Preliminary oral examination
The Preliminary Oral Exam is one of two required, major milestones required for all University of Minnesota doctoral students. Upon successful completion, students become Doctoral Candidates, or more informally, they have reached "All but dissertation" (ABD) status. This document describes the purpose of the Preliminary Oral Examination for Family Social Science doctoral students and provides instructions for students, advisers, and committee members. The attached document, Preliminary Oral Exam Process, describes the purpose of the Preliminary Oral Examination for Family Social Science doctoral students and provides instructions for students, advisers, and committee members. Please read it carefully and discuss it with your adviser.
Purpose:
The purpose of the FSoS Preliminary Oral Examination (Prelim Oral) is to evaluate doctoral students’ ability to reflect, synthesize, and articulate who they are becoming as independent scholars. The student’s full committee, including at least three FSoS faculty members and one member from outside FSoS, participate in the exam, evaluate the student’s scholarly development and progress in the program to date, and assess their readiness to undertake their dissertation research. Students must demonstrate broad knowledge of the family science field, and a deeper, more complex command of the scholarly literature in their area of research, including theory, methodology, and application. They must also articulate their teaching pedagogy and their philosophy of community outreach and engagement.
Process:
FSoS Preliminary Oral Examination Question Examples
Please note:
Process for approval of external committee member (outside the U of MN)