Milestone 4: Preliminary Oral Examination (POE)

University of Minnesota Graduate Education policies require students to take the Preliminary Oral Examination after completing a substantial portion of the course work and passing the Preliminary Written Examination, but before beginning dissertation research. The Preliminary Oral Examination is conducted as a closed examination, attended by only the student and all members of the Preliminary Oral Exam Committee. Advisors ARE allowed to chair the preliminary oral examination. Students and advisors are advised to review the Graduate School website for rules for Examination Committee membership and responsibilities. 

In the School of Nursing, the Preliminary Oral Examination will be conducted within one month of passing the Preliminary Written Exam. The Preliminary Oral Examination will focus on the quality and content of the Preliminary Written Exam paper, the content of the major field of study and minor field or supporting coursework, and the next steps towards developing the Dissertation Research Proposal. The student should prepare a 10-15 minute presentation of their Preliminary Written Exam content, including gaps in the state of the science and potential next steps to advance the field; PowerPoint presentations are optional. The presentation will be followed by questions and discussion with the Preliminary Oral Exam Committee and is intended to move the student forward in beginning to develop their Dissertation Research Proposal. When successfully completed, the Preliminary Oral Examination Report will be filed with the Graduate School indicating that the Preliminary Oral Exam has been completed and the student will be considered a doctoral candidate. 

NOTE: As of November 4, 2024, students will no longer need to schedule their POE with GSSP. Instead, they will automatically receive an email from GSSP when they become eligible for the exam. Students are expected to hold onto that email until they are ready to complete their POE.  If you misplace that email, you can find it again by going to your communication center in MyU. 

The committee chair will run the Preliminary Oral Exam meeting, record the votes of each committee member listed on the form and submit the online form.  A workflow guide for the online form is available to assist with the form. 

Preliminary oral exams may be conducted virtually or in-person. For in-person examinations, students should email their advisor’s co-operative unit to reserve a room (see link below). If students are uncertain of their advisor’s co-operative unit, look it up at this link: https://nursing.umn.edu/about/our-faculty-staff/cooperatives

• Adult and Gerontological Health - agh@umn.edu

• Child and Family Health - cfh@umn.edu

• Population Health and Systems - phscoop@umn.edu

In communicating with the Cooperative staff to schedule the meeting the student will need to provide the following information: 

• Date/time

• Approximate number of attendees

• A/V needs

• Advisor’s name