Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination comprises a written and an oral component, each of which must be passed as part of the qualifications for admission to Ph.D. candidacy. Unless a prior extension is granted by the Steering Committee, each student must complete the qualifying examination by the end of September of his or her second year of graduate enrollment. Those students in the Medical Scientist Training Program who initially take two years of medical training may defer the qualifying examination per approval of the Program Chair.

The written component is a research proposal dealing with a group of related scientific problems in an area of study different from that in which the student expects to conduct his or her dissertation. The oral examination ordinarily is given in a single closed session lasting from one to two hours. The student is expected to answer questions relating to material in courses that he or she has taken, to the subject matter in the written proposal and to general information in the field of neurobiology.