University Oral Exam Forms

Prior to submitting your final draft of the doctoral dissertation, you must undergo an oral exam during which five faculty committee members test your command of the field of study and confirm your fitness for scholarly pursuits. Click here to view the Oral Exam Guidelines.

Required forms to submit

The required form for the oral exam (dissertation defense) is the University Oral Exam form, which must be submitted to the Doctoral Programs Officer at least two weeks prior to the oral exam.

• University Oral Exam Schedule Form
  After getting approval to schedule your oral exam, submit this form to the Doctoral Programs Officer. You do not need to get any signatures. After you submit it, the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs will review your form and sign it, if approved. Be sure to reserve the room for your oral exam and indicate this information on this form before submitting it. Rooms can be scheduled using this website. The Stanford GSE IT group can help with any audio/visual needs.

Informational documents

• Committee Composition
  This document outlines the requirements for your First Year Review, Second Year Review, Dissertation Proposal Hearing, Dissertation Reading, and Oral Exam Committees. Each is a separate and distinct committee, however, the same members often serve on more than one of your committees.
• Oral Exam Guidelines

Additional forms (If applicable)

• Petition for Doctoral Committee Members
  If any members of your reading or oral exam committee are not on the Stanford Academic Council, you will need to submit this form and supporting documents. A non-Academic Council member cannot serve as your primary dissertation advisor or chair the oral exam committee, but s/he can serve on your reading and/or oral exam committee(s). They must hold a PhD and provide a curriculum vitae (see instructions on the form). You do not need to petition for Stanford Emeriti participation on your committees; they can serve without special approval. You should complete this form in full, including a brief statement in the section that says "to be completed by department", but you do not need to obtain any signatures on it. The Doctoral Programs Officer will forward the document and attachments to the Associate Dean of Educational Affairs for review and signature, if approved.