Qualifying Exam

All Anthropology graduate students are required to pass the Qualifying Exam (QE) to advance to candidacy and continue towards the doctoral degree. 

For track-specific checklists to the QE, and for the past QE statements, keep scrolling on this page.

Timing of the Exam

Students are required to take their QE by the end of their third year. A student’s second year review form should indicate in which quarter students expect to take the QE.

Students must be enrolled during the quarter in which the Qualifying Exam is scheduled. In cases of a summer QE, students do not need to be enrolled for summer courses so long as they were enrolled in the preceding spring quarter. However, faculty are not required to serve on

Qualifying Exam committees during summer, when they are not technically in service.

See the Graduate Program Coordinator to schedule a room and time for your exam. The Graduate Division mandates that students must submit their QE nomination form and schedule their exam time at least 30 days prior to the date of the examination.

A student who does not take the QE by the end of the third year is required to submit an explanatory letter to their advisor requesting a deferral. The student should send duplicate copies to the Graduate Director and Graduate Coordinator. This letter should clearly state the student's

projected schedule for taking the exam.

The department will review the request and send a written response to the student with the department's decision. Please keep in mind that deferrals will be granted on a case-by-case basis.

A student who does not pass the QE by the end of the fourth year may be asked to leave the program. At the end of the fourth year, the Financial Aid office will automatically put a hold on the loans and fellowships of any student who has not advanced to candidacy.

NOTE: Students may not schedule the QE until any Incompletes have been removed from their academic record. 

Qualifying Exam Committee

In all cases, the QE Committee should be formed before the end of the fall quarter of the third year or in the quarter before taking the QE, whichever comes first.

The Graduate Division sets the general structure of the QE Committee based on Academic Senate Policy: https://senate.ucsc.edu/manual/santacruz-division-manual/part-three-appendices/appendix-d/index.html. The QE Committee should be made up of at least three faculty members from the Department – including a QE committee chair and the primary advisor – and one outside member. The Graduate Division will have to approve committees with two departmental faculty members and two external members. The QE committee chair (who will write the QE report for the Graduate Division) cannot be the student’s primary advisor (who will also eventually serve as dissertation advisor/chair). Both the outside member of the QE committee and the QE chair must be tenured.

The outside member may be a UCSC faculty from another department/discipline, or an anthropology faculty member from another campus. (NOTE: Travel expenses of QE Committee members are not covered by either the Graduate Division or the Anthropology Department, and students are responsible for travel expenses and lodging of Committee members from other campuses. It is possible for the outside committee member to join the QE exam via Zoom.)

Members of the QE Committee are chosen by the student in consultation with their faculty advisor and already appointed Committee members, then approved by the Department and officially appointed by the Graduate Dean.

In order to take the QE, the student must submit a Nomination Form to the Graduate Program Coordinator confirming the composition of the QE Committee a minimum of 30 days prior to the exam date.

Students may find QE Committee Nomination Forms online here

Structure of the Exam

The Qualifying Exam consists of two parts: a written file and a three-hour oral examination with the QE Committee during which the student presents and discusses the file.

1. The student must submit the written file to the Committee six weeks prior to the date of the exam (for Archaeology students, this file must have already been signed off by the faculty advisor and one other committee member).

The advisor will meet with the student to transmit comments two weeks later. At this point, a decision is made as to whether the student can proceed with the exam and, if so, the date of the exam will be confirmed with the Graduate Division.

The student then has a further two weeks to revise the QE materials before final delivery of the file to the Committee two weeks prior to the exam date.

QE File

For cultural track students, the file comprises:

1. A dissertation research prospectus that is theoretically focused and also includes a methods section (approximately 18-25 pages, double-spaced, actual length to be determined by QE committee). 

2. Two field statements on two anthropological topics selected and developed in consultation with the QE committee. Field statements typically review fields of literature that have (a) an area/regional focus and (b) a thematic/theoretical focus (approximately 18-25 pages, double-spaced, each; actual length to be determined by QE committee).

For archaeology track students, the file comprises:

1. A theoretically-focused dissertation research prospectus (approximately 18-25 pages, double-spaced, actual length to be determined by the QE Committee). 

2. Three field statements reviewing literature of 18-25 pages each on (a) a geographic cultural area, (b) a set of research methods, and (c) a theoretical tradition or theme

For biological anthropology track students, the file comprises:

1. A theoretically-focused dissertation research prospectus (approx. 18-25 pages, double-spaced, actual length to be determined by the QE Committee).

Oral Examination

The oral examination is a three-hour meeting in which the student presents and defends their work to the Committee. Although the Committee will decide on the form of the oral exam, it typically begins with a presentation by the student outlining the proposed research and elaborating on critical theoretical and empirical aspects of the project. The meeting will then normally move to a detailed discussion of the student's file.

Towards the end of the oral exam, the student will be asked to leave the room. At this point the Committee will review the entire QE and decide on one of three actions: pass, conditional pass (requiring revisions to be submitted according to a specified timetable), and no pass/fail (leading to the student's termination in the program). Note: students who earn a conditional pass will not formally advance to candidacy until acceptable revisions are submitted.

The QE Exam is open to all faculty members. Students are encouraged to attend, but may do so only with the permission of the examinee.

Report on Qualifying Exam

Following the examination, the QE committee chair will write a formal report on the QE for the Graduate Division, summarizing the student’s performance in written and oral portions of the exam and outlining any recommendations from the committee. The student will receive a copy of the Report.

Students may find Report on Qualifying Examination Forms here

Following the exam and the completion of any revisions, the student is required to submit a copy of their QE file to the Graduate Program Coordinator. 

Post QE

Once students have submitted the Report on the Qualifying Exam and Nominations for Dissertation Committee to the Graduate Program Coordinator, students will be Advanced to Candidacy during the following quarter for which they are registered. An “Advancement to Candidacy fee” (last published as $90) will be applied to students’ accounts. 

The Division of Graduate Studies requires that students be registered for at least one quarter after the Advancement to Candidacy and prior to awarding the degree. It does not mean the student has to physically be at UCSC.

Formation of Dissertation Committee

The Graduate Division requires that students who have passed their Qualifying Exams form their Dissertation Reading Committee before they are considered Advanced to Candidacy. 

The Dissertation Committee must include a minimum of three faculty members, one of whom must be designated as the Dissertation Advisor. Normally these readers are selected from the QE Committee, but this is not required. 

At least two of these readers must be members of the UCSC Anthropology Department. A majority of Committee members must be part of the UCSC Academic Senate. It is highly recommended that you have at least one member from another campus.

Students must submit Nominations for Dissertation Committee Members Form after passing the Qualifying Exam. Students may find Nominations for Dissertation Committee Members Form here.

Students have the option of changing their dissertation committee composition at a later date. To make changes to the dissertation committee, students must simply resubmit the Nominations for Dissertation Reading Committee form to the Graduate Program Coordinator.