PhD Degree Program Forms and Information

Office of Graduate Student Services

The Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) office is the principal contact point for all students to answer questions about Graduate School and University policies and procedures, and answers questions and concerns about academic issues. The office is responsible for Graduate School student academic matters, including:

• degree program and thesis proposal forms;
• examination committees (i.e., the doctoral preliminary and final oral examination committees);
• milestone exam authorization and scheduling;
• acceptance of theses and dissertations;
• degree clearance and award of degrees;
• registration questions and special registration requests.

The GSSP office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.; 316 Johnston Hall; 612-625-3490; E-mail gsdoc@umn.edu

Time Limit for Earning the Doctoral Degree—All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed and the degree awarded within five calendar years after passing the preliminary oral examination (see Preliminary Written and Oral Examinations).

Doctoral Candidacy—Doctoral candidacy is established when a student passes the preliminary oral examination (including “pass with reservations”).

• Degree Program Form - File after you have completed 10 course credits or after you have completed one year. This form must be approved by both the Department and the Graduate School. Note: ME 5361, AEM 8401, CSci 5204, and CSci 8205 are courses which are cross-listed with Electrical Engineering. If you want to register for this course, you must register using the EE call number and count it for major field credit. Registering for the outside department cross-listed course will not be accepted toward degree requirements.
  
  
• PhD Preliminary Oral Committee - The PhD Committee must be made of of 3 faculty members with Gradutate Faculty status and whose primary department is Electrical Engineering. The committee must include 1 non-Electrical Engineering faculty member whose primary department is not Electrical Engineering. All faculty serving on the committee must have Graduate Faculty Status in the Graduate School (there are exceptions to this rule, please contact the Graduate School at 612-625-3490 for questions in this regard). See Graduate Faculty Roster. A student who wishes to have their primary advisor in an outside department, must ask for approval by the Graduate Committee. All requests should be directed to Linda Jagerson, Assistant to the Director of Graduate Studies. All faculty must agree to be on your committee before they are listed on your Degree Program form. The chair of the examination will be your advisor.
  
  
• 4000-Level Courses Acceptable for Graduate Credit
  
  
• Petition Form - Changes in an Approved Program—Once approved, the program must be fulfilled in every detail to meet graduation requirements and before the final oral examination can be scheduled. Program changes should be requested by completing a Graduate School petition form.
  
  
• Preliminary Written Examination Report - The Preliminary Written Examination should be completed and passed during your first year of study if you enter with a MSEE or by the second year of study if you enter with a BSEE. You have two chances to pass the exam. The examination is typically offered in November and again in April.
  
  
• Preliminary Oral Examination Scheduling Form - The examination must be scheduled with the Graduate School at least one week in advance of the examination. The preliminary oral examination covers the major field, the minor field or supporting program, and any work fundamental to these areas, including possible plans for thesis research. Unlike the doctoral final oral examination, the preliminary oral examination is conducted as a closed examination, attended by only the student and the examining committee.
  
  
• Changes in the Preliminary Oral Examining Committee—Substitutions on the examining committee may be necessitated by such circumstances as a faculty member’s temporary absence on leave from the University. The adviser or the director of graduate studies must request the Graduate School’s approval of such substitutions well in advance of the examination. Substitutions necessitated by emergency situations must also be approved in advance. In such cases, the adviser should consult with the Graduate School staff by telephone before the start of the examination.
  
  
• Failure of the Preliminary Oral Examination—Students who fail the examination may be excluded from candidacy for the degree or may be allowed, on unanimous recommendation of the examining committee, to retake the examination, providing the reexamination is conducted by the original preliminary oral examining committee.
  
  In no case may the reexamination take place before 10 weeks have passed. No more than one reexamination is allowed.

• Thesis Credit Requirement—You must register for 24 Ph.D. thesis credits. Thesis credits cannot be registered for until you pass the PhD Preliminary Oral Examination.
  
  
• Thesis/Project Proposal Form - Students must file the thesis proposal form with the Graduate School, 316 Johnston Hall, no later than the first semester after passing the preliminary oral examination. This form must be approved by the department before forwarding to the Graduate School.
  
  
• PhD Final Oral Examination Committee - The PhD Final Oral Exam Committee can be made up of faculty not on the PhD Preliminary Oral Exam Committee. The same rules apply when choosing a committee. The PhD Committee must be made of of 3 faculty members with Gradutate Faculty status and whose primary department is Electrical Engineering. The committee must include 1 non-Electrical Engineering faculty member whose primary department is not Electrical Engineering. All faculty serving on the committee must have Graduate Faculty Status in the Graduate School (there are exceptions to this rule, please contact the Graduate School at 612-625-3490 for questions in this regard). See Graduate Faculty Roster. All faculty must agree to be on your committee before they are listed on your Thesis Proposal Form. The chair of the committee must be declared, the chair can not be your advisor. The readers of your thesis must also be declared at this time.
  
  
• Final Oral Examination Scheduling Form - All doctoral students are required to successfully defend their theses in a final oral examination and graduate within five calendar years after passing the preliminary oral examination. To be eligible for the final oral examination, a student must have completed all work on the official doctoral degree program form, including the language requirement, if any; must have passed both the written and oral preliminary examinations; must have an approved thesis proposal on file with the Graduate School; must have maintained active status; and must have satisfied the thesis credit requirement. In addition, the thesis must have been certified by the readers as ready for defense.
  
  
• Scheduling the Final Oral With the Graduate School—The student must schedule the examination at least one week in advance with both the committee and the Graduate School.
  
  
• Form of the Final Oral Examination—The final oral examination consists of a seminar in which the candidate presents the thesis and to which the scholarly community is invited. The seminar may take place only after the thesis has been judged ready for defense. The examination is limited to the candidate’s thesis subject and relevant areas. It will not exceed three hours. A closed meeting between the candidate and the appointed examining committee immediately follows the thesis presentation. Immediately after the examination, the candidate is excused from the room and a written, secret ballot is taken before discussing the examination. Following the discussion, a second and final vote is taken.
  
  
• Preparation and Submission of the Copies of the Thesis
  A copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School. The student’s adviser(s) must sign the thesis to confirm that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects and that all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made.
  

• Graduation Packet Request- Link to request a graduation packet online.
  
  
• Commencement Attendance Approval Form- The Commencement Attendance Approval Form must be signed by your adviser and Director of Graduate Studies. Their signatures verify that you have met your graduate program’s attendance eligibility criteria.
  
  The Fall Ceremony will be held on December 14, 2007 at 1:00 p.m.; The Spring Ceremony will be held on May 9, 2008 at 1:00 p. m. Submit your Commencement Attendance Approval Form to 316 Johnston Hall by October 1, 2007 for the Fall ceremony and by March 3, 2008 for the Spring ceremony. The Graduate School does not charge a fee for commencement participation.
  
  
• Thesis or Dissertation Hold Request- In accordance with Regents' policy regarding withholding of research results, doctoral students can request an embargo on the release of their thesis or dissertation to the public. That is, the doctoral dissertation microfilming would be delayed, and the thesis or dissertation copy on file in the University of Minnesota Library would not be circulated during this period. The hold period begins immediately after the official graduation date. If you wish to request a hold request, you need to indicate the reason for the request, obtain the signature of your advisor, and submit this form to 316 Johnston Hall. You must also indicate the amount of time you wish to keep your thesis on hold: six months, one year, or two years. After the expiration of the embargo time, the thesis or dissertation will be released for circulation.