**Students who began the program before Fall 2007 can elect to complete the Qualifying Examination under the prior requirements. Students who wish to do this should notify the Graduate Coordinator in advance**
Function
This examination serves two purposes: 1) to assure that the student has mastered the core material in neural, computational, and cognitive science expected of all NACS students; 2) to assure that the student has the specialized knowledge and skills that will be required for the successful development of a dissertation proposal.
REsPONSIBILITIES
The qualifying exam (QE) is an important milestone in a student’s progress towards the Ph.D. For this reason it is essential that advisor(s) be closely involved in their advisees’ QE. This is consistent with the commitment that the faculty member makes upon agreeing to (co-)supervise a student.
The NACS Graduate Coordinator maintains an electronic bank of past exam questions (some of which may be marked as not releasable to students) and a record of the core reading list. The Graduate Coordinator distributes a copy of the qualifying exam guidelines to relevant students and advisors by Spring Break of the student’s second year of study, and notifies relevant individuals of the specific exam dates.
The NACS faculty members in each of the areas of the exam prepare a core reading list of 10-15 items, which individual students may add to for their own exam, and submit this list to the NACS Graduate Coordinator. Any updates to the core reading list must be completed by Spring Break each year. The frequency of updates will likely vary across areas, and research groups are expected to self-organize to manage these lists, in consultation with core course instructors.
The student assembles the QE committee by Spring Break, agrees upon a reading list with committee members by the end of the spring semester, and raises any issues involving accommodations for learning disabilities well in advance of the exam.
The advisor(s) guides the student in individualization of the reading list, coordinates exam questions with the QE committee, and circulates questions for all sections of the exam to all committee members and the NACS Graduate Coordinator one week in advance of the exam. The advisor(s) coordinate grading among committee members, and coordinate the oral exam with the student and the committee. The advisor notifies the NACS Office of the student’s grades on the written and oral portions of the exam. The advisor ensures that the exam questions are submitted to the Graduate Coordinator to be added to the electronic bank of past questions, indicating whether certain questions are not releasable to students.
timetable
All NACS core course requirements must be completed before the qualifying examination.
Students and their advisor(s) are sent a copy of the QE guidelines by Spring Break of the student’s second year of study.
Students and their advisor(s) from the QE committee by Spring Break of the second year.
Students and their QE committee finalize the reading list by the end of the spring semester of the second year.
Students take the written exam on two days in late September of the third year of study, in an on-campus location to be agreed upon with the advisor(s) and in consultation with the NACS Office. Exceptions to this schedule may be granted in writing by the NACS Graduate Director only.
Grading of the written exam is completed within two weeks of the exam dates.
If a student must be retested on any portion of the written exam, the retest must be taken by the end of the first month of the spring semester of the third year of study.
The oral exam is held within 4-6 weeks of the written exam or retake, and in any case no later than Spring Break of the third year of study.
Format of exam
The qualifying examination has both a written and an oral component.
Written Exam: The written exam has 4 sections, completed over 2 days: 1) Introduction to Neuroscience, 2) special topics in the student’s area (defined jointly by the student and his/her committee), 3) two exams from the NACS core areas, i.e., Cognitive Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Science.
Students are allowed up to 4 hours for each section of the exam, e.g., 8am – 12pm, 2pm – 6pm.
The exam is open-book and open-computer, but not open-internet. For example, students may have access to the materials from their reading list and any notes that they might have prepared. In lieu of complicated policing procedures, students should sign the University’s Honor Pledge.
The exam emphasizes depth and integration of material from coursework and the student’s research area, and questions should be designed accordingly. Although the number of questions is not mandated, it is recommended that students be asked to answer a small number of questions, with some choice in which questions are attempted, e.g., ‘Answer two of the following three questions’.
Oral Exam: The purpose of the oral exam is to expand upon answers to questions in the written exam. A student proceeds to the oral exam only after achieving at least a "B" on all sections of the written exam.
Reading list
The reading list for each section of the exam consists of (i) the core list determined by the faculty in that area, and (ii) additional readings determined by the student and his/her QE committee.
The core reading list should make up at least 50% of the student’s reading list in each area. A combined list of 25 articles or chapters is suggested as a guideline for each section of the exam.
grading
Answers to the written exam are distributed to all members of a student’s QE committee, although one committee member may take primary responsibility for grading a section.
A student's qualifying exam committee must grade the written exam within two weeks of the exam dates.
Grades are assigned to all sections of the written exam. Each section of the written exam is graded according to a standardized letter system:
(A - F without +/-)
A = Level expected of a PhD working in the field
B = level expected of a PhD candidate
C = Level expected of a Masters Candidate
D = Level expected of an Undergraduate
F = unacceptable
To pass the written exam, each section of the written exam must achieve a grade at the “B” level or above.
Any section on which the student does not receive a grade of "B" or higher must be retested. Only one repeat of each section is allowable.
A student proceeds to the oral exam only after achieving at least a "B" on all sections of the written exam.
The oral exam is waived in exceptional circumstances only, where the student receives a grade of "A" in all sections of the written exam.
Separate letter grades are not assigned to the oral exam; if the student is successful on the oral exam, then the entire Qualifying Exam is passed.
