Frequently Anticipated Questions

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Frequently Anticipated Questions

Some of the answers to these questions can be constructed from information in the Graduate College Bulletin, other answers rely on private communication from, or precedents acknowledged by, the Graduate College.

Note also the Graduate College FAQ site

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: Before 2011 the answer was "no", as implied by this statement (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. But the answer is now YES. As of 2011 there is a Request for Authority for Defense of Thesis available at Master's Forms.

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.

Can I change the title of my thesis?

Q: I have a quick question about thesis titles. I had an original title on the form I had my committee sign and turn into the grad college. Would it be possible to change that title to make it more focused or is that too much trouble to do? I defend in a few weeks and did not know if this was possible and I figured you would be best to ask.

A: (email answer from Academic Counselor in the GC) "After you have defended your thesis and when you are ready to deposit at the library I can make a copy of your Signature page and change the title we have for you on file."

Can I modify the future courses that I indicated on my PROGRAM of GRADUATE WORK?

Q: Can I modify the future courses that I indicated on my PROGRAM of GRADUATE WORK (also called Admission to Candidacy Form)?

A: (email answer from Academic Counselor in the GC) "Any changes to your program of graduate work would need to be approved by your department. So if you are a Meteorology student Dr. Fiedler would need to acknowledge they know of the change and that approve of it. The approval of the change can be in email format from Celia Jones as well."

Do the MS Degrees allow for International Exchange?

Q: Do the MS degrees in Meteorology allow for international exchange, similar to the undergraduate degree?

A: As of 2011, there are no standard exchange programs in place. However, the Graduate College may approve exchange programs for individual students. Suitable external courses, equivalent to up to 12 OU credit hours in total, can be recognized by the Graduate College as METR courses in meeting the degree requirements for MS degrees in Meteorology from OU. A petition for approval of international transfer credit must be prepared by the student's adviser(s), approved by the Graduate Studies Committee and Graduate Liaison of the SoM, and then sent to the Dean of the Graduate College for approval. International transfer credit for courses fulfilling the SoM MS core course requirements, additionally requires approval by the SoM instructor that has recently taught the substituted SoM core course.

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.

Is it true that I cannot enroll in METR 6980 until I apply for the General Exam?

Q: On page 72 of the 2010-2011 Graduate College Bulletin we read new language: "Students may not enroll in Research for the Doctor’s Dissertation (6980) until the application for the General Examination is submitted to the Graduate College." That has not been the tradition in the School of Meteorology. Is this rule really going to be enforced on SoM students?

A: As of 29 September 2010, the GC has not responded to the question. Maybe you can be the test case! Note that in 2010-2011 other graduate programs at OU are asking students to register in courses titled "Independent Study" instead of 6980, until the GC rule about the General Exam is met. But Independent Study can cause problems with international students because Independent Study does not justify being in the USA.

Is there a required minimum number of METR 6980 hours required for a Ph. D.?

Q: Is there a minimum number of required METR 6980 hours for the Ph. D. degree? The SoM website lists a maximum number that can be applied (30), but not a required minimum number.

A: Neither the GC nor the SoM require a minimum number of credits hours of METR 6980.

May I enroll in METR 6990 in the semester I take the general exam?

Q: Would it be allowable for a student to register in METR 6990 for the purpose of preparing for and taking the General Exam?

A: "Sure. Formally, the General Exam is not just a recap test of the content from the courses the student has taken (in which case a new course to recap this content would not be appropriate). Rather, it is an examination of their command of the body of knowledge and ability to bring it all together to give a higher understanding and articulation of the field, essentially going beyond the basic content, which is therefore an appropriate topic for an advanced Special Problems course." (From the Graduate College).

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".

Is the Graduate College really going to limit my tuition waivers to the number of hours needed for the degree?

Q: A new tuition waiver system was implemented in Fall 2010. It seems a bit harsh. Are their exceptions?

A: Here is the information that I have, scanned from a memo (from the Graduate College?):

I am finishing my degree. I won't be employed as an RA for the entire semester. Will I get a tuition wavier?

Q: I will graduate before the end of the semester, and my RA will expire. The GC rules about Waivers state my RA appointment needs to be for the entire semester to get a tuition waiver. What should I do?

A: This answer is rather complicated. If you will immediately become an employee of OU after your RA ends, enroll in 5 credit hours for the semester (which is one of the requirements for obtaining a tuition waiver) and hope the GC follows the precedent of allowing OU employment to substitute for having an RA. But if you are not going to be employed at OU immediately after your RA ends, then enroll in the minimum number of credit hours, such as 2 credits hours of thesis or dissertation, and don't expect to get a tuition waiver.