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General Examination

The Ph.D. General Examination should be completed during the third or fourth year of your Ph.D. program. The MSE department establishes its General Examination policies and procedures in collaboration with the UW Graduate School requirements. The exam assesses your research progress and readiness to advance toward completing your Ph.D. For additional information, see the UW Graduate School requirements for the General Examination.

Eligibility for the General Examination

A General Examination may be scheduled if:

  1. You have completed 60 credits. Some of these credits may be taken during the same quarter as the exam.
  2. You have received notification that your Qualifying Exam has been approved by your committee.
  3. Your faculty adviser agrees that you are ready for the exam.

Scheduling your General Examination

  1. Establish your supervisory committee. Meet with your faculty adviser to establish your supervisory committee​.
  2. Submit your committee information. Provide the names of your supervisory committee members to the Graduate Program Manager (GPM) so your committee can be officially established with the Graduate School. After the GPM sets up your committee, you must wait at least 24 hours before scheduling your exam through the online MyGrad Program portal.
  3. Coordinate your exam date. Contact your committee members to identify a mutually agreeable date, time, and meeting location. You must be registered as a graduate student during the quarter in which you complete your General Examination.
  4. Schedule your exam in MyGrad. At least two weeks before your exam, log in to MyGrad Program. From the student page, select Request Credentials at the top of the page to schedule your General Examination. Enter the meeting date, time, and location. The Graduate Program Manager (GPM) will approve your request, and your supervisory committee will receive an official email notification of the exam.
  5. Supervisory Committee completes the DocuSign examination outcome form. Approximately one day before the exam, the GPM will initiate the DocuSign workflow and send the examination outcome form to your supervisory committee. Following the examination, the committee will complete the form via DocuSign to report the outcome. The completed form will be routed to the GPM by the last day of the quarter.

The MSE Graduate Committee recommends establishing your supervisory committee during the fall quarter of your third year.

Exam format and preparation

The exact format of the General Examination is determined by your supervisory committee in accordance with Graduate School requirements and MSE department guidelines. The MSE Graduate Committee provides the following suggested guidelines.

Supervisory committee attendance and feedback

At least four members of your supervisory committee must be present at the General Examination, including the committee chair, the Graduate School Representative (GSR), and at least two additional faculty members. Of these four members, at least two must be MSE core faculty members. Your committee chair may count toward the MSE core faculty requirement.

Following the examination, your supervisory committee will provide feedback on your research progress and identify areas for improvement.

Written research report

Submit a written research report to your supervisory committee at least one week before the General Examination. A report of approximately 50 pages is recommended. The report should include an introduction, research objectives, results and discussion, future work, and references.

See the suggested General Examination report guidelines.

Oral presentation

The oral presentation generally lasts at least one hour, with approximately 30 minutes for the student's presentation and 30 minutes for questions and answers. The examination begins with a public presentation, so you should expect an audience. Following the presentation, there will be time for questions from the general audience. The examination then continues in a closed session with only the supervisory committee.

Examination outcome and reexaminations

Your supervisory committee will determine the outcome of your General Examination and report it using the DocuSign examination outcome form described in the scheduling instructions above.

If the examination is unsatisfactory, the supervisory committee may recommend that the Dean of the Graduate School permit up to two additional reexaminations following a period of additional study. Any committee member who disagrees with the majority opinion is encouraged to submit a minority report to the Dean of the Graduate School.

After the General Examination

You must be registered as a graduate student during the quarter in which you complete your General Examination.

When the GPM approves your candidacy, you will be designated as a candidate for the MSE doctoral degree. After achieving candidate status, you will focus primarily on completing your research, writing your dissertation, and preparing for your Final Examination.

It is recommended that you complete your Final Examination within one year of passing your General Examination. 

Students who hold an RA/TA appointment and pass the General Examination advance to the Predoc RA/TA II salary level.