Comps III

Comps III is also known as Admission to Candidacy and serves two purposes. First is to demonstrate your knowledge of the field and your work. Second is to ensure that you have a plan in place to graduate. The exam is formalized as a thesis proposal, which should include information about your past work and what must be done for you to complete your thesis, including a timeline with milestones. This proposal can be a written document and/or presentation slides to be presented in a Comps III meeting (attended by a quorum of the Comps III committee) as decided in consultation between the student, advisor, and committee.

Comps III must be taken by the end of your 4th year. If you are unable to meet that deadline, then you must submit a request for an extension to the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies, signed by you and your research advisor. If granted, an extension will be for one semester. Passing Comps III requires affirmative votes by a majority of the committee and any student who fails is allowed to retake it once after a time determined by the committee.

For Comps III, each student should follow the guidelines below to choose a five-member thesis committee, although only three (including the research advisor and titular advisor, if applicable) are required to attend the Comps III exam. Please note: all five committee members must sign the exam form. Students should meet with their entire committee at least once a year. Then, when the student is ready to defend, four of these members will serve on the defense committee along with an outside member. All committee members must be on the graduate faculty. However, a researcher does not need to be a faculty member to have a graduate faculty appointment. Please see the Graduate Program Assistant for a current list of graduate faculty members.

A student must be registered as full time during the semester in which the Comps III exam is taken.

Selecting a Committee

Definition of physics appointments

  • An appointment in physics refers to anyone in either the faculty or affiliate faculty lists
  • A primary appointment in physics refers to people in the faculty list with a title that includes the word "professor"

Rules for committe formation

A student's committee is comprised of five graduate faculty members.  At least three members of the committee must have an appointment in physics.  One or two members may come from other departments, but this is optional (a member outside the department is only required for the dissertation defense). All five members may be from the Physics Department. In addition, at least two members of the committee must have a primary appointment in physics.  These guidelines were agreed upon by the Department Chair and the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies. To deviate from these guidelines, you must petition the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies.

Detailed committee requirements for each type of research advisor  

Students working in physics or JILA:
  • Research advisor (faculty member with a primary appointment in physics): this is the person with whom you'll enroll for dissertation hours
  • Four other graduate faculty members: at least one must have a primary appointment in physics. All four may have physics appointments.
Students working in another department with an advisor who has a physics appointment:
  • Research advisor (faculty member with an appointment in physics): this is the person with whom you'll enroll for dissertation hours
  • Four other graduate faculty members: at least two must have a primary appointment in physics. All four may have physics appointments.
Students working in another department with an advisor who does not have a physics appointment:
  • Research advisor (faculty member without an appointment in physics)
  • Titular advisor (someone with a primary appointment in physics): this is the person with whom you'll enroll for dissertation hours. Their research should be related to your own. Ask your research advisor for suggestions. See the Graduate Program Assistant for help.
  • Three additional graduate faculty members: at least two must have an appointment in physics and at least one must have a primary appointment in physics.
Students working off-campus with an advisor who has a physics appointment:
  • Research advisor in NCAR, NIST, NOAA, NREL, etc. (has an appointment in physics): this is the person with whom you'll enroll for disseration hours.
  • Four additional graduate faculty members: at least two must have a primary appointment in physics. 
Students working off-campus with an advisor who does not have a physics appointment:
  • Research advisor in NCAR, NIST, NOAA, NREL, etc. (has an appointment in physics):
  • Titular advisor (someone with a primary appointment in physics): this is the person with whom you'll enroll for dissertation hours. Their research should be related to your own. Ask your research advisor for suggestions. See the Graduate Program Assistant for help.
  • Three additional graduate faculty members: at least one must have a primary appointment in physics. 

Paperwork and Deadlines

The candidate is expected to prepare and submit the following documents (Available on the Graduate School Web site):

  • Comps III Examination Report Form - The Doctoral Comprehensive Exam Form (Workflow Process) should be filled out two weeks before the exam. The exam committee will be sent the form in docusign upon completion of the exam. The pay rate for RAs is greater for students that have completed Comps III (currently $133 more per month).  To ensure you receive the correct pay, please submit a copy of the signed form to whoever handles your RA pay.
  • - The Candidacy Application for Advanced Degree may be accessed on the Graduate School website. The form will be completed in OnBase. Candidacy Applications should be submitted on or before the day of the Comps III exam.