Advancing to Candidacy

Here are the steps to advancing to candidacy.

Form Your Committee

Committee nomination forms or changes to committees need to be processed via the new GradPoint Students portal by the student. Here is an overview of the new portal. You can view your progress and other important details using the portal. Visit this link on instructions on how to nominate or change your committee using the new portal. For information on committees, check out this link.

This committee nomination process that requires the Graduate Dean's approval differs from the Departmental Supervising Committee form that is approved by the department. Ask Jennifer Farrar, the Staff Graduate Advisor, for assistance. Plan to submit your formal advancement to candidacy committee nomination via the portal 4 to 6 weeks before your exam. Allow for additional time, if a committee exception is needed. The advancement committee must be approved by the Graduate Dean before you complete the synopsis meeting and take your exam. If you need advice on selecting committee members, please contact your committee chair or the Faculty Graduate Advisor. Confirm the current Faculty Graduate Advisor at this link.

Nature of the Exam

Students should be able to discuss the key questions that need to be addressed in their field and propose a possible line of research. To ensure that the student and the committee agree on what constitutes an acceptably broad definition of field, the student will submit a brief synopsis via a Synopsis Form of the presentation at the time the exam is scheduled.

The synopsis must be approved by both the Chair of the committee and the Wiseperson assigned to the exam.

After you receive a confirmation email from the Graduate Division that your committee is approved, set up a synopsis meeting at least a week or more before your exam and select the correct Synopsis Form Powerform to use below.

Synopsis Form Powerform for a standard committee of 3 members and 1 Chair.

Synopsis Form Powerform for a committee of 3 members and 2 Co-Chairs.

Synopsis Form Powerform for a committee of 4 members and 1 Chair.

Synopsis Form Powerform for a committee of 4 members and 2 Co-Chairs.

Students will be evaluated on:

• whether the presentation addresses the underlying physics issues of the field and shows a reasonable understanding of the important problems;
• whether the student is able to respond adequately to questions from the committee.
• whether the student is progressing at an appropriate rate toward completion of the Ph.D. Students must do well in all areas in order to pass.

Synopsis Meeting

The wiseperson is the committee member that is outside your area of study. It is the wiseperson’s responsibility to ensure the exam is conducted in a fair manner. A synopsis of your presentation must be approved by your advisor and the wiseperson prior to your exam – please schedule a meeting for this purpose at least one week before the exam. It is your responsibility to remind your committee members and the wiseperson a day or two before your exam date. Also, send your committee an attachment of your unofficial transcripts from GOLD. There are times when the person may be lacking in an area of study, and the committee may recommend additional coursework. Inform Jennifer when you email them your transcripts for her records.

Exam Deadline

All students must take the exam by the end of Spring Quarter of the third year. If the exam is not passed, it must be retaken by the end of Summer Quarter of the third year. Students who do not take the exam on schedule and have not received an extension are subject to withdrawal of financial support by the department, or dismissal from the program on the grounds of not making adequate progress toward the degree. Students who fail the exam for the second time will be dismissed from the program on the same grounds.

Please view the advancement deadlines here.

If a student fails the exam, the advancement committee must provide a written account of what they found to be lacking, along with suggestions for how to remedy the problems. The student must then retake the exam by the end of Summer Quarter of the third year. Failing the exam the first time should not be considered detrimental to the student’s career. The Department will simply require that the student retake the exam by spring and give encouragement and guidance for the second try. Advancement exams are closed exams which means that only the student, committee members and wise person can be present. The advancement exam differs from the defense which is an open exam.

Scheduling the Exam

Once you receive email confirmation that the Graduate Dean approved of your committee, you will need to schedule a date for the exam with your committee. Once confirmed, you must schedule the room and inform Jennifer Farrar, Staff Graduate Advisor, of the advancement date. After you have established a committee and an exam date, set up a pre-advancement and post-advancement meeting with the Staff Graduate Advisor. 

Before you schedule your exam, please confirm on GradPoint Students that your committee is up to date. If it is not, please read instructions above on how to change your committee. Here are the steps below.

You will need to log into GradPoint Students, click on "Petition Actions"-->"Start New Petition"-->"Change Committee."

Update for April 2025: The Graduate Division updated the "Advancing to Doctoral Candidacy" section with an updated process overview, as well as links to step-by-step instructions and video tutorials for students. Visit this link for details on the process that replaced the Form II. 

Please note: The student should complete this process on the day of the exam.

Go to "Petition Actions"-->"Start New Petition"-->"Create Advancement to Candidacy." Confirm the committee is correct, enter exam date, and check the requirements. Please note that there is no language requirement for the Physics Advancement Exam.

Once you advance, you will need to pay the $50 advancement fee charged to your BARC account. Visit additional information on advancing here. The student is responsible of ensuring that the advancement process via GradPoint Students is completed by all relevant signers in order to advance. Review the link above for instructions.

Petition to Add the Master’s Degree

After passing the advancement exam you are eligible for the Master of Arts Degree, as long as your course requirements are completed. Set up a meeting with the Staff Graduate Advisor to process post-advancement paperwork. The advisor will set up a DocuSign of the required petition to add the master's degree for you. Once approved, you will need to pay the $20 petition fee charged via your BARC account. The student is responsible for ensuring that the form is completed by all relevant signers in order to add the master's degree.