PhD General Examination and Candidacy

The General exam shall be completed within 27 months of residency in the doctoral program (e.g., if entering in September, all exam requirements shall be completed by the end of the third Autumn Quarter). This is an oral exam, administered by the student’s PhD Supervisory Committee, focused primarily on the subject area of the Dissertation Proposal.

Summary of General Examination Steps

1. Supervisory Committee formed at least four months prior to General Exam date (strongly recommended, not required)
2. Written Qualifying Exam passed, usually in a prior quarter
3. Approved Dissertation Proposal submitted to the SAFS Student Services Office (ideally by eighth quarter of program, but no later than three weeks before General Exam)
4. Student enrolls in at least two credits (e.g., Fish 800) for General Exam quarter (note: ten credits is full-time status)
5. Student consults with Committee to determine date and time for the General Exam
6. Student reserves a conference room via the SAFS webpage
7. Student obtains signatures on the Request for General Exam form and submit it to SAFS Student Services Office (i.e., not the UW Graduate School) at least two weeks prior to exam date
8. Student schedules doctoral General Exam online with the UW Graduate School at least two weeks prior to exam date (note: this is in addition to the hardcopy form submitted in Step 7)
9. SAFS Graduate Advisor approves General Exam scheduling request (from Step 8) and print relevant exam paperwork
10. SAFS Graduate Advisor gives student file and exam paperwork to Committee chairperson on day of exam

Scheduling the General Examination

After forming the Supervisory Committee (at least four months prior*) and passing the written Qualifying Exam, the student consults with Supervisory Committee members to determine a mutually agreed upon date and time for the oral General Exam. The student then reserves a conference room via the SAFS webpage and obtains Committee signatures on the Request for General Exam form (hardcopy), which is then submitted to the SAFS Student Services Office, not the UW Graduate School, at least two weeks prior to the exam date. (Email approvals are acceptable, in lieu of actual signatures on the form, if the Committee member approves of the date, time, and location of the exam in her/his email. Students should print and attach any email approvals to the form before submitting it to the SAFS Student Services Office.) Additionally, students must submit an online request to schedule a doctoral General Exam, which notifies the UW Graduate School of the General Exam and enables the SAFS Graduate Advisor to print the relevant exam paperwork from an online system. Submission of this online form to the Graduate School is in addition to the hardcopy form submitted to the SAFS Graduate Advisor.
Students are encouraged to check-in with the SAFS Graduate Advisor at least a quarter prior to the General Exam to verify whether all applicable requirements will be met before the exam date. The following requirements must be completed prior to scheduling the General Exam:

• all SAFS Core courses;
• at least 18 credits at the 500-level or higher (Fish 700 and 800 count toward this);
• at least 18 numerically graded courses at the 400- and 500-level (may include courses taken in a prior UW graduate program; cannot include non-UW credits);
• a minimum of 60 UW credits earned (30 may come from a master’s program at the UW or another eligible institution);
• the written Qualifying Exam; and
• an approved Dissertation Proposal on file in the SAFS Student Services Office.

At least four members of the Supervisory Committee, including the chairperson, Graduate School Representative (GSR), and one more UW Graduate Faculty member, must be present at the General and Final Examinations. Committee members (excluding the GSR) may participate by audio/video conference.

Enrollment in at least two credits (e.g., Fish 800) is required during the quarter in which a student completes the General Exam. Ten credits is considered full-time, but students may enroll in fewer credits (i.e., at least two) if they do not need full-time status. Note that all RAs, TAs, and SAFS Fellows must register for 10–18 credits per quarter in autumn, winter, and spring, and two credits in the summer.

*The UW Graduate School strongly recommends that the Supervisory Committee, including appointment of the Graduate School Representative (GSR), be officially constituted at least four full months prior to the General Examination.

The General Examination

The General is a private oral examination, attended only by the student and Supervisory Committee members, that concentrates primarily on the subject area of the dissertation research and should proceed from the general to the specific. It is often viewed as an oral defense of the Dissertation Proposal, therefore, students should present a dissertation proposal to their Supervisory Committees as soon as possible , ideally no later than the eighth quarter in the program. In extenuating circumstances, proposals may be submitted up to three weeks before the General Examination. A typical General Examination session might begin by the student explaining the proposed research in some detail, providing a precise statement of the problem, the significance and relationship to the broader picture, the methods and procedures to be followed, and expected results. Questions from Committee members would then follow. The purpose of the General Examination should be to test the ability of the student to articulate well-organized and meaningful responses to more-or-less unexpected questions in a spontaneous manner. Good performance during the General Examination is more than knowing the correct answers; it involves poise, organization, and clarity of response. Faculty and students are encouraged to conduct practice orals in advance of the actual exam.

After completion of the General Examination, the Committee chairperson returns the student’s file and signed exam paperwork to the SAFS Student Services Office.

If the exam is not satisfactorily completed, the Committee and student should agree upon a date and time for the repeat exam before adjourning. Also, within one week of the initial exam, all Committee members should provide written evaluations for those parts of the examination that pertain to their area(s) of expertise; an email to the chair is acceptable. The chair then completes the Report on the PhD General Examination form, attaches Committee member statements, and submits it to the SAFS Student Services Office . The chair also provides relevant feedback and advice to the student. If the student passed the General Exam, the chair need only return the student file and approved exam “Warrant” to the SAFS Student Services Office; the Report on the PhD General Examination and accompanying statements are only required in cases where the student did not pass the General Examination.

According to UW Graduate School, students are permitted to retake the General Examination twice for a total of three times. Under extraordinary circumstances, and only by petition to the Dean of the Graduate School, permission may be sought for a fourth attempt.

Candidate Certificate

Upon successful completion of the Qualifying and General Examinations, the UW Graduate School awards “Candidate in Philosophy” (PhC) status to the student. A certificate signed by the President of the University and the Dean of the Graduate School is sent to the candidate along with a letter indicating admission to doctoral candidacy. Doctoral candidates are expected to focus on dissertation completion. Because they normally finished all required coursework prior to the General Examination, candidates normally enroll in only Fish 800 (Dissertation) for the remainder of their programs. When additional skills are needed (e.g., for a statistical package, research method, etc.), or when unfinished required coursework remains, doctoral candidates may take more courses.

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