Final Exam FAQ

Q: When may I take the final exam?
A: The Final examination must be taken between nine months and five years after the preliminary exam.

Q: How do I notify the department that I plan to take the final exam?
A: Each semester an email is sent to all graduate students asking who is planning to take the final exam during the upcoming semester. You may respond to that email or send an email to ae-grad@illinois.edu at any time.

Q: How is the information about my final exam announced?
A: You will need to provide the following information at least two weeks prior to your exam. This information will be sent electronically to AE faculty, staff and graduate students. You will need to make sure that your committee members who are outside AE are notified of the details. In addition, you will need to provide an electronic copy of your thesis to be kept in the main department office for review by the public.

Please email the following details to Jenna Russell at jennar@illinois.edu.

• Date/Time/Location
• ZOOM meeting information-if applicable
• Committee members
• Title of Dissertation
• Abstract (electronically please)

Q: How do I set up my doctoral committee?
A: At least three weeks prior to the date of your exam, complete the Request for Appointment of Preliminary or Final Exam form through the Graduate Student Portal.  You DO need to do this for each exam, even if your committee has not changed.  The committee members must meet Graduate College requirements.

Q: Do the same people who served on my preliminary exam have to be appointed to my final exam?
A: Usually the same people serve on both exams but changes in the committee are allowed.

Q: May someone from off-campus be appointed to my committee?
A: Yes, but you must provide a brief description of the qualifications and justification for each non-Graduate College Faculty member being nominated to serve as a voting member of the committee. You must also provide a copy of the person's cv (electronically is preferred) as well.

Q: Are there any forms I need to worry about?
A: The Thesis Office will send letters of appointment to your committee. They will also send a Certificate of Result of Final Examination for the Doctoral Committee. Your forms will be sent directly to your committee chair. Your committee will need to indicate the results of the exam on the form and each member will need to sign it. The form must be returned to Jenna Russell as soon as possible after the exam.

Q: How do I reserve a room for my exam?
A: The final exam is open to the public. Due to their size, the conference rooms in Talbot Lab are generally not used for the final exam. For classrooms or other rooms on campus, please contact Laura Gerhold at  gerhold@illinois.edu.