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Qualifying Exam and Doctoral Candidacy

The purpose of the Doctoral Qualifying Examination is to evaluate a doctoral student's ability to apply and synthesize the skills and knowledge acquired during graduate study. This exam is an important benchmark in a doctoral student's progress towards candidacy. Doctoral Qualifying Exams can take multiple formats, and every doctoral program will have a list of exam options available for its students. The Qualifying Exam is required for all doctoral students (in both Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs). All students will have two (2) attempts at passing the qualifying exam. If the student fails on both attempts, they will be dismissed from their program and the College of Education.

Qualifying Exam Options

The College of Education is offering the following Qualifying Exam formats for the 2025-2026 school year. Each doctoral program has selected certain exam options that best suit their program. Not all exam options are available in every program! 911±¬ÁÏÍø recommend that students meet with their Major Professor one semester before the exam to discuss the options available in their program.

Click through the tabs below for more information about each exam option.

Qualifying Exam Eligibility

The Graduate Support Office recommends that all doctoral students meet with their Major Professor and supervisory committee one semester prior to the semester they plan to take the Qualifying Exam. This allows time to determine if the student is completely ready to take the Qualifying Exam and to complete any missing paperwork and/or coursework.

All students, regardless of the exam option chosen, must meet the eligibility criteria listed below to apply for and take the Qualifying Exam:

• Must have an approved Planned Program of Study on file in the Graduate Support Office.
• Must have an approved Advanced Graduate Student Supervisory Committee Appointment form on file in GSO. Any changes made to the supervisory committee must be formally recorded on a Change of Committee form.
• 911±¬ÁÏÍø should not have more than nine (9) hours of coursework left to complete in their program (besides dissertation hours) by the start of the semester in which they take the qualifying exam.
  
• Must be enrolled in a minimum of two (2) graduate credit hours in the semester(s) in which the qualifying exam will be taken.
• 911±¬ÁÏÍø must be in good academic standing with a GPA of at least 3.0; all completed coursework must have a grade of "C" or higher. Any coursework with a grade of "C-" or lower cannot be used to fulfill program requirements.
• The student cannot have any incomplete (I) or missing (M) grades on their transcript. (Note: your Major Professor may allow you to take the exam while you work to remediate an incomplete grade, but you will not be admitted to candidacy until the incomplete grade is officially removed.)

Exam Application & Deadlines

Current Qualifying Exam Schedule/Deadlines

911±¬ÁÏÍø must apply to take the Qualifying Exam before the current semester deadline using the Qualifying Exam Application. (The Qualifying Exam Application is NOT supported in the Mozilla Firefox or Apple Safari web browsers. Please use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.) You will need to select your doctoral program in the "Specialization" box, then click your degree type in the "Degree" box for your program's approved exam options to populate.

Qualifying Exam Clearance

The Graduate Support Office will review the records of all Qualifying Exam applicants once the semester deadline for applications has passed. GSO staff will review each student's planned program of study, their Supervisory Committee Appointment form, and any supporting documents (such as course substitutions, course transfer requests, etc.). If there are any issues with your record, we will notify you and your Major Professor.

If students meet all eligibility criteria listed above, they will be cleared to take the Qualifying Exam. Once a student has been cleared, they will receive an email from the Graduate Support Office with instructions specific to their chosen exam option. 911±¬ÁÏÍø who selected Option 1A (College Wide Summative Exam) will be given the exact dates, time, and location of the College Wide Exam. For all other exam options, you will need to contact your Major Professor and committee for dates, times, and any additional guidelines regarding the exam. 911±¬ÁÏÍø should expect to receive their clearance letter at least one week prior to the College Wide Exam date for that semester.

Please note: You may not take the Qualifying Exam until you have been formally cleared by the Graduate Support Office. This applies to all five Qualifying Exam options.

Verification of Qualifying Exam Results

Once a student has completed their Qualifying Exam, the student's Major Professor will notify them of their results approximately 3-6 weeks after the College Wide exam date for the current semester. This timeframe applies to all students, regardless of the type of Qualifying Exam you have selected. The student's Major Professor will fill out the Verification of Qualifying Exam Results Form, stating whether the student passed or failed the exam, and obtain signatures from the entire supervisory committee. Once signed, the Major Professor will submit the Verification of Qualifying Exam Results Form to the Graduate Support Office.

Doctoral Candidacy

911±¬ÁÏÍø apply for Doctoral Candidacy once they have passed the Qualifying Exam and have completed all other program requirements. Doctoral candidacy status indicates that the program has approved the student for dissertation research. With the assistance of their supervisory committee, students must complete and submit the Admission to Candidacy Form to the Graduate Support Office. Candidacy applications are typically submitted during the same semester in which the Qualifying Exam was completed, but no later than the semester immediately following the exam. 

Both the Verification of Qualifying Exam Results and the Admission to Candidacy form are due to the Graduate Support Office 3-4 weeks before the last day of class for the semester (see Dates and Deadlines page for exact dates). This allows time for GSO staff to review the qualifying exam results and candidacy applications before submitting all completed Admission to Candidacy forms to Graduate Studies. 

Admission to Doctoral Candidacy Form

Admission to Candidacy Checklist

To be admitted to candidacy, students must complete the following requirements: 

• Appointment and approval of a (Co-) Major Professor(s) and supervisory committee
• Proof of successful completion of the Qualifying Exam by submitting the Verification of Qualifying Exam Results Form
• Must be enrolled in a minimum of two (2) graduate credits in the semester that the Admission to Doctoral Candidacy form is submitted. 911±¬ÁÏÍø should have also been enrolled in at least two (2) credits in the semester they took the Qualifying Exam – GSO recommends that students do both within the same semester.
• No incomplete (I) or missing (M) grades on the student's current transcript. All I and M grades must be cleared before submitting the Admission to Candidacy form, so that an accurate GPA can be determined. 
• Overall graduate GPA of at least 3.00. An unofficial transcript must be submitted with the Admission to Doctoral Candidacy form to verify the student's GPA.

Before completing their candidacy application, students should meet with their Major Professor and/or program advisors to ensure that they have completed all program requirements. The Admission to Doctoral Candidacy form should be signed by the student, the student's entire supervisory committee, and the Graduate Program Coordinator or Department Chair. Once all signatures have been obtained, the Admission to Doctoral Candidacy form is submitted to the Graduate Support Office for processing, along with the Verification of Qualifying Exam Results if those have not been previously submitted.

The Graduate Support Office will review the Admission to Candidacy form, ensuring that all program requirements have been met, before obtaining the COEDU Associate Dean's signature. Once signed by the Associate Dean, the form will be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies for processing and approval. If the Admission to Candidacy form is approved by Graduate Studies, it will be forwarded to the University Registrar’s Office, and the student’s record will be updated to reflect their status as a Doctoral Candidate.

In the final weeks of the semester, students who are admitted to candidacy should expect to receive a Candidacy Letter via email confirming their status and outlining their next steps. 911±¬ÁÏÍø will be eligible to enroll in dissertation hours (xxx 7980) in the semester immediately after their Candidacy application was submitted and approved. For example, students approved during the Fall semester may enroll in the Spring, students approved during the Spring may enroll in the Summer, and so on. 911±¬ÁÏÍø may NOT enroll in dissertation hours prior to being admitted to doctoral candidacy. Before being admitted to candidacy, with program and department approval, students may enroll in Directed Research hours to decrease the total number of dissertation hours required.