/College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics and Astronomy

The Oral Exam

This page summarizes the practical steps for scheduling and passing the Oral Exam. These steps include:

For the full requirements, deadlines, and committee-composition rules, see The Oral Exam in the PhD Degree page.

The oral exam is a presentation of an approved research topic to your committee, demonstrating that you’re ready to begin PhD-level research. Three things need to happen, roughly in this order.

Committee Approval

The committee has at least three faculty members: your advisor (who will sign a statement agreeing to take you as a student), plus enough additional members so the committee includes at least one experimentalist, one theorist, and at least one member whose research specialty is different from your own. At least half the committee, and the chair, must be full-time faculty; the chair cannot be your future advisor. Postdocs may also serve, but only in addition to these required members.

You identify the members yourself, after consulting your advisor. Contact the Graduate Program Director at least three weeks before your exam to establish your committee – they must approve the final committee. You’re also responsible for scheduling the exam itself – coordinate a date and time directly with your committee members.

If your advisor works primarily off campus – for example at Brookhaven National Lab – check whether they hold adjunct faculty status. If so, the usual rules apply. If not, you will need a Stony Brook faculty co-advisor, ideally in a closely related research area, and your committee will have four members: both advisors plus two more chosen under the usual rules.

Once your committee is approved, fill out the Committee Approval form and email it to the Graduate Program Director and Graduate Coordinator.

Procedures for the Exam and Deadlines

The oral exam is a requirement for advancing to candidacy. It’s recommended by the start of your sixth semester at Stony Brook – in practice, no later than January 20 for Fall entrants or August 20 for Spring entrants – and required by the start of your seventh. You don’t need to have finished your coursework or passed the Comprehensive Exam first; many students take the Oral Exam while those requirements are still in progress.

The exam itself is a presentation of an approved research topic to your committee, prepared with guidance from your advisor – typically the same person who becomes your thesis advisor. Choose the topic together with your advisor: it can be a literature review and an account of research you’ve already started, or a thesis proposal. The exam demonstrates that you’re ready to begin PhD-level research; you don’t need a completed project.

If you pass the oral exam on time but haven’t identified a thesis advisor yet, you still need to find a new advisor to remain in Good Standing.

After the Exam

Right after the exam, download the signature page and the Advisor Commitment form. Have both signed, then submit them to the Graduate Program Director and Graduate Coordinator.

The Advisor Commitment form is where your advisor formally accepts you as a student and agrees to continue providing academic support and, when possible, financial support going forward.