Degree Requirements

Industrial and Human Systems Nature of Candidacy Exam

The Candidacy Examination evaluates the student's capability to synthesize and integrate material as applied to a research area. As such, it is expected that the student will have completed the majority of his or her coursework. The examination consists of both written and oral components.

Examination Committee

The Candidacy Examining Committee is comprised of members of the student's Dissertation Committee.

Examination Deadlines

The student submits a request for the Candidacy Examination to the Focus Area Chair and the student's advisor for submittal to the Program Coordinator. This should be done at least six weeks prior to the expected oral examination date. Along with the request, the student will submit a five-page, double-spaced description of a proposed research topic. Within one week after the request, the research topic description prepared by the student will be distributed to the examining committee by the student's advisor.

Examination Content

Each committee member constructs questions that evaluate the student's capability to integrate course material, synthesize related research, and critically analyze different aspects of the candidate's research topic. These questions will be submitted to the Focus Area Chair within two weeks after receiving the research topic description. The full set of questions will then be provided to the student's advisor. The student's advisor will select questions to provide to the student.

Written Exam

The student receives the questions and prepares written responses to each question. The Focus Area Chair must receive these responses no later than seven days after the date of receipt by the student. Each answer shall not exceed ten double-spaced pages. The Focus Area Chair will provide the student's repsonse to the student's advisor. The responses for all questions are distributed to the Candidacy Examination Committee the day following their receipt. Evaluation of these answers represents the written component of the Candidacy Examination.

Oral Exam

Not less than fourteen days following receipt of the student's answers, the oral component of the examination will occur.

The Candidacy Examination Committee bases determination of the student's capability to continue his or her doctoral studies on a composite evaluation of both the written and oral components. At the conclusion of the oral component, the committee will decide on one of the three outcomes. There must not be more than one dissenting vote by those attending the oral component for an outcome to carry. In cases for which no agreement can be obtained, the examining committee can be dissolved and a new Candidacy Examination process initiated.