In addition to their coursework and various other requirements, UW graduate students must pass two oral exams to receive their PhDs: a General Exam and a Final Exam. The General is equivalent to an oral thesis proposal or oral qualifying exam at other institutions; the Final Exam is a thesis defense. For CENPA grad students, these typically take place in Room 178 (see Conference rooms; a reservation must be made). It is standard practice for CENPA faculty, postdocs, students, and often staff to attend all CENPA exam talks regardless of affiliation with the research group of the student. It is also expected that people will contribute to and attend post-exam parties whenever reasonable (see Celebrating a general or final exam). This practice sets CENPA apart from the rest of the department where often only 4 or 5 people show up to exams.
Students must schedule a General or Final exam with the graduate school by requesting an exam online. The exam is then approved by the department and the graduate school. After approval an exam warrant will be issued by the Graduate School and must be provided to the Graduate School Representative at the time of the exam. If you do not get pre-approval your exam will not take place, which is embarrassing. Of course the date and content must be discussed ahead of time with one's advisor and committee members.
Prospective exam-takers should remember that most people on campus (even many physicists) do not know where CENPA is, so it is a good idea to provide a map to any non-physics faculty (read: the Graduate School Representative) on the committee.