Master Exams
For students scheduling a master’s degree exam, the Report on Final Examination and Report on Final Document (Thesis students only) are generated based on the information provided on the Application to Graduate. No additional forms are necessary. Scheduling of this exam should be coordinated with the advisor and exam committee. Exams must take place during normal university business hours, Monday through Friday, any day the university is open, and must be on the Columbus or Wooster campus.
PHD/DMA Exams
Log into GRADFORMS (https://gradforms.osu.edu) using your OSU username and password.
Select ‘Graduation and Examination Forms,’ and locate the appropriate exam application: ‘Application for Candidacy Exam,’ ‘Application for Final Exam.’ Once the appropriate exam is located, click on the green ‘+Create New Application for **’ button.
Check the Student Information section located across the top of the page. Does it indicate you have missing grades? If so, review your student advising report to see what grades still need to be submitted.
Select the term in which you will be taking the exam (graduation term on some forms). If you are scheduling a candidacy exam and starting the written portion of the exam in one semester, but finishing the oral portion in a different semester, select the semester in which you will be completing the oral portion.
Select the type of exam: First, Second (candidacy or professional) or Supplemental (candidacy only).
For candidacy exams the date the written portion of the exam was begun and the date it was completed is necessary. The completion date is the date you are expected to finish the last section of the written portion and turn it in to your program or advisor.
Fill in the date, time, and place where the oral exam will be held. Exams can begin no earlier than 7:30am and no later than 3:30pm. Exams are scheduled for two hours and can only be held at an authorized campus location, Monday through Friday, any day the university is open. When entering the location for the exam give a room number and the official building name as identified on the campus map. Room names or TBD instead of a room number or a section name instead of the building name will slow down the processing of the application.
Type in your advisor’s last name and wait for a drop-down menu to generate. Locate your advisor’s name in that drop-down and click on it. If your advisor’s name does not appear in the drop down, it may be because your advisor is not a member of the OSU graduate faculty or not a member at the appropriate level. To advise doctoral students an advisor must have category P status in the student’s graduate program.
Fill in the rest of your committee in the same manner as you did your advisor. Type in their last name only in the appropriate space (co-advisor or committee member) and select their names from the
drop-down menu. An advisor is automatically a member of the committee; Do not enter your advisor’s name a second time. For a candidacy exam you must have at least three graduate faculty committee members in addition to your advisor before submitting the application form. For a final exam there must be an advisor and at least two additional graduate faculty members. These are minimum requirements. Check with your graduate program office to see if your program or degree requires more than these minimums.
If you have a non-OSU graduate faculty member on your committee, type the person’s full name and e-mail address in the space provided under External Members. This person’s service on your committee is in addition to the required graduate faculty members and you must complete a Committee and Examination Petition (Permission to include a non-member of the OSU graduate faculty option) to have them on your committee.
Click the bright blue “Save and Continue” button to begin the submission process. If you are not yet ready to submit the form, click the dark blue “Save” button. If you save your form you will be able to use the “Search Forms” button to retrieve and complete it at a later date.
When you click the bright blue “Save and Continue” button GRADFORMS reviews the information you have entered for errors. If errors are found they will be listed in a reddish colored box below the form and above the “Edit”, “Submit Application” and “Cancel Application” options. The errors must be corrected before the form can be successfully submitted. If no errors are found, you will be instructed to click the “Submit” button.
Your advisor and graduate program must approve the Application for Candidacy Exam before it is received by the Graduate School. An Application for Final Exam must be approved by your advisor and all committee members, including any external members, before the Graduate School will receive it. If any committee member is a category M member of the graduate faculty, the graduate program must also approve the application before it goes to the Graduate School.
All applications for exams must be received by the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the exam date.
Professional Doctorate Exams (DNP, DPT, AUD)
Instead of an Application for Candidacy, Professional Doctorate students complete an Application for Professional Exam. The process to complete the form is similar to the other applications. Professional exams require an advisor and at least two graduate faculty committee members.
In the semester of graduation, students submit an Application to Graduate by the posted deadline. Once the application is approved by the Program and the Graduate School the corresponding Report on Final Exam and Report on Final Document will be generated by GRADFORMS and made available to your exam committee.
GRADFORMS Support
GRADFORMS Help Page
Alternatively, you can reach out to:
The Ohio State University Graduate School
250 University Hall, 230 N Oval Mall, Columbus OH 43210
Phone: 614-292-6031 | Fax: 614-292-3656
Graduation Services Email: Grad-SchoolGraduationServices@osu.edu
Registration Services Email: Grad-SchoolRegistrationServices@osu.edu