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Preparation for Qualifying Exam:

Check Students must have completed no less than two years of full‐time graduate study, or 48 units, including transfer credit.

Check Students must also complete their tool (research and teaching) requirements before initiating the qualifying examination process

Students will submit to the program coordinator and each member of the qualifying examination committee a dossier which includes the following documentation organized in a binder with dividers:

•Letter from the Qualifying Examination Committee Chair explaining the components and process of the Qualifying Examination

CHECK •Current curriculum vita

CHECK •Transcript

•Paper 1: Empirical paper (PhD)

CHECK •Paper 2: Empirical or review paper (PhD)

CHECK •Dissertation proposal

N/A •Publications in print

N/A •Manuscripts in press

N/A •Manuscripts under review

CHECK •Documentation of completion of the tools requirement

Scheduling the Qualifying Examination:

Students simultaneously arrange the dates for the written exam and the oral examination with their committee members.

The general procedure and timeline for the qualifying examination is:

1. The faculty research advisor and the SCGH Dean approve a committee to give the qualifying examination—this is a group of 3 professors from CGU.

2. The student distributes dossier to members of the Committee.

3. Committee members formulate no more than 3 questions each for the written examination and e‐mail them to the Chair within 14 days.

4. The Chair distributes the questions to the student on the first day of the examination.

The student has five full days (24 hour days) to provide written answers.

5. The student submits answers to the Chair by the end of the fifth day.

6. The Chair distributes the full set of questions and answers to each committee member.

7. Committee members are given about 7 days to review the answers and provide their assessment to the chair (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory).

8. The student engages in the oral portion of the examination.

Oral Quals:

•One purpose of the oral examination is to allow the student, in response to faculty, to answer questions that arise as a result of the written portion of the examination.

•A 2nd purpose is to respond to issues & concerns raised about the dissertation proposal.

•The student makes a presentation (about 30 minutes) of the proposed dissertation study.

•During and after the presentation, committee members are free to ask questions about the conceptual, methodological, and statistical issues related to the proposed study.

•Students will be asked to leave the room while the committee members discuss the overall performance and vote on whether a passing grade will be granted

Advancement to Candidacy:

›Advancement to candidacy for the PhD degree takes place when the student’s dissertation proposal is approved.

›At SCGH, review and approval of the dissertation proposal occur concurrently with the qualifying examination.

›After acceptance of the proposal by the qualifying examination committee, submission of the form, and submission of a 350‐word abstract of the proposal, the student is advanced to candidacy.

›A student must advance to candidacy before enrolling in doctoral dissertation units (CGH 499: Doctoral Study)