The following information is available below:

Ph.D. Preliminary Oral Examination
Ph.D. Dissertation
Ph.D. Final Oral Examination
Ph.D. Annual Reviews
Residency Requirement

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Ph.D. Preliminary Oral Examination

The Graduate College requires a preliminary oral examination of Ph.D. degree students; most programs add a written portion to the preliminary oral examination (the written portion may be determined by your advisor). The Ph.D. degree preliminary oral examination rigorously tests a graduate student’s knowledge of major, minor, and supporting subject areas, as well as the student’s ability to analyze, organize, and present subject matter relevant to the field.

A Preliminary Oral Exam Request must be submitted to the Graduate College at least two weeks before the proposed date of the examination.

Effective January 1, 2021, students will need their academic plan approved three months prior to the date that they wish to take their preliminary oral exam.
A minimum of six months must elapse between passing the preliminary oral examination and taking the final oral examination.
If the preliminary oral examination is taken between terms (including the first day of classes for the later term), registration can be for either the term before or the term after the examination date.

>> Instructions in Workday Student: Request a Graduate Oral ExamLinks to an external site.

Ph.D. Dissertation

Dissertations must be prepared according to the Graduate College requirements.

Ph.D. Final Oral Examination

The dissertation must be distributed to members of the committee at least two weeks prior to the final oral examination. It is the responsibility of the student to arrange a meeting time and place in agreement with all committee members. The examination is generally a defense of the dissertation; however, questions may be asked on specific coursework or areas of concentration. For examinations to be valid, all members of the committee must be present throughout the entire scheduled period of the exam.

The Final Oral Exam Request must be received by the Graduate College at least three weeks prior to the intended date of the exam, per the deadline established by the Graduate College. The student is responsible for reserving a conference room. The Graduate College will use an electronic process to report the outcome of the final oral exam. Each committee member will receive an email with a link to the online exam form to complete promptly after the exam.

>> Instructions in Workday Student: Request a Graduate Oral Exam

Ph.D. Annual Reviews

Annual Reviews will be conducted. An email will be sent to faculty and students announcing the time for Annual Reviews. Students then complete a web form. Non-confidential student answers are sent to the major professor/faculty advisor; the advisor signs off on these answers. Confidential answers will stay with the HCI DOGE.

Residency Requirement

Ph.D. students are expected to be a resident at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, during their Ph.D. program. Any exceptions must be discussed with the HCI Supervisory Committee. More specifically, of the 72 graduate credits required for a Ph.D., students must be enrolled as full-time, on campus students for at least 36 credits. All dissertation research credits must be earned from Iowa State University under the supervision of the student’s committee.