Doctoral Candidacy & Final Oral Exams

Doctoral Programs
 Every student in a doctoral thesis degree program must pass a candidacy examination and final oral examination prior to completing their program.

Some departments also require comprehensive examinations (contact the department for details).

Candidacy Examination

  • the candidacy examination is normally held within two years of a student's commencement of the program when most, if not all, of the course work is completed and the thesis is started or well defined
  • departments are responsible for establishing candidacy examination procedures and recommending candidacy examining committee members

    Notice and Approval of Doctoral Candidacy Examining Committee [Word Document]
    Doctoral Examining Committee Checklist [Word Document]

  • the candidacy examination must be passed no less than six months prior to taking the final oral examination
  • once the candidacy is passed (or conditions of a conditional pass are satisfied) departments must complete the following form and submit to the FGSR

    Report of Completion of Candidacy Examination [Word Document]

For complete details on examinations, see the Graduate Program Manual--Section 8: Supervision, Oral Examinations, and Program Completion.

 

Final Oral Examination

  • departments are responsible for establishing final oral examination procedures, inviting external examiners and recommending the final oral examining committee members

    Invite External Reader/Examiner for Final Doctoral Oral Examination [Word Document]
    Request for Funds for External Examiner Travel [Word Document]
    Request for Funds for External Examiner Teleconferencing [Word Document]
    Notice and Approval of Doctoral Final Oral Examining Committee [Word Document]
    Doctoral Examining Committee Checklist [Word Document]

  • the examination must be scheduled and held in accordance with FGSR regulations
  • the FGSR has a meeting room available to departments for use in thesis defenses, located on the main floor of Triffo Hall. To book the room, contact Medha Samarasinghe at medha@ualberta.ca. The room does not have video conferencing equipment, but the FGSR has a Skype account and can provide a laptop and data projector (departments must supply their own technical support). To book the equipment, please contact the FGSR Operations Manager (e-mail or phone 492-2816). There are also several video conferencing rooms on campus available for bookings.

Following the exam, the department completes the Thesis Approval/Program Completion form

For complete details on examinations, see the Graduate Program Manual--Section 8: Supervision, Oral Examinations, and Program Completion.