Graduate Board Oral Exam
One to three months after the Ph.D. Candidacy Exam, the student should request that the department schedule the Graduate Board Oral Examination. (Faculty from other departments, perhaps corresponding to the student’s elective courses, will be among the examiners.) Prior to the scheduling of the GBO (and with no timing constraint relative to the Ph.D. Candidacy Exam), a student should prepare a written dissertation proposal. The examination panel will evaluate the student’s preparedness and potential to carry out the proposed research program. Before taking the Graduate Board Oral Examination, the student should have completed at least one of the elective courses outside the department.
The rules of the Graduate Board state that the purpose of the examination is "to test the depth and breadth of the student's knowledge and reasoning abilities", and that the scope of the examination is not to be sharply defined but rather is to be set by the examination committee on the basis of the student's course record and the specific departmental requirements.