To Advance to Candidacy, students need to:
Pass a Qualifying Examination
This exam is taken after a student has satisfied all course requirements. A student may take the qualifying exam before completing all course requirements under special circumstances.
Form a Dissertation Committee
This committee should consist of four members, including one member of the STEM Education Graduate Faculty who agrees to serve as Supervisor. At least three members must be on the STEM Education Graduate Studies Committee (GSC), and at least one of the four must come from outside the STEM Education GSC.
Complete the Dissertation Proposal
All students are required to write a dissertation proposal and to submit it to their committee one week prior to a public discussion. A public discussion will be held to provide feedback and suggestions on the proposal.
Contact the C&I Graduate Coordinator for the Program of Work Template
Complete the Program of Work, plus an approximate title and abstract for the student’s dissertation proposal. Request an unofficial transcript from the Graduate Coordinator, if needed. This program of work, along with a letter from the Graduate Adviser, is emailed to the STEM Education GSC for balloting. The GSC is given seven days to respond, and a majority vote is necessary for advancement. The GSC will call a meeting to discuss the questions if there are questions about the program of work. The student is not present at this meeting.
Submit an online application for Doctoral Candidacy
The Graduate School's Advancing to Doctoral Candidacy webpage contains important information. The completed online application includes the names of the members of the student’s doctoral committee and a description of the dissertation proposal that is no more than 60 lines. The student's dissertation supervisor, the Graduate Adviser, the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee, the doctoral degree evaluator, and a dean at the Graduate School all must sign off on the electronic form.
