Stanford University requires an Oral Examination for the PhD Program. The department chooses the format of the University Oral Examination. In the Computer Science Department, it is a Defense of the dissertation. The Oral examination format is a public presentation lasting approximately one hour, followed by questions from the examining committee in a private session (a maximum of three hours).

The university oral examination must be completed at least a quarter before the degree is conferred. Orals may be scheduled any time after a substantial portion of the dissertation is complete. The University prefers that orals not be scheduled during the first two weeks of the quarter, finals week, or breaks.

University Oral Examination

The Orals Committee must have at least five members, including one Chair and four voting members. Four of the five must be Academic Council members. The Orals committee will consist of the following:

Chair. The chair of the oral committee is typically selected by the student and advisor, usually at the suggestion of the reading committee members. The chair must be an academic council member and may be a professor emeritus.
- The chair of the examining committee may not have a full or joint appointment in the advisor's or student's department but may have a courtesy appointment in the department.
- The chair can be from the same Department as any other member(s) of the examination committee. It can be from the student's minor Department, provided that the student's advisor does not have a full or joint appointment in the minor Department.
- To maintain impartiality, the oral chair may not simultaneously serve on the student's dissertation reading committee.
Readers. The student’s Reading Committee members usually serve on the Orals Committee. Readers who are not Academic Council members (limit 1) need prior approval from the Graduate Division to sit on the Orals Committee by filing a Petition Form along with the Orals Form.
Advisor. The student’s advisor is a member of the committee.

A student must submit a University Oral Exam Schedule form and a copy of their dissertation abstract at least two weeks before the proposed Orals date. The PhD student services office will ensure the committee is composed correctly.

Form/s should be submitted as a PDF and emailed to phdstudentservices@cs.stanford.edu. Jay Subramanian, Director of Graduation Admissions and PhD Program, approves all forms on behalf of the Department chair. The CS PhD Student Services Team will collect her signature after you submit your form/s.

CS-PHD - Computer Science (PhD)

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