The Qualifying Exam takes place at the end of the first year of the program. The last day to complete the exam is August 31. In the spring of their first year, a seminar featuring the Graduate Studies Committee Chair and the Graduate Advisor will be dedicated to explaining the process and providing necessary paperwork.
The student must work with his/her supervisor to build their qualifying exam committee. The committee must consist of a minimum of four and a maximum of five BME GSC faculty members, including the student’s supervisor. The supervisor must be a member of the committee, and will participate in pre and post exam discussion but will refrain from questioning or commenting during the exam and will not be a voting member. The student is encouraged to meet with potential committee members during the selection process. At least two primary BME faculty members must participate on the committee. A primary BME faculty member other than the student’s advisor must serve as the committee chair.
The written component includes a research report, a teaching report (if applicable), an academic report, and an individual development plan. The research report follows the NIH R21 format and is up to seven pages in length plus references. The teaching report (1 page maximum) should include a list of courses for which the student has served as a Teaching Assistant (TA) and courses the student is interested in being a TA for in the future and why. Any guest lectures the student has given, and other teaching related activities should also be included. The academic report should include the Personalized Learning Plan (PLP), which is composed of the completed/current and planned coursework charts. The Individual Development Plan is developed using myIDP (http://myidp.sciencecareers.org).
All first-year students are required to attend a seminar on the IDP in the fall and a seminar on the Qualifying Exam in the spring. Students can review more specific information about the IDP, including an introduction to the Individual Development Plan and an IDP template.
For the oral exam, the student should have a detailed understanding of the field in which they are performing/proposing research and relevant techniques, and have thought through their specific design, including potential pitfalls and alternatives. The oral exam is a 20-minute presentation based on the written report and includes two parts: research and academic development. The student spends 15 minutes on research, and 5 minutes on the coursework, teaching, and development plan. Students may use slides, and the presentation on research can follow the structure of the written report. The committee can ask questions during or after each part of the presentation. Questions cover the approved exam subject areas, completed coursework from the student’s PLP, and items on the faculty rubric.
Students can find the link to the box folder that holds the Intent to Qualify form on the Current Student Resources and Forms page on the BME Graduate Program website.
Following success completion of the qualifying exam, students are to advance to candidacy.
