This examination is a defense of an original research proposal, made before a qualifying examination committee (QEC) representative of the areas of specialization. The examination is used to evaluate the ability of the student to pose meaningful engineering and scientific questions, to propose experimental methods for answering those questions, and to interpret the validity and significance of probably outcomes of these experiments. It is also used to test a student’s comprehension and understanding of their formal coursework in life sciences, biomedical engineering and mathematics. Possible outcomes of the qualifying examination are:
1. Unconditional Pass - The candidate satisfied a majority of the QEC according to all criteria.
2. Conditional Pass with specific course work to address a specific deficiency - The candidate satisfied a majority of the QEC with the exception of a particular weakness in one of the areas of specialization. The QEC is confident that the weakness can be corrected by the candidate taking a particular course specific to the area of weakness. Upon completion of the designated course with a “B” grade or higher, the student advances to PhD candidacy.
3. Fail with an opportunity to retake within 6 months — The QEC determined that the candidate had several weaknesses. However, the majority of the QEC determined that the student has the potential to be a successful PhD candidate and could address the weaknesses. In this case, the student will have an opportunity to repeat the exam, which must be accomplished with 6 months of the original exam. The second exam only has two possible outcomes; unconditional pass, or fail without opportunity to retake the exam.
Students are required to take the Ph.D. qualifying examination no later than the fifth semester after formal admittance to the Ph.D. program. Admission to Ph.D. candidacy is officially conferred upon students who have completed their course credit requirements, exclusive of dissertation research credit, and passed the Ph.D. qualifying examination.