All students in the Ph.D. in Education program must take the preliminary examination ("prelims") upon completion of the primary course work. The examination is administered each semester during the fifth week of the term on Wednesday and Friday mornings. Prior to taking the exam, the student must have completed the two COEHS core courses, the five Departmental core courses, the research tool requirement, and the majority of the remaining course work. The student should alert her or his doctoral committee chair and the Director of Graduate Programs of the intention to take prelims at least one semester in advance of sitting for the exam.

The preliminary examination consists of eight sections, five of which are written or keyboarded during the scheduled Wednesday and Friday examination period. The other three sections are evaluated by a scholarly paper that is prepared in advance and submitted on Wednesday morning of the examination period. Requirements and procedures for developing the scholarly paper, which addresses the student's area of specialization and professional identity, are contained in guidelines provided by the Office of Graduate Programs.

Each of the eight sections of the exam are evaluated by three graduate faculty members on a scale ranging from 1 (unacceptable) to 5 (excellent). A score of 3.0 (average) or higher on seven of the eight sections are required to pass the exam. Students failing two or more parts will be required to retake the exam. Policies explaining when and how to retake an examination, in whole or part, are available from the Office of Graduate Programs.