Frequently Anticipated Questions

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Frequently Anticipated Questions

The answers to these questions can be constructed from information in the Graduate College Bulletin.

Master's degree questions

When I submit a reading copy of my thesis to the GC, do I submit a form with it?

Q: My office mate is a Ph.D. student and has recently submitted a reading copy of her dissertation to the GC, together with the appropriate form. I am an MS student, and need to submit a reading copy of my thesis to the GC. Do I need a form too?

A: No. From the GC Bulletin: Present an unbound reading copy of your thesis to the Graduate College at least two days prior to the defense. You will receive your thesis defense packet (Authority Report Form of the Thesis Defense & Graduate Exit Survey) from the Graduate College if all requirements have been met.

What if I forgot to submit my Admission to Candidacy Form?

Q: Spring has arrived, and I am wrapping up my final semester at OU. My thesis research has gone well, as have all my classes. I have a job lined up. I have made airline reservations for my impending move (all done online in a few minutes), ordered new luggage from amazon.com (all done online in a few minutes), and paid off my OU bursar bill (all done online in a few minutes).

I was about to send out email to my friends and my family about attending spring graduation. I checked the website to see what "paper work" needs to be done in order to graduate. I discovered that I am six months past the deadline for submitting my Admission to Candidacy form. What can I do?

A: Explain you situation to the GC, and they will probably accept a late form. This "Admission to Candidacy" business may seem superfluous: at the time you enroll for spring semester, the online databases have all the information needed for a computer to do a degree check. The reason a paper form is required, and required so early, is actually supposed to be for your benefit, to be sure you are aware of your degree requirements, not because the GC takes so long to process the form.

What hurdle do I need to cross if I am still taking a required course in my final semester in the MS non-thesis program?

Q: I am in my 4th semester of the non-thesis MS program, and enrolled in the core course Advanced Synoptic and the elective Algebraic Topology. My office mate is also in her 4th semester of the nonthesis MS program and enrolled in the core course Atmospheric Radiation and the elective Algebraic Topology. Except for that, our academic records are identical. We both intend on taking SoM’s Comprehensive Exam for nonthesis MS students by the end of the semester. What extra hurdle does the GC have in place for me?

A: Advanced Synoptic is a required core course, but Atmospheric Radiation is an optional core course. If you wish to attempt your Comprehesive Exam before you have completed all required courses, then you must submit the GC form Waiver for Comprehensive Exam.

I need to swap out a M.S. committee member. But the new member is out of town. What should I do?

Q: If a committee member is being removed, the directions say “A member who is being removed from the committee must sign the back of the new form, indicating that he or she is willing to be deleted from the committee.” But I can’t remember what the “back” of the form is….And then I assume that the new member needs to sign the new form? If that committee member is in another state, can the form be faxed to them once the other comm.. members have signed?

A: Generally when an MS committee member is being removed from the committee and that committee member is on campus the member that is being removed must sign the back of the Master’s thesis topic and committee membership form to indicate that he or she is willing to be deleted from the committee. The new committee will need to sign the front of the form in the appropriate areas. If the committee member that is being removed is out of town and cannot be reached, there will be no need to obtain their signature on the back of the form. The student would just need to submit a new Master’s thesis topic and committee membership form with the new committees signatures in the appropriate areas. If the new committee member is out of town, the GC can use an electronic signature. So the best way to handle it would be to have the new member sign the form, scan the signed form and email it back to you.

On my M.S. committee, may I have 1 adjunct faculty, 1 SoM regular faculty, 1 Computer Science faculty?

Q: On my M.S. committee, may I have 1 adjunct faculty, 1 SoM regular faculty, 1 Computer Science faculty. Or do all faculty need to come from the SoM?

A: The agreement SoM made with the GC is: "SoM regular faculty members cannot be a minority on any M.S. or Ph.D. committee." Thus you can satisfy the rule by adding one more regular SoM faculty member to your committee.

Ph. D. questions

How many committees does a Ph. D. student have?

Q: The GC Bulletin mentions several committees that I will have as a Ph.D. student. I saw on my Advisory Conference Report just “committee” for the signatures. I read in the GC Bulletin “In most cases, the Advisory Conference Committee will become the student’s Doctoral Committee”. So the "committee" must have been the "Advisory Conference Committee". But I see on the Application for the General Examination for the Doctoral Degree “We, the members of the above named student's Advisory Committee, have examined...” So do I have 2 committees or 3? If 2, then is my “Advisory Committee” my “Advisory Conference Committee” or my “Doctoral Committee”? Or do I have 1 committee? If all these committees are the same, why don't they have the same name?

A: You have one committee. The committee that signs your Advisory Conference Report is your Doctoral Committee. For clarity, the GC should always refer to this committee as the Doctoral Committee (or some other single name), but unfortunately the GC documents don't do that.

How many Adjunct Professors may I have on my committee?

Q: My advisory conference isn't for a few weeks, and I'm considering adding another adjunct faculty member to my committee. Currently I have three regular faculty, one adjunct, and one outside member. Can I add another adjunct without needing to add another regular faculty member to maintain the majority?

A: The agreement SoM made with the GC is: "SoM regular faculty members cannot be a minority on any M.S. or Ph.D. committee." 3 out of 6 is not a minority, so your plan is okay.

How can my overseas committee member sign the Report of the Advisory Conference?

Q: One of my committee members is currently overseas, but will be participating over the phone. The Graduate College Bulletin has no mention regarding how the Report of Advisory Conference should be signed in this case. Is it acceptable to just have this professor sign the report and fax it back to me, and then have everyone else sign? Or do we need to be snail-mailing everything?

A: Since the member is overseas, it is acceptable for the professor to sign the report and fax it back to you and then have everyone else sign it.

Can I change the approved scheduled date of my General Exam?

Q. I notice on the Application for the General Examination for the Doctoral Degree there two fields to fill out in response to the query "I desire to take the general examination:". The first field is "Semester/Year". The second field is "Month/Day/Year". My application was approved, but now I need to change the date. May I?

A. Yes, you may, provided that both portions of the General examination must take place in the approved semester.

Can a committee member attend my General Exam by teleconference?

Q. Can a committee member attend my General Exam by teleconference?

A. According to page 66 of the 2009-2100 GC Bulletin: "For oral general examinations: The student and all members of the committee must be physically present at the same location." However, there is a precedent (Fall, 2009) for the Graduate College Dean making an exception for a member, who was not the chair or the outside member. The written GC rules are more strict for the General Exam than for the Dissertation Defense. Page 67 explicitly allows one member, who is not the chair or the outside member, to attend the Dissertation Defense by teleconference.

General Graduate Program Questions

Do online courses count toward full-time status for international students?

Q. Do online courses count toward full-time status for international students?

A. International Student Services office says: "One online course counts".