Ph.D. students must pass a preliminary examination. The examination should be scheduled about a year before the final dissertation defense. The Graduate School requires at least 15 weeks between the preliminary examination and the dissertation defense. Students must complete at least 30 hours of coursework and file a program of study prior to the examination.
The examination consists of an oral presentation to the student's Graduate Committee. At least one week before the presentation, the student must provide each member of the Graduate Committee with a written document; its format is at the discretion of the adviser, but it should be at least a copy of the slides used for the presentation. Both the paper and the presentation must describe the student's research progress and plans to complete the research. A form sent by the student's adviser to the Graduate School reports the results of the examination.