Required Graduate School Forms

In addition to coursework and research, there are several important issues that must be addressed in order to complete all requirements for your doctoral degree. This will involve the submission of a number of forms to the Graduate School, many at very specific time points. Complete and submit the required forms online. The form will be sent to your Director of Graduate Studies who will review it and forward it to the Graduate School. You will receive email notification when the request has been approved.

Step 1: Formation of an Advisory Committee

Your major professor and advisory committee should be formally appointed by the Graduate School during your first year in the program. This will require completion of the Doctoral Advisory Committee Request form. Every effort should be made to maintain the same committee composition throughout your tenure as a doctoral student. Should a change be necessary, for example when a committee member leaves the university or retires, a formal request must be made to and approved by the Graduate School. To do this you must complete a "Doctoral Advisory Committee Modification Request" form which is also available after you login below.

Step 2: The Qualifying Examination

At a minimum, you must complete the equivalent of two years of residency (36 graduate credit hours) to be eligible to sit for the qualifying examination. The request to schedule the qualifying examination must be submitted to the Graduate School a minimum of two weeks in advance of the planned date.

Step 3: Notification of Intent to Schedule a Final Doctoral Examination (NOTIF)

You are eligible to sit for the final doctoral examination after completion of two semesters of post-qualifying residency. In order to provide sufficient time for the Graduate School to identify an outside examiner, you must submit the NOTIF a minimum of eight weeks prior to the anticipated defense date. To prevent multiple submissions of the NOTIF, this step should not be completed until a complete draft of the dissertation has been submitted to your committee chair for review.

Step 4: Request for Final Doctoral Examination

This request must be submitted a minimum of two weeks prior to the scheduled date of the examination. Your outside examiner should be provided with a final copy of the dissertation at this time.