Upon completion of all course requirements, the provisional candidate must pass written preliminary examinations in all three fields previously chosen. They are usually taken within eighteen months of entry into the program, and the entire set of preliminary examinations must be taken at least six months before the final examination on the thesis (thesis defence). The written examination in each of the fields is set and assessed by at least two members of the department (except in cases when it is necessary to draw upon someone in another department). Those who set and assess the written examinations are usually members of the supervisory committee, to which other faculty members are added when appropriate.

There are two formats permissible for the written preliminaries: take-home examinations and on-campus examinations. Students and supervisory committee members should discuss the format they prefer; in the event of a disagreement, the supervisor shall decide on the format of the thesis field, and those who will set and assess the exam of the other fields will decide on those fields, with the supervisor casting a deciding vote if necessary. (In case of disagreement between co-supervisors, the Graduate Chair of his or her designee shall cast the deciding vote.) At least one of the examinations must be in the on-campus format. These decisions should be communicated to the Graduate Chair at least three weeks prior to the beginning of the written examinations and preferably much earlier.

For the take-home examination, the student may answer from one to three broad questions; the number of questions should be agreed upon beforehand, following the same procedures as for the decision on the general format. There must be some choice for the student, i.e., the list of questions asked must exceed the number to be answered by at least one. The student shall have five working days in which to submit the examination answer to the Graduate Secretary, who will make copies for all the members of the examining committee and place the originals in the student’s file. Take-home examination answers for each field shall not exceed thirty pages.

The on-campus examination shall be written over a period of three hours. The number of questions follows the same rules as for the take-home examination. After completing the examination, the student shall submit it to the Graduate Secretary, who will make copies for all the members of the examining committee.

In order to be successful in the written examinations, students must demonstrate breadth of knowledge in the chosen fields, knowledge of the scholarly literature on all questions answered and the ability to integrate knowledge acquired through course work and extensive independent reading.

The three written examinations may be taken over a period not to exceed eight weeks.

The two formal assessors of each written examination will make one of three assessments: 1) pass, 2) reserve judgment to the oral examinations, 3) fail. The results should be communicated to the student in writing. If the results are anything other than two assessments of failure, the student may proceed to the oral examination.

In case of an assessment of failure by both assessors in any of the fields of the written preliminary examinations, the oral candidacy examinations will be canceled. At the discretion of the examining committee, the student may either be required to withdraw from the programme or be permitted a second attempt. If allowed to continue, the student, after an interval of at least five months, must again write the examination in the failed field(s), as well as pass the subsequent oral examination.

In the event of a failure, the examining committee will determine whether the oral examination alone need be repeated or whether the written examinations must be re-taken as well. Re-examination will normally begin six months later. In the event of a second failure of the oral examination, the student will be advised to withdraw from the program.

After successfully completing the written and first oral preliminary examinations, the student will prepare a thesis proposal outlining the topic to be researched and the primary and secondary sources to be used. The student must satisfy the examining committee orally as to his/her understanding of the subject and the appropriateness of the topic and methodology. This examination should normally be held within four months of the first oral examination and may be held at the same time as the first oral examination. The examining committee will consist of the supervisory committee plus at least two other members, one from inside the Department and one from a department other than History and Classics. Normally these would expect to serve also on the final oral examination (thesis defence).

Upon successful completion of the oral candidacy examination, the student will be advanced to formal candidacy for the PhD.