Preparation For Oral Examination For Master's Degree Suggestions:

1. Read the Student Handbook about the Oral Exam and talk to students who have completed orals. Two main variables need to be considered as you prepare for your oral exam: (a) selection of the faculty committee, (b) organization of the knowledge you gained during the Master's program
    
2. Select a chairperson for your committee . The committee chair must be a doctorally-prepared nurse faculty member. Consider the best functional and personal fit.
    
3. Speak with your chairperson about faculty who might be on your examination committee.
   Consider:
   1. their graduate studies appointment
   2. their blend of knowledge and skills
   3. their availability
   In order to ensure that your intended committee members have appropriate Graduate Studies appointments, you should submit the form from either Appendix A or Appendix B in the SON student handbook to the Administrative Specialist in the Office of Academic Affairs, SON (588-1614). These forms can be found at http://www.kumc.edu/studenthandbook/
    
4. At least three weeks prior to the exam, submit your Do All Request Form to the Student Affairs Office. http://www2.kumc.edu/son/academicinformation/DoAllForm.pdf Please refer to the graduate calendar for the deadlines for graduation. Office of Graduate Studies
    
5. Speak with your chairperson about how to prepare for the oral exam. This is very important as each committee chair may have a format and structure that they prefer.
    
6. Review your coursework, the knowledge you gained, and how these helped meet the terminal objectives of the Master's Program. You may want to plot coursework etc. against a terminal objective grid (PDF, 13kb) to help organize your preparation for the oral examination.
    
7. Practical Considerations
   1. Schedule a room for 2 hours.
   2. If using audiovisuals, ensure their function.
   3. Bring a pad and pen for making notes during the question/answer period.
   4. Listen carefully to all questions. Ask faculty to repeat questions if they are not clearly understood or you are not sure about the answer. If needed, write down the questions and look for key words that may help you to focus your answer.
      
      
8. Approximate Time Frame for Oral Examination for Master's Degree. Please note that each committee chair and circumstances may vary one or more elements within the time frame.

   Introduction - 5 minutes to 10 minutes
   Student Summary - 20 minutes to 30 minutes
   Questions - 30 minutes to 60 minutes
   Evaluation - 5+ minutes

Following the oral examination: The official Program Evaluation Form (DO-ALL) is signed by the chairperson only.