Forming the Supervisory Committee
The committee must consist of at least three faculty members in the Interdisciplinary
Group representing at least two academic departments; one member must
be from the Urban Design and Planning Department. Students requiring a committee
of a different composition should submit a request to the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee recommends (but does not require) that students have
at least four faculty members on their committee and that two of these be
from the Urban Design and Planning Department.
In addition, the Graduate School Representative (GSR) (please see the link for the role of the GSR) is selected by the student in consultation with the committee chair and/or the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC - faculty advisor). All endorsed Graduate Faculty, with the exception of affiliates, are eligible to serve as GSRs. The GSR must not have an appointment within the student’s /committee chair’s department(s) or have a conflict of interest (i.e, budgetary, familial, romantic) with the committee chair(s) and student. The Graduate Faculty Locator is useful in determining faculty affiliations and status.
The committee membership is discussed with the student’s primary advisor; members are asked; and the committee establishment form is submitted to the program office by the student. This can be done via email by the student emailing all members, asking for confirmation of their willingness to serve on the supervisory committee, indicating in what capacity (chair, GSR, or member). The email confirmation then functions as the signature of the faculty member. Once the graduate school has approved the committee, all members of this supervisory committee are then notified of their participation by the Dean’s Office of the Graduate School . Please see the grad school web site for more information on the roles of the supervisory committee members. This committee should be established at least four months before you plan to take the general exam.
General Exam Content
The General exam consists of both a written and an oral exam in which the
Supervisory Committee evaluates the preparedness of the student to advance
to doctoral candidate status and to begin developing a dissertation proposal.
The committee designs a written exam based on the advanced coursework in the
area of study and critical review of the literature that the student has completed.
The content, length, and duration of the written exam varies but it typically
consists of 3-4 questions over 4-5 days. The oral exam is two hours in length
and requires the formal scheduling process through the graduate school (see
below).
The Chair of the Supervisory Committee establishes the specific terms and questions of the written exam with input from other committee members. The specific expectations are communicated to the student prior to the written exam. Any questions concerning the exam questions and logistics are directed to the Chair of the Supervisory Committee. The oral exam is typically scheduled for the following week. Students are nptified by the Supervisory Committee at the conclusion of the oral exam about the outcome of the exam process (i.e., passing, conditionally passing, re-schedule, failing).
To schedule the General Exam
(Oral)
After determining a date, a 2 hour time slot, and a room for the oral exam
that all committee members agree upon, you submit a request
to schedule the exam at:
http://www.grad.washington.edu/mygrad/student.htm.
(Note that Jean Rogers can help you schedule a room (jeanp@uw.edu). Since it is required that both the GSR and the Chair
attend, it is best to start the scheduling process by finding a time in which
both these members are available.
An official warrant is generated by the Graduate School for the student to take the oral exam. (The program will notify the student when the warrant has been generated.) The student takes this to the exam, the faculty sign it, and the student returns it to the program office before the end of the quarter . At least two other members (besides the GSR and the Chair) of the supervisory committee must be present at the general (and final) exam.
Candidacy is awarded upon receipt of the signed Warrant in the Graduate School . A Candidate Certificate is sent to the student by the Graduations Office (207 Schmitz) at the end of the quarter (approximately three months after Candidacy is conferred.