Scheduling a Preliminary or Final Exam

For PhD and EdD students planning a preliminary oral exam (prelim), please follow the following guidelines:

1.  Ensure that all paperwork and prerequisite requirements are complete.

• For PhD students this includes Early Research, Research Specialization, and Qualifying Exams. 
• For EdD students this includes Residency and Cognate Requirements, and Qualifying Exams

2.  Clear up any I, NR, or F by Rule grades

3.  Obtain IRB and Human Subjects Approval.  Contact Anne Robertson in the Bureau of Educational Research for more information.

For PhD, EdD, and Masters students planning a final oral exam (final) please follow the following guidelines, please make sure that your IRB approval is up to date. If it has been more than one year since receiving IRB approval, please touch base with Anne Robertson in the Burearu of Educational Research for more information. 

  If all of the above have been completed, you are ready to fill out the Request for Appointment of Committee Examination form.  No signatures are required on this form.  

THE STUDENT MUST BE REGISTERED FOR 0 (ZERO) THESIS CREDITS FOR THEIR FINAL EXAM.  Registration for the preliminary exam is not required, though is often recommended.

1.  The student will meet with the advisor and confer with the committee to pick a date and time.  The chairperson of the committee must be present, but it is possible for a member to join the exam via conference call or Skype.  Please also appoint a contingent chairperson, in the event that the chairperson has an emergency and cannot attend.  

2.  The masters committee must consist for at least three faculty members.

3.  The doctoral committee must consist of at least four members.  At least three members, including the chairperson, must be members of the Graduate Faculty (you can check the Graduate Faculty Database here).  At least two members must be tenured.  At least one member must be from outside the student's field of specialization and the budgetary department of the student and advisor.  Emerti faculty who have been awarded continuing membership on the Graduate Faculty may serve on and chair committees. 

4.  If a committee member is not a member of the Graduate Faculty (retired faculty or those not from University of Illinois are examples), an address and telephone number must be included on the form.  In addition, an up-to-date copy of the committee member's Curriculum Vita and a letter of justification from the advisor/chairperson are required to be submitted with the Appointment form. 

5. The Academic and Instructional Services Office will schedule the room for the exam. 

6. The completed form must be turned into the Academic and Instructional Services Office (AISO) no less than 4 weeks prior to the exam.  This is to ensure timely delivery to the Graduate College and ample time for paperwork from the Graduate College to be received by AISO. If the form is not received by the department prior to the exam, the exam will not be held.  The paperwork from the Graduate College will be e-mailed the chair of the committee be the appropriate AISO staff member prior to the exam.  The chairperson will then bring the form to the exam and return it to the appropriate AISO staff member after the exam.  The student can never be in possession of this form.    

        Staff members for AISO and their deparments are as follows:
                                           Heather Snipes: EPS
                                           Myranda Lyons: EPSY and CI
                                           Beverly Palmer: SPED and HRE
                                           Becky Grady: EOL

FOR FINAL EXAMS (MA/MS/PHD/EDD) ONLY:

1.  On the day of your final exam, the student will also need three original copies of the Certificate of Committee Approval (CCA).  These will be signed at the final exam.  It is the student's responsibility to complete this form and bring the copies the day of the exam.  After the forms are signed at the exam, they should be brought directly to AISO by the chairperson for safe keeping until the Associate Head for Graduate Programs reviews your final dissertation and grants approval. 

• Information needed to complete the CCA:
  • Use the same name listed on your dissertation.  It must match the name found in the Enterprise System (where you register for classes)
  • Confirm the defense date with the Graduate Programs Secretary
  • Choose your degree from the drop-down box
  • Type in the name of all committee members. Do not include academic titles (e.g., Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor)
  • Under the line that indicates Department Head, please type in the appropriate person for your department:  
    • Curriculum and Instruction: (Associate) Sarah J. McCarthey
    • Educational Psychology: (Associate) Kiel Christianson
    • Education Policy, Organization & Leadership: James Anderson
    • Special Education: Michalene Ostrosky

2. At least three weeks prior to depositing your thesis/dissertation, you must provide your appropriate AISO person with a final copy of your dissertation.  This will then be reviewed by the Associate Head for Graduate Programs, who will sign the CCA form if no edits are needed. 

3.  Once the CCA form are completely signed, you will be notified that you can complete the deposit of your final dissertation. AISO will send all CCA forms to the Graduate College for final processing.