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Stanford Engineering
Computer Science
Engineering

PhD | University Oral Examination

Overview

Stanford University requires an oral examination for the PhD program. The Department chooses the format of the University Orals Examination. In the Computer Science Department, it is a defense of the dissertation. The format of the oral is a public presentation lasting approximately one hour, followed by questions from the examining committee in a private session (maximum total of 3 hours time).

University Orals Examination

The orals committee must have at least five members that include 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 selected by the student, usually at the suggestion of reading committee members. The chair must be an academic council member and may be a professor emeritus.
    • The chair may not have a full or joint appointment in the advisor's Department but may have a courtesy appointment.
    • The chair can be from the same Department as any other member(s) of the examination committee and 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 orals chair may not simultaneously serve on the student's dissertation reading committee. 
  • Readers. The student's reading committee members must serve on the orals committee. Readers who are not academic council members (limit 1) need prior approval from the CS PhD Student Services Office to sit on the Orals Committee by filing a petition form and submitting a copy of the non-academic council member's CV with the Orals form. 
  • Advisor. The student's advisor/s must be member/s of the committee.

Orals may be scheduled any time after a substantial portion of the dissertation is complete. The University prefers that orals are not scheduled during the first two weeks of the quarter, finals week, or during breaks.

Students are encouraged to schedule the exam during the quarter preceding the one in which they intend to submit the final draft.

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 properly composed.

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.