Beyond the Written Quals: Tips for Doctoral Students

Nov 12, 2007

This page summarizes some important points about the timeline, contents, and procedures for oral exams, dissertation completion, and dissertation submission in the IUCS doctoral program. (Please remind your fellow students of this page as they reach these milestones!) The exams and doctoral program paperwork are milestone events at which time it is easiest to make "course changes" if needed. The objective is to find the best possible supervising faculty according to your individual interests and goals. You need to take the initiative in achieving this goal. Prior to identifying a faculty member to be your advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) is your primary contact for discussing plans, questions, and expectations. As soon as you have a faculty member as advisor, that person will become your primary advisor, able to provide a wealth of additional information relevant to your specific research interests. The department PhD program page summarizes official rules on committee makeup, etc. For any remaining administrative questions not addressed there, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies. Responses to questions of general interest will be added to this page.

The IUCS doctoral process is the department's implementation of the requirements in the IU Graduate Bulletin. Be sure to read those requirements carefully.

Moving Towards the Oral Area Qualifier

The first oral exam, the oral area qualifier, is normally taken after you have passed both written qualifiers. However, you should not wait for that milestone to begin seeking an advisor and getting involved in research.

The Oral Area Qualifier

Unlike the written qualifiers, which test breadth, the oral area qualifier tests your knowledge and mastery of the more specialized research domain in which you expect to do your research. In this exam, you demonstrate readiness to move to the next step of the process, the beginning of dissertation research.

The oral is administered by your Advisory Committee. The advisor and Advisory Committee members often continue as three of the four members of the Research Committee, by mutual agreement with the student. However, this is not required.

Normally, the oral qualifier is taken after the successful completion of the written qualifier, but the exams are independent, and it may occasionally be appropriate to take the oral before the written has been completed.

The oral qualifier is normally taken no later than the first semester of the third year, even if that is the year of the second attempt at the written qualifiers. You are encouraged to complete the oral qualifier as early as possible after completing the written qualifiers.

The oral area qualifier may be retaken once, normally no later than the beginning of the fourth year of study.

Content and procedures:

Moving Towards the Thesis Proposal Defense

After completing the written and oral quals, the 24 credits of core PhD coursework, and the minor, you must file (1) the candidacy form (if you have an internal minor, indicate it as "CSCI internal," followed by the area, e.g., "CSCI internal - databases"), and (2) the form to establish your Research Committee (be sure to attach the required 1-2 page research summary!).

See the PhD program documents list for the forms and the PhD program page for the requirements.

Candidacy is the transition point for switching from research in Y790's to Y890's. You will normally register for 9 cr of Y890 each semester until reaching 90 cr, at which time you will switch to G901 (which has much lower tuition cost). Grading for Y890 and G901 is deferred until you have completed your dissertation. Until you finish and a grade is recorded, your Y890/G901 grades will be recorded as "R" (deferred).

The Thesis Proposal Defense

The goals of the thesis proposal defense are for you to demonstrate that you have a research direction likely to lead to a successful dissertation, and for the Research Committee to identify issues and provide guidance.

To sharpen your sense of what is expected in a dissertation, you are encouraged to look at prior dissertations in the department.

Content and procedures:

You are encouraged to remain in regular contact with your Research Committee members after the proposal defense. If they are not in regular contact in the course of their research, it is recommended (but not required) that you schedule meetings at least once a year for progress reports and feedback. Meeting plans should be discussed with the Research Committee chair.

You should remain in especially close contact with the Research Committee chair while preparing the dissertation, getting feedback on incremental progress and asking questions whenever you are unsure of what is expected.

The Thesis Defense

In the Thesis Defense, you present a summary of the research in the thesis and respond to questions from the Research Committee.

Content and procedures:

Preparation and Submission of the Dissertation