| Second Exam Procedure |
The schedule for the exam should conform to the following structure and timetable. Since the entire process takes 6-8 weeks to complete, students should schedule the initial meeting as soon as possible in the spring semester of their second year to complete the exam by the end of their second year.
- At the initial meeting for the second exam, one member of the Advisory Committee other than the advisor will be designated to act as the administrator for the second exam. That person is responsible for mediating the oral exam, tabulating the final grade, and ensuring that the correct procedures and timetable are kept for the exam.
- Also at the initial meeting, the student presents to the Advisory Committee an outline of the research proposal, including the hypothesis to be tested and specific aims. The committee will make suggestions at this time as to the content of the proposal, and approves the outline. Within 4 weeks the student will present a completed research proposal to the committee members for approval. At this time the committee provides the student in writing with the general background areas the student will be responsible for during the oral and written exams. Possible dates for the exam, approximately 4 to 6 weeks after the initial meeting, should also be identified at this time.
- Within two weeks after the submission of the completed research proposal, the student
should have finalized the
exam date with all of the Committee members and the Dean's representative. The exam will be admistered approximately two weeks after the exam dates is finalized.
- After reading the research proposal, the Advisory Committee will meet with a Dean’s representative to decide on the questions for the written part of the second exam, and restates the areas to be covered. The second exam questions are then sent to the Dean for approval.
- Approximately two weeks after the student hands in the research
proposal to the committee, the second exam is administered.
It will consist of written and oral parts, given on consecutive
days.
- The written exam will take place on the first day. It will last approximately 4 hours and consist of 5 questions based on the content of the proposal and relevant background areas.
-
The oral exam will take place on the second day, and consists of a brief
15-minute presentation by the student on the written research proposal,
followed by questions from the Committee based on the content of the
proposal, and relevant background areas. The Committee may also use the
student’s answers on the written exam to identify areas for questioning. The oral exam should take no longer than 2 hours.
- Immediately after the oral exam, the committee will deliberate to arrive at a grade for that part of the exam (Pass or Fail, by majority vote). The written questions should be graded and the student should receive the final grade within one week of taking the exam. The written exam questions are graded on a scale of –1 (unacceptable), 0 (minimally acceptable), or +1 (very good to outstanding). The student must make a cumulative grade of +1 on the written exam and pass the oral exam to receive an overall Passing grade for the Second Exam. The Committee also has the option of passing the student with conditions, such as requiring additional coursework to address deficiencies or rewriting the research proposal.
- If the student fails, he/she will be allowed to take the exam one more time. The student is only required to repeat the portion(s) of the test that he/she failed (either written or oral, or both). At least one semester must elapse before the student may retake the second exam. If the student fails twice or does not retake the exam within 1 year of the initial failure, he/she will be dismissed from the program.
Following is a graph of the second exam timeline:
