PhD Candidacy Exam
After passing the Introductory Exam, the student begins to formulate the syllabus for the Ph.D. Candidacy Exam. The Candidacy Exam must be taken before beginning the student’s seventh semester, which providea at least three semesters after passing the Introductory Exam. (For a student passing the Introductory Exam upon entrance into the program, the Candidacy Exam may come as late as six semesters after the Introductory Exam.) A student is given at most two chances to pass this exam, with the opportunity to retake the exam left at the discretion of the examining committee. Should a student be given such a second opportunity, the second try must take place within 4 months of the first attempt.
Scope
- The Ph.D. Candidacy Exam is an oral exam conducted by at least three university faculty members. Committee members are not limited to Applied Mathematics and Statistics faculty, but tenured or tenure-track faculty with primary appointment in Applied Mathematics and Statistics must make up the majority of the committee members.
- The scope of the exam is determined by a syllabus prepared by the student with the help of the student's mentor and/or dissertation advisor. The syllabus should offer several general areas related to the student's proposed area of research along with a specific research topic on which the student will be examined in even greater depth.
Grading
A student may receive from the examining committee a grade of
unconditional pass, conditional pass (with conditions specified by the
examining committee), or fail. A (strict) majority of votes in favor of
either pass or conditional pass is needed for the student not to fail
the exam.
Mechanics
- The examining committee will be formed at the time the syllabus is submitted for consideration. A strict majority of the committee must approve the syllabus; otherwise, the student is advised to revise and resubmit the syllabus.
- Based on the results of the Candidacy Exam, the examining committee may recommend or require that the student schedule a rehearsal with department faculty before scheduling the GBO. Furthermore, the department is willing to schedule a "mock GBO" exam for any student who requests one.
- At the request of the research advisor, and in consultation with the research advisor, the Chair approves the examining committee. A member of the committee other than the research advisor serves as its chair and has the responsibility of presiding over the examination and reporting the result in writing to the department chair. The student will contact committee members to determine a mutually agreeable time for the examination and department staff will arrange a place for the examination. Students are not to contact potential examiners for this purpose until the examining committee has been formed.