Neuroscience Graduate Program Candidacy Exam Process Step One: Consult Step Three: Approval Step Two: Write Step Four: Schedule Step Five: Complete Neuroscience Graduate Program Candidacy Exam Process

During the 2nd year After you have completed all coursework and your teaching requirement

Step One: Consult Step One: Consult Work with your advisor to select members for your Dissertation Advisory Committee Note: A minimum of four faculty are required for your committee to include your advisor and at least two NGP faculty with Category P status (fourth person may be in NGP or another graduate program with P status) Email the NGP administrator with list of committee members for approval Note: Include a brief statement explaining the research focus of each proposed member and the unique perspective that each brings to the committee

End of 2nd year beginning of 3rd year After your Dissertation Advisory Committee has been established and approved by the NGP administration

Step Two: Write Step Two: Write Prepare the specific aims page and submit it to your Dissertation Advisory Committee to review Schedule a meeting with your Dissertation Advisory Committee to discuss the specific aims Note: A formal group meeting is preferred; however, individual meetings are acceptable If the Dissertation Advisory Committee approves your specific aims, you have up to 2 months to write the full proposal and submit it to your committee for review Note: If the specific aims are not approved, you will have 2 weeks to submit revisions to your committee for review

Step Three: Approval Step Three: Approval Submit your grant proposal to your Dissertation Advisory Committee two months after your specific aims page was approved If the committee approves your proposal, you may schedule your oral exam Refer to Step Four: Schedule If the committee DOES NOT approve your proposal, you have 2 weeks to revise the proposal Note: You only have one chance for revision If the committee DOES NOT approve your revision, you may waive the right to the oral exam following the guidelines in the Graduate School Handbook Note: Contact the NGP office to petition the NGP committee if your candidacy exam will be delayed.

Beginning of 3rd year Between September and December after your grant proposal is approved by your Dissertation Advisory Committee

Step Four: Schedule Step Four: Schedule Schedule your oral exam two to four weeks after the approval of your grant proposal Log onto GRADFORMS.OSU.EDU to submit an Application for Candidacy Exam no less than two weeks prior to the exam date Note: After you submit your application, contact your advisor to inform him/her that they need to log in to GRADFORMS to approve the application. Periodically check the status of your application in GRADFORMS by clicking on the application then clicking on the “History” tab. Follow-up with your advisor and/or the NGP office if you do not see approved by each entry. Note: Applications must be approved by your advisor and the NGP office two weeks prior to the exam date or you will need to reschedule your exam Reserve a room and AV for your exam Contact the NGP office if you need assistance

Step Five: Complete Step Five: Complete The oral portion of the candidacy exam will last approximately two hours Note: At the discretion of the Dissertation Advisory Committee, the student may present a brief (~10 min) summary of the aims of research proposal. At the conclusion of the exam, the student will be excused and the Dissertation Advisory Committee will decide the outcome of the exam (both written and oral) The Report on Candidacy Exam will become available in GRADFORMS to your Dissertation Advisory Committee at the time of the exam Note: All committee members must log into GRADFORMS.OSU.EDU to report the results of your exam prior to leaving the room If the result is satisfactory – Congratulations you are now a candidate for the PhD! If the result is unsatisfactory: The Dissertation Advisory Committee must decide if the student will be permitted to take a second examination. This decision must be recorded on the Report on Candidacy Exam.

Candidacy Exam Timeline Year Two Complete coursework Complete teaching requirement Consult with advisor to select Dissertation Advisory Committee members Email NGP office for committee approval End of Year Two Prepare and submit specific aims page to Dissertation Advisory Committee Schedule a meeting with Dissertation Advisory Committee to discuss specific aims Begin writing grant proposal (2 months) if specific aims is approved or Revise (2 weeks) specific aims if not approved Submit grant proposal to Dissertation Advisory Committee Schedule oral exam if proposal is approved or Revise proposal (2 weeks) Year Three Sept-Dec Log onto GRADFORMS.OSU.EDU to submit Application for Candidacy Exam Complete Oral Exam

Resources NGP Handbook Graduate School Handbook GRADFORMS.OSU.EDU Refer to sections 9 and 10 for more detailed information regarding the Dissertation Advisory Committee and the candidacy exam Graduate School Handbook GRADFORMS.OSU.EDU GRADFORMS Help Reference guides to assist students and faculty with GRADFORMS.OSU.EDU