Exam Forms

Graduate Students

This page is only for those graduate students who have been formally admitted to a residential program in the College of Education.

Overview
Forms

A white hand holds a pen as it marks on a form.

Who is this information for?

This page is only for those graduate students who have been formally admitted to a residential program in the College of Education.

Form Information

This page provides information for the process for the following forms:

Form 8: Request for Appointment of Examining Committee (initiates Form 7, 10, or 11)
Form 7: Report of Master’s Examining Committee
Form 10: Report of the Preliminary Examination
Form 11: Report of the Final Examination

Online and hybrid students should work with their assigned enrollment specialist on the procedure for exam forms.

Students in a certificate or licensure program are not required to submit exam forms.

Please be sure to review the Graduation Deadlines PDF that is sent through the COEGRAD mailing list each semester for important deadlines and requirements. All residential College of Education graduate students are strongly encouraged to self-subscribe to the COEGRAD mailing list in order to receive these important communications. Please email edgrad@purdue.edu for instructions on how to subscribe.

Preliminary Exam

For PhD students to formally schedule the preliminary exam, the student must submit an electronic Form 8 at least 2 weeks prior to the exam date. The form can be accessed via myPurdue within the Plan of Study Generator area.

A Plan of Study must be approved before a student can schedule the preliminary exam. At least one credit of registration is required in the semester in which a student wishes to hold the preliminary exam. Please see the Plan of Study webpage for further details.

Students must have three members on their preliminary examining committee, and at least 51% of the committee members must have regular graduate faculty certification at the Purdue – West Lafayette campus. Once the student submits the Form 8, then the Form 10 is generated for the student’s committee to complete.

Final Exam

For the final defense, students must have four committee members, and at least 51% of the committee members must have regular graduate faculty certification at the Purdue – West Lafayette campus. Students may request to add a fourth committee member through a Change Request to their plan of study, and students are encouraged to submit this request at least four weeks in advance of the final defense.

For PhD students to formally schedule the dissertation defense/final exam, the student must submit an electronic Form 8 at least 2 weeks prior to the exam date.

An exam form is not required for the dissertation proposal that occurs prior to the final exam.

Two entire semesters of research registration must elapse between the preliminary exam and the final defense.

Please use the example chart below for planning purposes, and contact our office during the semester of your preliminary exam.

Term Example: Fall 2025	Term Example: Spring 2026	Term Example: Summer 2026	Final Term Example: Fall 2026
Pass Prelims during this term Must be registered for at least 1 credit to schedule preliminary defense. Electronic Plan of Study must be fully approved before the prelim defense can be scheduled.	At least 1 credit of 699 registration	At least 1 credit of 699 registration	Eligible to schedule final defense during this term. Request during the first week of classes in the term to register for candidacy to graduate in December 2026.

Once the student submits the Form 8, then the Form 11 is generated for the student’s committee to complete.