The following written and oral examinations are required
of all Ph.D. students.
I. Quantitative Area Qualifying Examination
The Qualifying Examination in the Quantitative Area is a three hour written
examination covering the subject matter of BQA 8443 and BQA 9533. The
Examination is offered twice a year by the graduate faculty in Quantitative
Analysis. The Office of Graduate Studies in Business maintains the schedule
of examination dates. The student must register for the examination
with the Office of Graduate Studies in Business at least 30 days prior
to the scheduled date of the examination he or she plans to take. The
student must sit for the Qualifying Examination in the Quantitative
Area by the end of the third regular semester of study.
Two failures on the Qualifying Examination result in automatic termination
of the student's program.
II. Preliminary Examinations
Preliminary Examinations are written examinations required in the
major and each minor field. For each field in the College of Business
and Industry, Preliminary Examinations are offered twice a year by
the graduate faculty of the respective field. The schedule of examination
dates is maintained by the Office of Graduate Studies in Business.
The student must register for the examination with the Office of Graduate
Studies in Business at least 30 days prior to the scheduled date of
the examination he or she plans to take.
The student may sit for a Preliminary Examination after completing
eighteen hours of graduate course work at Mississippi State University
and completion of all required course work in the field of the examination.
An academic area may stipulate additional requirements to sit for
the Major Preliminary Examination in that area. All Preliminary Examinations
must be taken within 42 months after beginning course work if the
appropriate course work is available. The student must be enrolled
during the semester the examination is administered. Three failures
on a Preliminary Examination in a given field result in automatic
termination of the student's program.
The Comprehensive Examination is an oral examination over the student's
entire program of course work. Following completion of all course
work required by the student's program, passage of the Qualifying
Examination, and passage of all Preliminary Examinations, the Comprehensive
Examination may be scheduled. The Comprehensive Examination must be
scheduled within the six months of the student's eligibility to sit
for the examination. The examination is scheduled through the Office
of Graduate Studies in Business at least two weeks prior to the date
desired for examination.
The examination is administered by the student's Graduate Program
Committee plus a representative of the Graduate School. A student
may pass the examination with no more than one failure or dissenting
vote from a member of the Graduate Program Committee. A student who
fails the Comprehensive Examination cannot apply to re-sit for the
examination until period of three months has elapsed from the date
of the original examination. Two failures on the Comprehensive Examination
result in automatic termination of the student's program. The student's
Graduate Program Committee is dissolved upon passage of the Comprehensive
Examination.
IV. Proposal Defense
Following passage of the Comprehensive Examination the student is
eligible to defend a dissertation topic proposal. The Proposal Defense
is scheduled by the Chairman of the Graduate Dissertation Committee
through the Office of Graduate Studies and is administered by the
student's Graduate Dissertation Committee. The request to schedule
a Proposal Defense must be made at least two weeks prior to the anticipated
date of the defense. A Proposal Defense will not be scheduled sooner
than two weeks after a copy of the written dissertation proposal has
been distributed to all members of the Graduate Dissertation Committee
and the unit within which the major field is housed. The Proposal
Defense is open to all interested parties, and copies of the proposal
are available through the unit housing the major.
At the conclusion of the public defense, the Graduate Dissertation
Committee will meet in closed session, with or without the student,
regarding approval of the proposed dissertation topic. The committee
may approve, approve subject to revisions, delay the decision, or
fail to approve the proposal. The Office of Graduate Studies in Business
is notified by the committee chairman of the committee's decision.
Upon unanimous approval of the dissertation proposal by the members
of the Graduate Dissertation Committee and the approval by the Director
of Graduate Studies in Business and the Dean of the Graduate School,
the student is admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree.
V. Dissertation and Final Defense*
The dissertation shall be required of all candidates for the doctorate.
The dissertation must show mastery of the techniques of research and
a very distinct contribution to the field under investigation and
study. The dissertation must conform to the regulations of the Graduate
School as specified in the manual Guidelines for Preparing Dissertations
and Theses.
The Final Defense of the Dissertation is an oral examination. The
examination is scheduled by the Chairman of the Graduate Dissertation
Committee through the Office of Graduate Studies and is administered
by the student's Graduate Dissertation Committee plus a representative
of the Graduate School. The request to schedule the Final Defense
must be made at least two weeks prior to the anticipated date of the
examination. The examination will not be scheduled sooner than two
weeks after a copy of the final manuscript has been distributed to
all members of the Graduate Dissertation Committee and the unit within
which the major field is housed. The Final Defense of the Dissertation
is open to all interested parties, and copies of the manuscript are
available through the unit housing the major.
At the conclusion of the public defense, the Graduate Dissertation
Committee and the representative of the Graduate School will meet
in closed session, with or without the student, regarding the results
of the Final Defense of the Dissertation. The committee may pass,
pass subject to revisions, delay the decision, or fail the student
on the Final Defense. A student may pass the examination with no more
than one failing or dissenting vote from a member of the Graduate
Dissertation Committee. The results of the final defense are transmitted
to the Office of Graduate Studies in Business by the Chairman of the
Graduate Dissertation Committee at the conclusion of the meeting.
To qualify for graduation in a given semester the Office of Graduate
Studies in Business must report the results of the Final Defense to
the Graduate School at least by the "Last day for submitting
examination results" as published in the Graduate Academic Calendar
of the Graduate Bulletin.
A student who fails the final examination cannot apply for reexamination
until a period of six months has elapsed from the date of the original
examination. Two failures on the final examination will result in
the student being terminated from further consideration as a doctoral
candidate.
Following a successful Final Defense the original copy of the
dissertation must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies
to be checked for acceptance for binding. To qualify for graduation
in a given semester this must be done at least by the "Last
day for first submission of theses/dissertations to the Office of
Graduate Studies" as published in the Graduate Academic Calendar
of the Graduate Bulletin.
The original and one copy shall be endorsed with the signatures
of the Graduate Dissertation Committee members, the Director of
Graduate Studies in Business and the Dean of the College of Business
and Industry. The signed original and copy, along with an extra
copy of the title page and three additional copies of the abstract,
all unbound and of satisfactory quality, must be deposited with
the Graduate School. To qualify for graduation in a given semester
this must be done at least by the "Last day for submitting
signed theses/dissertations to the Office of Graduate Studies"
as published in the Graduate Academic Calendar of the Graduate Bulletin.
The University has an agreement with University Microfilms International
for the microfilming of all doctoral dissertations. Under this agreement,
two microfilm copies of the complete dissertation will be made and
the abstract (maximum of 350 words) will be published in the journal,
Dissertations Abstracts International. The doctoral candidate must
pay $55.00 for microfilming. The microfilm is made available, through
University Microfilms International, to anyone interested for use
or purchase as a book.
Two copies of the dissertation are bound and permanently filed
in the University Library. The doctoral candidate must pay a $12.00
binding fee for this to the Comptroller. No provision is made for
the binding of additional copies of the dissertation; this is the
student's personal responsibility.
Under the agreement with University Microfilms International,
if desired, the dissertation will be copyrighted with the copyright
in the name of the author. If this copyrighting is desired the doctoral
candidate must pay an additional $35.00 fee.
* The student must be enrolled the semester the dissertation is
submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies.
