GRADUATE CATALOG - Baylor University

GRADUATE CATALOG / General Information 47
2. The chairperson of the department or the graduate program director, in consultation
with both the candidate and the committee chair per son, will identify the members of the
thesis committee. The committee will consist of a minimum of three Graduate Fac ul ty
members, two of whom must be from the major department. One of the members of
the committee must be a member of the Graduate Faculty who is not affi liated with the
program in which the student is studying. All members of the examination committee
must hold appointments on the Baylor Graduate Fac ul ty.
3. The thesis committee will approve the general plan of the research project and the
title of the thesis.
4. Candidates are expected to consult with the members of their committee and to acquire
the approval of the committee as well as the major de part ment chairperson of the
completed draft of the thesis. Candidates should acquire Guidelines for Preparing the
Dissertation and Thesis and other necessary materials at the beginning of the semester
in which graduation is expected. The most recent edition of the Guidelines is available
on the Baylor homepage http://www.baylor.edu/graduate/. If the student is unable to
download Guidelines, a copy can be obtained from the Graduate School. Additional
degree completion materials not available on the homepage are provided to students
when they fi le for graduation.
5. No longer than ten working days after the oral examination, but no later than the “last
day” deadline posted in the Graduate School Schedule of Classes for the semester of
graduation, an electronic pdf copy of the thesis in its fi nal de part men tal ly ap proved form
should be sub mit ted to the Grad u ate School. With the thesis copy, the student should
also submit the appropriate forms required, as stated in the Guidelines. A student is
certifi ed for graduation once the pdf copy of the thesis is submitted electronically and
approved, and all remaining steps, as stated in the Guidelines, have been completed.
Examinations
Candidates in thesis programs who complete the required pro gram of study and a
sat is fac to ry thesis will take an oral ex am i na tion. The format of the examination will be
determined by the studentʼs major department.
Candidates in non-thesis programs who complete the required pro gram of study and
any other special degree requirements will take a com pre hen sive oral examination as
determined by the major and, if ap pli ca ble, minor departments. (A written examination
may be required in lieu of the oral examination as a mat ter of policy only with the prior
writ ten ap prov al of the Graduate School.) At the option of a school/de part ment, both an
oral and a written examination may be required.
The following policies should be noted regarding the oral examination:
1. All incomplete grades (except in a thesis or scientifi c research course) must be removed
prior to the fi nal oral or written ex am i na tion.
2. The oral examination will be conducted by a minimum of two faculty members in the
studentʼs major degree program and one pre-approved representative from the Baylor
Graduate Faculty outside the studentʼs major department. The approval process is
con duct ed in advance of the oral examination by the Graduate School.
3. The examination should give the candidate the opportunity to defend the intellectual
substance of the thesis, including the struc ture of the argument advanced, the
methodology used, and the in ter pre ta tion offered.
4. The examination(s) should be taken not later than six weeks be fore the commencement
at which the degree is to be conferred. The can di date should arrange the date of the
examination(s) with the chair per son of the examination committee and acquire ap prov al
of this date from the Graduate School. One of the members of the committee must be
GENERAL INFORMATION