Qualifying Exam

Format

The qualifying exam consists of 1) a written research proposal based on the prospective thesis project and 2) an oral exam in which the student defends the research proposal before a qualifying exam committee.

The qualifying exam committee consists of 3 faculty members, with at least one having a primary or secondary appointment in Cell Biology. This committee will become the student’s thesis committee, but the composition of the latter can be changed as the thesis project evolves. The members of the committee are chosen by the student in consultation with the thesis advisor and with approval from the DGS.

The student will ask one Cell Biology faculty to be the chair of the committee. The chair is responsible for preparing, after the oral exam, a short assessment of the student’s performance in the qualifying exam to be emailed to the DGS and other members of the committee, as well as the student. The chair also acts as moderator of the oral exam.

The DGS should be contacted if any serious problem is encountered during the qualifying exam period.

Timeframe

Students are expected to complete the qualifying exam in the fall semester of the 2nd year.

Summer (June-August)

1. Student will decide on a prospective thesis project. Student will assemble a thesis committee of 3 faculty members, excluding the thesis advisor, at least one of which must have a primary or secondary appointment in Cell Biology. The thesis committee must be approved by the DGS. This committee will also act as the qualifying exam committee.
2. In consultation with exam committee and thesis advisor, student will define several (at least 2) research areas broadly relevant to thesis project that the student would be expected to be knowledgeable about from reading the literature. Student is encouraged (but not required) to meet with thesis committee members for advice and guidance in reading the literature. For example, an informal reading period of a few sessions over several weeks could be set up in which the student can discuss key papers with the faculty member.
3. By September 1, the student will send to the exam committee and the DGS a 1-paragraph summary of the proposal describing the question to be addressed, why it is important, and how it will be addressed. In addition, the student will list the research areas that s/he expects to become expert on. The committee will then have 1 week to communicate to the student, via the chair of the committee, its approval of the thesis and research topics. A date for the oral exam in the fall should be set.

Fall (September-December)

1. Student will write the proposal from summer to early fall. The proposal should be given to the exam committee at least 2 weeks before the oral exam. If the proposal is not satisfactory, the committee can postpone the exam.
2. Oral exam should be completed by the end of the fall semester (before winter break).

Students will arrange the schedule of their own exams within the timeframe above and are expected to complete the exam by the end of the fall semester. Students needing extra time to prepare for the exam (for example, a student who did a 4th lab rotation during the summer) may be allowed to have an extension of the deadline or to take the exam in the following spring term. Any exception must be endorsed by the thesis advisor and approved by the DGS.

While preparing for the qualifying exam, students are allowed to take time away from laboratory work but are not exempt from classes.

The research proposal

One of the goals of the qualifying exam is for the student to learn how to write a compelling research proposal. The research proposal should be written in the form of a mini-grant proposal according to the format below. Although the original idea for the thesis project may have come from the thesis advisor, the student is primarily responsible for conceiving and writing the proposal. However, it is expected that the student will discuss and receive feedback about the proposal from the thesis advisor. The student should generate a best effort version of the proposal for the advisor to read, and enough time should be allowed for several rounds of revision. The advisor is expected to have read and approved the final version of the proposal before it is distributed to the qualifying exam committee.

Please follow the format below for the research proposal.

1. Title.
2. Specific Aims. State the specific purposes of the research proposal and the hypotheses to be tested. Should not be longer than 1 page.
3. Background and Significance. Sketch briefly the background to the proposal. State concisely the importance of the research described in the proposal by relating the specific aims to broad, long-term objectives.
4. Research Design and Methods. Describe the following:
• Preliminary results, if any. (Not required)
• Research design and procedures to be used to accomplish the specific aims.
• Tentative sequence for the investigation.
• Potential experimental difficulties should be discussed together with alternative approaches that could achieve the desired aims.
5. Literature Cited.

The proposal should be single spaced in 12-point font with 1-inch margins and should be not more than 10-12 pages long, including tables, figures and references. The student should feel free to look at the proposals of other students who have passed the qualifying exam. The DGS also has copies of proposals that can be consulted.

The oral exam

The student should prepare a short presentation (about 30 minutes) on the research proposal, including background, rationale, and aims, to be given at the beginning of the oral exam. The actual presentation will take longer because the committee will interrupt with questions about the research proposal, often right from the start. The committee will also ask questions to probe the student’s knowledge of the research areas forming the background to the proposal. The thesis advisor is present at the exam and may at the discretion of the committee participate in asking or re-phrasing questions but does not answer questions for the student. Count on the exam taking at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours. At the end, with the student temporarily out of the room, the committee discusses the student’s performance in the oral exam as well as the quality of the written proposal before informing the student of their assessment.

A student can receive a pass or a conditional pass contingent on fulfillment of an additional requirement, e.g., revising the written proposal or writing a paper to remedy an inadequate knowledge of the literature. The committee may also make specific recommendations such as taking a particular course. The student failing the exam may have one more chance to pass the exam at a later time, depending on approval by the DGS and the faculty.

Some students have found it helpful to prepare for the oral exam by taking a mock oral exam involving other students and postdocs acting as the qualifying exam committee.