The Ph.D. Preliminary Examination should be taken at the end of the sixth semester (or at the end of the fourth semester if a year of transfer credit has been approved). It is designed to test the candidate's knowledge of the field in which the dissertation lies. The candidate should begin to plan for the Examination when applying for Candidacy.

The Examination is administered by an ad hoc Examination Committee,
chaired by a member of the graduate group (normally the dissertation
supervisor) and with the Chair of the Graduate Group serving ex officio.
The Committee is designated by the Committee Chair, with the approval
of the Graduate Group Chair, and it may include appropriate outside
specialists. A majority of the Committee must be members of the Graduate
Group. The field of the Examination is defined by the candidate in a
brief written statement which, after approval by the supervisor and
Chair of the Graduate Group, is circulated among the Examination Committee.

The Examination consists of written and oral components which test the candidate's ability to deal with broad, theoretical problems as well as his/her knowledge of factual information, bibliography and specific monuments. The written component is taken first. The Committee Chair assembles the test from questions submitted by the committee. It consists of no fewer than six questions, of which the candidate must answer three, with choices restricted in order to require the demonstration of competence over the entire field. This first part is written in eight hours on a single day without access to notes, books, or electronic data. The results are reported within one week. Students who fail the first part of the Examination may normally retake it once.

The first part of the examination must be passed in order for the candidate to take the second, oral part, which is held not more than two weeks after the first part is written. Its date is established at the same time that the date for the written part is set. The examiners may pose some of their oral questions with the aid of slides or objects which are shown to the candidate for discussion. Students who fail the second part of the Examination may normally retake it once. The candidate must pass both parts in order to pass the Examination. The passing grades are "Pass" and "Pass with Distinction."