Before admission to degree candidacy, students must pass a general examination in their chosen field of study. The Comprehensive Examination is the occasion when the student’s Advisory Committee has both the opportunity and the responsibility to require the student to display broad knowledge of Plant Sciences and/or Plant Pathology and sufficient depth of understanding in areas of specialization. The Comprehensive Examination includes written and oral portions covering the major and minor fields. The Comprehensive Examination should be held when essentially all course work has been completed. The student’s Advisory Committee also serves as the student’s Comprehensive Examination Committee. One member of the Examination Committee serves as Chair of the Committee. The Chair cannot be the student’s Major Advisor. The student and his or her Major Advisor have the option to decide if the Major Advisor is also part of the Comprehensive Examination Committee. If the Major Advisor elects not to be a member of the Comprehensive Examination Committee, the student must select another tenured faculty member to serve. The choice must be approved by the GPOC and should be based on the fact that the Comprehensive Examination is intended to test a student's general fundamental knowledge of the major and minor fields of study. In addition, the Graduate Student Advisor attends the examination and acts as reporter. The reporter ensures that the exam is administered fairly and files a report with the Graduate College. The written and oral portions of the Comprehensive Examination must be completed within two consecutive semesters. If, after failing the first comprehensive examination a second examination is recommended, at least 4 months must lapse between the first and second attempt. At least 3 months must lapse between the Comprehensive Oral Examination and the Final Oral Defense Examination. The student must schedule the oral exam and file the Application for Oral Comprehensive Examination Committee form with the Graduate Degree Certification Office at least seven (7) working days before the anticipated date of the oral exam.

The written portion of the Comprehensive Examination consists of an original proposal. The topic of the proposal must be related to plants, microorganisms or their interactions and must ultimately be approved by the Comprehensive Examination Committee. The proposal should be unrelated to the student’s dissertation project in terms of the experimental system and the conceptual question being addressed. The development of the proposal must be entirely the student’s; the student should not seek suggestions on how to approach the problem. The student must consult with his/her Comprehensive Examination Committee in the initial stage for approval of the topic/subject prior to spending too much time developing an idea that the Comprehensive Examination Committee might not approve. To do this, the student must provide the Comprehensive Examination Committee Chair with a 1-2 page outline of the proposal for distribution to all Comprehensive Examination Committee members. The final copy of the proposal should be presented to the Comprehensive Examination Committee members at least 6 weeks before the oral portion of the comprehensive exam. Complete Guidelines to writing the proposal can be found at http://ag.arizona.edu/pls/gradprogram/written_guidelines.pdf.

Once the completed proposal has been approved by the student’s Comprehensive Examination Committee, the student is responsible for scheduling the oral examination following Graduate College guidelines (see above). The members of the Comprehensive Examination Committee (including both major and minor representatives), participate in the oral examination. At the beginning of the exam, the student should present a brief (10 – 15 minute) summary of the proposal. The first half of the oral exam should be devoted to questions based on the proposal, and the last half of the exam, the questions should test general fundamental knowledge of the major and minor fields of study. The Comprehensive Examination Committee makes the final decision on the student’s entire examination based on both the written and oral portions of the examination. Options to be pursued in the event of failure are determined by the Comprehensive Examination Committee based on guidelines established by the Graduate College

Students must file a Doctoral Advancement to Candidacy form with the Graduate College as soon as they pass their comprehensive examinations. This form indicates the semester and year of graduation. If the completion date changes, the Graduate Degree Certification Office must be notified at least 2½ months before commencement to ensure that the student’s name will appear in the commencement program.

A Manual for Theses and Dissertations is available on the Graduate College website. This manual details the process of preparing a Doctoral Dissertation. As the University is extremely specific as to what it will accept, and since the degree cannot become official until this requirement is satisfied, it is strongly recommended that students acquire a copy of this manual and read it carefully before beginning preparation of their thesis. It is the responsibility of the student and not the Department that this document be prepared properly. At completion, students should provide the Plant Sciences Department with a copy of the dissertation. The Dissertation may be submitted to the Graduate College and to the Department electronically. The student should consult with the Graduate College if this option is chosen.