Doctoral Milestones uwm.edu/graduateschool/doctoral-milestones

Online Doctoral Milestones System Access: Access is initially limited to the student, Major Professor, Graduate Representative, & the Graduate School. Graduate Representatives have the option of assigning trusted users in their area to have access to the Doctoral Milestones System. A role can be chosen to give that person either Approver or Viewer access.  Graduate Representatives have the ability to view & mark checklists and approve or deny information for students in their program. Approver access is the same level of access. Viewer access only allows the ability to view the Milestones Checklist to see progress. To assign a new user access, follow these steps: 1)      Log into the Doctoral Milestones System, click on the ‘USERS’ tab in the gold bar. 2)      Select your Program. 3)      Enter the new user’s Name and ePanther ID. Select either Approver or Viewer. 4)      Click on button to ‘Add User’.

Online Doctoral Milestones System Logged in as Professor: Logged in as Graduate Representative: Logged in as a Student:

Online Doctoral Milestones System Forms Moving Online: 1) Application for Doctoral Preliminary Exam Dissertator Proposal Hearing Form OR Topic Summary Form 3) Application for Doctoral Dissertator Status

1. Application for Doctoral Preliminary Exam Back to Forms

Application for Doctoral Preliminary Exam Background: Doctoral preliminary examinations, or "prelims," as they are commonly called, are designed to assess a doctoral candidate's mastery of subject knowledge and application skills, and ensure adequate preparation for individual dissertation research. The Graduate School requires that you pass your prelims within five years of initial enrollment in your doctoral program. Some program units require two or three prelims. Some may be written, others are oral, and many are a combination. Your graduate program unit establishes the timing and structure of the prelims, as well as specific requirements and eligibility. Be sure to find out how preliminary exams are handled within your program unit. At the beginning of the semester that you are eligible to take the prelims, you must complete the electronic Application for the Doctoral Preliminary Examination, located in the Online Doctoral Milestones System. After you electronically submit the form, your program unit will be notified to submit their approval, then eligibility is validated by the Graduate School. After the exam, the program unit will enter the results and submit their approval online. It then goes to Graduate School for final processing. If you fail the prelim, your graduate program unit must provide you with its written policy regarding continuation. If you miss the scheduled prelims, you must file a new application for the next semester. Your prelim results are posted in the memorandum section of your unofficial transcript. Test results are kept in your graduate record. Back to Forms

Application for Doctoral Preliminary Exam Process: Student Submission through the Doctoral Milestones System a. Student will sign in and choose Doctoral Program and Major Professor Back to Forms

b. Student will click into the Application for Doctoral Preliminary Exam tab and fill in at least 3 UWM committee members and the expected Month and Year that the last exam will be completed, then click the button to Submit. Back to Forms

If the Preliminary Examination Application needs editing to change dates, committee members or other information, the Graduate Representative has the ability to go to Prelims section, to the ‘Unlock Prelim Applications’ tab and select the ‘Unlock’ button on the right. This will give the student the ability to edit any information on the application and re-submit. Back to Forms

2) Major Professor & Graduate Representative Approvals Once the application has been submitted by the student, an email prompts the Major Professor to Log into the System and approve the committee by clicking the checkbox on the right. This approval will prompt an email to the Graduate Representative, who will also need to log in and approve the committee by clicking the checkbox on the right. After both approvals have been made, an email is sent notifying the Graduate School to enter the student into Prelim Status in PAWS for the term of the Preliminary Exam. Back to Forms

If the Prelim Committee approval is still waiting on Major Professor action, the Graduate Representative (or anyone with that access) has the ability to send a reminder email. In the Checklists tab, under the Prelim Application Type, there will be a green box with an email symbol. This symbol is only present if the application is waiting on the Major to approve the committee. Clicking on the ‘email’ symbol will ask to verify that you would like an email to be sent , and then will email the Major Professor with a reminder to log in and approve the committee. If the Professor has already approved the committee, the box will have a checkmark. Back to Forms

3) Exam Results Major Professor will log in and enter the Date of the Last Preliminary Exam and the Results. This will prompt an email to the Graduate Representative to log in and approve the results. Back to Forms

After the Major Professor and Graduate Representative have approved the results, the action will notify the Graduate School to enter the results in PAWS. 4) Major Professors and Graduate Representatives, along with approved users, have the ability to view a Preliminary Exam Checklist for each student and the option to open and print a pdf summary. Back to Forms

