Qualifying Examination, WE
THESE PROCEDURES ARE PART OF THE PRE-AU19 WELDENG PhD REQUIREMENTS. STUDENTS PURSUING A PhD UNDER THE AU19 DEGREE REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A QUALIFYING EXAMINATION.
The Qualifying Examination serves to discern, at an early point in the student's career, his/her readiness to proceed toward the Doctoral degree.
I Timing
WE PhD-track students are required to take the WE Qualifying Examination within the first year of starting the PhD program.
The student is to petition his/her advisor to take the Qualifying Exam. The petition is to occur no less than four weeks prior to the proposed examination date. The student must also alert the WE Graduate Studies Chair of his/her interest in taking the exam.
II Examination committee members
The Qualifying Examination Committee will consist of the student's advisor and three additional faculty members with at least two of them being from Welding Engineering.
III Content of the exam
The Qualifying Exam will be a combination of written and oral examinations.
For the written portion, the student will prepare a comprehensive written proposal, which is the independent work of the student. The written proposal must be provided to all members of the committee at least one week prior to the oral examination.
For the oral portion, the student will present and defend this proposal before the examination committee.
IV Results
The student’s academic advisor will submit a Qualifying Examination Report to the WE Graduate Studies Chair within one week of the examination date. The results of the Qualifying Examination will be judged as "Pass", "Conditional Pass", or “Fail” taking into consideration both the written and oral portions of the exam. A unanimous affirmative vote is required for the results to be considered a "Pass" or a “Conditional Pass".
Students are permitted two attempts at passing the Qualifying Examination. If a second Qualifying Exam is necessary, this second exam is to take place within two semesters of the first exam.