Purpose

In addition to the goals of the Qualifying Exam, which should persist throughout the PhD, there are additional goals for the General Exam. By the General Exam, students should be engaged in original research. Committee involvement early on will provide valuable feedback to help the student steer their research directions early. PhD candidates should be synthesizing new ideas and proposed research based on their growing big-picture view. The General Exam can provide students an opportunity to propose an interesting, important, and attainable research topic, make a research plan, and execute this plan.

Students are encouraged to take the General Exam after one year of passing the qualifying exam, which centers on the student's dissertation proposal and his or her qualifications to successfully perform the research. Note that the Department views the failure of full-time students to take the General Exam within four years of entering the program as an indication of inadequate progress toward the degree. The following minimum requirements must be met before the General Exam can be scheduled:

• The student has completed 60 credits (some of these credits may be taken in the same quarter of the exam). A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required for a graduate degree at the University. For more details see Doctoral Degree Requirements.
• The Supervisory Committee should have been in existence for at least four months prior to the exam date.
• The student must have prepared a written dissertation proposal, approved by the Committee members.
• All members of the supervisory committee agree that the student's background of study and preparation is sufficient and have approved the student to schedule a General Examination.
• All UW English requirements must be satisfied. See UW Graduate School Policy 3.2.
• The ME Supervisory Committee will determine if the study of another language is necessary for the student. The Committee may defer to the minimum language requirement of the department, which is two years of a foreign language in either high school or college or demonstration of capability in a language other than the native language of the student.

Scheduling the general exam

• Prior to scheduling the General Exam, the student should notify all members of the Supervisory Committee including the GSR, of the exam date and time. In addition, the student must book a room for the Exam.
• At least three weeks in advance of the exam date the student must formally schedule the General Exam through MyGrad Program.
• The student should write an e-mail to the ME Graduate Adviser notifying the department of the exact dissertation proposal title. This is necessary so an announcement can be sent to the ME students and faculty.

• The student's transcript is then evaluated to ensure that all minimum Graduate School requirements, with the exception of the dissertation credits and the Final Examination, have been satisfied. If there is a problem or question with an evaluation, the Department will be notified. Occasionally a contingency will be noted on the Committee Signature Form in which case candidacy will not be conferred until it has been met.

  Please note: Full or part-time registration is required the quarter the General Exam is taken and Candidacy is awarded.

Taking the general exam

• The oral exam is administered by the Supervisory Committee and usually centers on the student's oral presentation and defense of his or her dissertation thesis proposal.
• The Committee Signature Form is signed by the Supervisory Committee after the successful completion of the exam. Upon completion of the Exam, students need to return the signed Committee Signature Form to the ME Graduate Advising Office no later than the last day of the quarter in which the student is to receive candidacy. If the Committee Signature Form is not received by this deadline, candidacy will be awarded the following quarter, and registration for that quarter will be required.
• Candidacy will be conferred on the last day of a quarter and certificates are issued by the Graduation Academic Records office approximately 4 months after this date. In addition, the candidacy will be posted to the student's transcripts. For more information see Doctoral Degree Policies.

General exam checklist

It is your responsibility to know the requirements for your PhD degree. See complete Graduate School requirements for General Examination: Admission to Candidacy for Doctoral Degree.

You also need to refer to the ME department's PhD degree procedures to ensure that you have completed all of the Department’s requirements for your degree.

Instructions for Virtual Doctoral Examinations:

These are minimum Graduate School requirements regarding virtual doctoral examinations.

As stated in UW Graduate School Policy 4.2 graduate student exams must have four committee members present – the Chair, GSR (or DR), and at least one additional Graduate Faculty member. If any member(s) and/or the student needs to participate in an exam but cannot be physically present, the Graduate School allows for virtual examinations if the following requirements are met:

• The minimum number of required committee members must attend the examination in-person or virtually.  If communication is broken during the examination and cannot be retrieved, thereby not fulfilling the minimum number of exam participants, the examination must be terminated and rescheduled to a later time/date.

• If the examinations are held in-person or hybrid, the Graduate School Representative (GSR) or the Departmental Representative (DR) are NOT required to participate virtually and/or in-person.

• The student is not required to participate by video conference at an academic institution, and therefore, a proctor (faculty or administrative personnel)

Publications

While not a formal requirement of the PhD program, students are strongly encouraged to begin publishing their research in peer-reviewed journals before completion of their PhDs. Typically, each student should aim to publish at least 2 publications. Peer-reviewed publications allow the broader dissemination of one’s work to benefit the scientific community and demonstrate one’s capability to contribute meaningfully to the discipline. The quantity and quality of papers a researcher publishes can influence job applications, grant applications, and promotions in the future.