The University of New Mexico

Guidelines for Examinations

The major graduate unit must notify the OGS of the student’s scheduled examination date by submitting the appropriate announcement form at least two weeks before the examination. If you are considering an embargo restriction petition, the request form should be submitted at the same time as the announcement of examination for the thesis or dissertation defense. The examination committee must follow the following criteria, as appropriate. Category levels for faculty are available here.

I.  Master’s Exam/Project and/or Thesis Committees: The role of the examination committee is to approve the exam questions, conduct the exam/defense, evaluate the student response and report the results.  Each committee must consist of a minimum of three members approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

  1. 2 members must be Category 1 OR one member can be Category 1 and one member may be Category 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
  2. The chair of the exam committee must be Category 1, 5 or 3, if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
  3. The third member can be any Category (1-6)
  4. A co-chair can be from any Category (1-6) as long as the other co-chair is a Category 1 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major.

   No more than one voting member can be in Category 4. Departments can impose a more restrictive structure for exam committees.

II.  Doctoral and MFA Comprehensive Exam Committees: The role of the examination committee is to approve the exam questions, conduct the exam, evaluate the student response and report the results.  Each committee must consist of a minimum of three members approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

  1. 2 members must be Category 1 OR one member can be Category 1 and one member may be Category 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
  2. The chair of the exam committee must be Category 1, 5 or 3, if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
  3. The third member can be any Category (1-6)
  4. A co-chair can be from any Category (1-6) as long as the other co-chair is a Category 1 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major

   No more than one voting member can be in Category 4.  Departments can impose a more restrictive structure for exam committees.

III. Doctoral and MFA Dissertation Committees: The role of the dissertation committee is to supervise a doctoral candidate’s dissertation activity. The Dean of Graduate Studies must approve each member for committee service.  The committee must consist of a minimum of four members; 2 of the 4 must have Category 1 approval.

  1. Chair must have approval as a Category 1, 5 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
  2. The second member must have approval as Category 1 or 3 if his/her appointment is within the student’s major
  3. The third member (external/outside) must have approval as Category 2 if selected from the faculty of an institution other than UNM, or Category 1 if a UNM faculty member outside the student’s discipline
  4. The fourth member can have approval as Category 1-6
  5. Co-Chair (optional) must have approval as a Category 1-6

No more than one voting member may be in Category 4.  Departments can impose a more restrictive structure for exam committees