Oral Portion of the Candidacy Examination

Scheduling. The oral portion of the candidacy examination is held after completion of the written portion and must be completed within one month of the written portion. To schedule the oral exam, the student must submit an Application for Candidacy on GRADFORMS and have this approved by their program and advisor at least two weeks before the oral’s proposed date. The oral examination must take place during announced university business hours, Monday through Friday. Exams may be held on the Ohio State University campus or via video conference, dependent upon unanimous agreement by the student and committee.

Attendance and Format. Attendance is limited to the student and members of the candidacy examination committee. Except when video conferencing is involved, all members of the candidacy examination committee must be present during the entire oral examination. The oral portion of the candidacy examination lasts no more than two hours. Questioning of the student should occupy the entire period of the examination. All committee members are expected to participate fully in the questioning during the course of the examination and in the discussion of and decision on the result of the candidacy examination. Oral presentation of any proposal or other prepared materials must be made prior to or after the oral examination.

Video Conferencing. All PhD candidacy oral examinations involving video conferencing must adhere to the Graduate School’s guidelines for video conferencing, available from the Graduate School (Appendix B).

Halting an Oral Examination in Progress. If for reasons of illness, fire, or other emergency, the candidacy examination committee members agree that it is necessary to halt the oral portion of the candidacy examination, then the examination shall be rescheduled without prejudice to the student. If, however, the committee members unanimously decide that the examination has been sufficient to reach a decision to pass the student, then they shall consider the examination concluded and complete the Report on Candidacy Examination.

Postponement. The oral portion of the candidacy examination is expected to be held as scheduled; however, circumstances (other than failure to pass the written portion) may prompt the advisor to postpone it. Before taking this action, the candidacy examination committee chair must consult the student and other members of the candidacy examination committee, which does not include the Graduate Faculty Representative (if applicable). Prior to the oral examination, the candidacy examination committee chair must notify the Graduate School of the postponement. See section 7.4 regarding the student’s waiver of the oral portion when the candidacy examination committee judges the written portion to be unsatisfactory.