The General Exam committee will evaluate both the Written and the Oral components of the exam. Possible outcomes of the general exam are defined by the Graduate School as: (1) The candidate be encouraged to proceed with studies leading to the doctoral degree. (2) The candidate must be reexamined after a further period of study. Requires resubmission of a Request for General Examination to the Graduate School. The Dean will approve at most two reexaminations except under extraordinary circumstances. HCDE policy expects the reexamination to take place within six months of failing the first exam. (3) The candidate is not recommended for further work towards the doctoral degree. The effect of this recommendation is termination of the student's enrollment in the doctoral program.

The criteria for evaluation for the General Exam will be based on (a) the core competencies of the degree program and (b) the student's ability to express ideas in a complete and scholarly manner.