| PLAN B ORAL EXAMINATION
Definition of Plan B
The Plan B option is open to MS students, to MPP students who began their degree program in fall 2001 or before, and to MURP students who were admitted in fall 2000 or prior. According to the Graduate School Catalog, the Plan B process requires students the opportunity to "demonstrate familiarity with the tools of research or scholarship in their major field, the ability to work independently, and the ability to present the results of their investigation effectively."
Paper preparation
Paper course
Students complete a paper by enrolling in one of the following courses:
- an approved paper course
- a working group
- a workshop
- an independent study with the paper advisor
Students receiving a grade below B on a paper written in a workshop or other approve paper course are required to revise and strengthen their work before the Plan B oral examination. The student's advisor must approve how the student approaches the Plan B.
Paper topic approval form
Students must also submit a Paper Topic Approval form, signed by the student's paper advisor, before the beginning of the final semester of coursework. The Paper Topic Approval form communicates the following:
- Student's paper topic and, if applicable, strategy for research
- Timetable for research and writing the paper
- Oral Examination committee (also indicated on Degree Program form)
Composition of orals committee/ changing the orals committee
Committee composition
The student should put together her/his orals committee in consultation with the academic advisor (this is the committee that is listed on the first 'transmittal' page of the Graduate School's Degree Program form). The committee should be composed as follows:
- Paper advisor (Humphrey faculty or a graduate faculty member from another department)
- Humphrey graduate faculty member. This second member MUST be on the Humphrey graduate faculty if the paper advisor is not.
- Graduate faculty member with appointment in minor/outside or related field. Must have examining status or higher.
To find out if a faculty member is eligible to serve on a committee, visit the Graduate School website at http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty_rosters/step1.asp. If the paper was written in a course setting, the course instructor is not required to serve on the student's committee.
Students are strongly encouraged to verify committee members' participation by the middle of the semester in which they plan to graduate and to set dates for their final oral exams.
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Changing the orals committee
To change the members of the oral examination committee:
- The student discusses with his/her advisor the desired change in the committee membership.
- The student should notify Student Services in Room 225 of the proposed changes using either the Humphrey Advisor/ Oral Exam Committee Change form (available in Room 225 or in the Student and Faculty Handbook) or by sending an e-mail to Rebecca Wienbar or Katherine Murphy. Students should submit such changes at least two weeks before the scheduled date of the oral exam.
- Student Services will notify the Graduate School for their approval.
- It is respectful to make the ex-committee member(s) aware of the change.
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Preparing for the Plan B oral examination
Before the oral examination can be conducted, the student must meet the following conditions:
- The degree program must be on file and approved by the Graduate School.
- The student must have taken, or be registered for, all of the courses listed on the degree program.
To set up the oral examination, the student is responsible for the following steps:
- Make sure that the Graduate School has an up-to-date list of the student\'s oral examination committee members. See above for the procedures for changing examiners.
- The student arranges the time and place for a one-hour meeting that all examiners can attend. Conference rooms 131, 173, 274 or 182 may be scheduled using the e-mail appointment system.
- Distribute a final copy or complete draft of the paper to each of the examiners at least two weeks before the oral examination unless other arrangements are made.
- The student must pick up or order the Graduation Packet from the Graduate School. This packet includes:
- The Graduate School's Examination Report: Master's Degree and Certificate of Specialist in Education (GS 4). The student should bring the completed Examination Report to the oral examination. The oral examination cannot proceed in the absence of this document.
- The Graduate School's Application for Degree. This form, also part of the Graduation Packet, should be completed and submitted to 200 Fraser Hall by the last day of the month before the month the student intends on graduating.
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Oral examination
The final oral examination is the last step in completing the Humphrey degree for students choosing the Plan B option
- Should last about an hour.
- It will usually begin with a brief presentation by the student to the committee. A discussion of the paper will follow.
- The exam may also cover topics covered in classes the student has taken.
- It is not unusual for examiners to ask students for changes in the paper. Until the paper is satisfactory to all examiners, it cannot be signed or bound and the Examination Report form cannot be signed by the examiners nor submitted to Room 225.
- See Completing Your Degree in the Student and Faculty Handbook for the remaining steps in completing degree requirements.
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