2. Proposal Hearing or Topic Summary Form Student will log in and choose either Proposal Hearing Form or Summary of Your Dissertation Topic. Back to Forms

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Hearing Form OR Summary Topic Form Background: The dissertation proposal must be approved by your doctoral committee. Committee approval of the dissertation proposal establishes agreement on your chosen research and indicates that you have adequate preparation to complete the research. Completion of this requirement is posted in the memorandum section of the unofficial transcript. You can hold your proposal hearing before or after you achieve dissertator status. *If a student does not have a Dissertation Proposal Hearing, or if the Hearing is set to take place after becoming a Dissertator, they need to submit a Topic Summary Form before eligible to become a Dissertator. Changes to Proposal Any significant changes to the dissertation as presented in the proposal hearing must be approved. A new proposal and proposal hearing are required. Back to Forms

Proposal Hearing Form Process: Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Hearing Form Student must enter the Hearing Date, Dissertation Title and at least 3 UWM Committee Members and Submit Back to Forms

If the Proposal Hearing Application needs editing to change dates, committee members or other information, the Graduate Representative has the ability to go to the Proposals section, in the ‘Unlock Proposal Hearing Applications’ tab and select the ‘Unlock’ button on the right. This will give the student the ability to edit any information on the application and re-submit. Back to Forms

Proposal Hearing Form Process: 2) Major Professor and Graduate Representative Approvals Once the Proposal Hearing form has been submitted by the student, an email prompts the Major Professor to Log into the System to approve the proposal hearing by clicking the checkbox on the right. This approval will prompt an email to the Graduate Representative, who will also need to log in and approve the proposal hearing by clicking the checkbox on the right. After both approvals have been made, this prompts an email notifying the Graduate School to enter the information in PAWS. Back to Forms

Topic Summary Form Process: B) Topic Summary Form The topic summary form is filled out by the student and submitted. No other action is needed. Back to Forms

4) Major Professors and Graduate Representatives, along with approved users, have the ability to view a Proposal Hearing/Topic Summary Checklist for each student and the option to open and print a pdf summary. There is also the option for the Graduate Representative to send a reminder email to the Major Professor if action is needed. Back to Forms

3. Application for Doctoral Dissertator Status Back to Forms

Application for Doctoral Dissertator Status Background: You are eligible to become a dissertator when you have: Completed all major and minor course requirements. Passed the doctoral preliminary examination. Submitted a dissertation topic summary or proposal hearing form in the Online Doctoral Milestones System. (If you are not doing the Proposal Hearing or not doing it until after dissertator status, you must submit the topic summary before you can be in dissertator status) Met residence requirements Cleared incomplete and "progress" grades/reports in non-research courses. Achieved a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA. Completed the language requirement (if required). Completed other departmental requirements (if any). Back to Forms

Application for Doctoral Dissertator Status Process: Student Submission through the Doctoral Milestones System Student will sign in and choose term and year for doctoral dissertator status to start. 2) Student submission prompts an email to the Graduate School to verify student eligibility, including: Passed the Doctoral Preliminary Exam Submitted Dissertation Proposal Hearing or Topic Summary Form Met residence requirements Cleared incomplete and progress grades in non-research courses Achieved a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA Back to Forms

Application for Doctoral Dissertator Status Process: 3) Graduate School action prompts an email to the Major Professor & Grad Rep Major Professor must verify eligibility, including: Completed all major and minor course requirements Completed the language requirement (if any) Completed other departmental requirements (if any) An email is then sent to the Graduate Representative to make the final approval. Back to Forms

Application for Doctoral Dissertator Status Process: 4) After approvals have been made, the action prompts an email notifying the Graduate School to enter the student into Dissertator Status in PAWS. An email is automatically sent to Major Professor, Graduate Representative and Student verifying dissertator status. 5) Major Professors and Graduate Representatives, along with approved users, have the ability to view a Dissertator Status Checklist for each student and the option to open and print a pdf summary. Graduate Representatives also have the ability to send a reminder email to the Major Professor if action is needed. Back to Forms

Student Status View When a student has submitted an application and is waiting for approvals, the status icon on the right will inform the student of the status. Status can be explained by hovering the computer mouse over the icon. Waiting for Action: If a section is failed, the student will have the option to re-start. Back to Forms

Student Status View When a student has successfully completed a milestone, a green checkmark will appear as the status icon! Finished! Back to Forms