Phd candidacy exam checklist

• Thesis committee: you need at least three faculty members from the department. You must provide the names of your committee members to Mary Jane at least one week before your examination. Your committee members will expect to get a copy of your proposal document. It is customary to provide the proposal document to your committee two-three weeks before your exam. However, this can be negotiated between you and your committee members.
• Proposal document: this is a variable length document that describes your research proposal. Content, length and style are between you and your committee members. You must give a printed copy of this document to Mary Jane at least one week before your exam. The goal of this requirement is to give interested faculty/students a chance to read up about your proposal before your presentation.
• Proposal abstract: this is a 20-40 line abstract of your proposal. You must email an ASCII version of your proposal abstract to Mary Jane at least one week before your examination. She will email an announcement to the dept. The purpose of this requirement is to make it easier for interested faculty/students to make it to your exam -- this increases the chance of getting useful feedback on your research proposal.
• Reserve a room: it might be a good idea to reserve a room well in advance. The two weeks before the end of each quarter tend to be popular for candidacy exams and thesis defenses. So move early. It is customary to schedule your exam at a "convenient" hour :) Avoid early morning slots as far as possible. Late morning and afternoon slots are commonly used.