmative. If the student receives an unsatisfactory, the candidacy examination committee must decide whether to allow the student to take a second examination and record its decision electronically. (Graduate School Handbook, section 7.5)