PhD Programs

Program Committee & Advisor

Students must identify a member of the graduate faculty in SOE who agrees to serve as their graduate advisor. Together, the advisor and student will select a committee consisting of at least three graduate faculty members.

At the doctoral level, the committee also has the responsibility for the PhD preliminary examination and the qualifying examination for the doctor of philosophy degree.

Preliminary Examination

Each student is required to pass a preliminary examination in order to become a candidate for the doctoral degree.

This examination will be taken after most of the required course work has been completed, as determined by the thesis committee, and upon submission of a dissertation research proposal. It will consist of written and oral parts which will focus on the student’s major area of competency, courses taken, and the subject matter of the proposed research.

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Dissertation & Final Examination

The final examination will be a defense of the dissertation. All students are required to present a seminar to the faculty and public on their dissertation research.

As a student, you will have only five working days after defending your thesis to turn in the final version to the WSU Graduate School, so all changes must be addressed prior to defending your thesis in the final exam.

Consequently, your committee members need to have read your thesis prior to scheduling a thesis defense date. This means committee members should receive copies of your thesis at least 14 days before scheduling the final exam.

Depending on your advisor and your writing ability, you should generally allow for three to four weeks for addressing comments on the initial draft. One copy of your dissertation should be made available in the main SOE office for others to review 10 days before your scheduled defense. Submit this digitally to soe.academics@wsu.edu.