Requirements for admission to Ph.D. Candidacy are: (i) completion of the core curriculum, (ii) carrying a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, and (iii) satisfactory completion of Parts I and II of the qualifying examination.
The qualifying examination is divided into two parts: (I) a comprehensive written examination of the student’s general knowledge in cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and cognate disciplines (administered through the Molecular Biosciences Program), and (II) an evaluation of the student’s research potential and dissertation potential.
Part I – Written Qualifying Exam A
The Molecular Biosciences Graduate Program administers this first portion of the qualifying exam. Under usual circumstances, this exam may be taken only by students who have successfully completed the Molecular Biosciences core curriculum and maintained a 3.0 GPA or better. All Ph.D. students are required to take part I of the examination upon completion of either the first year of full-time study or the core curriculum, whichever comes first.
The exam is held in June. The students will be given a selection of journal articles at least 14 days prior to the exam. There will be a series of written exams related to these articles to test basic knowledge, comprehension of the papers, and experimental design. The questions can be specific as well as wide-ranging.
The examination will be prepared and graded on a pass/fail basis by a committee of faculty members. A student must pass the examination to remain in the Ph. D. program.
If a student's performance on the examination is unsatisfactory, the student may be given another chance. If the second attempt is still unsatisfactory, the student will be required to terminate from the program.
Part II - Oral Qualifying Exam B
The second part consists of an oral presentation and defense of a research proposal. The exam aims to determine if the student is intellectually prepared to begin dissertation research. Are they familiar with the background literature and understand how to do the experiments? More importantly, why are they doing the experiments? What specific results and conclusions will be gained? How does this relate to larger questions in biology?
In a rush to begin the experiments and produce results, students may skip much of the background reading essential to understanding the purpose and focus of their project. Lacking this knowledge, it is possible to miss subtle but important details in the experiments or results. Without knowledge of the previous work by others, students often fail to make connections between their findings and others’ results.
The purpose of the research proposal is, therefore, to provide students with the time and means to do the proper background reading to develop a clear picture of the purpose and direction of their project. Having this background will make the student’s graduate research more exciting and productive.
Students should take the exam during their second year of graduate school after they have worked in the lab for a while and have settled on a topic for their thesis.
Note that a large number of preliminary results are not a prerequisite for the presentation of the proposal. The goal of the exam is to be sure that the student is intellectually prepared to carry out the research and that they have a firm understanding of the background material and the issues that they will be investigating. It is not to evaluate the quality or the quantity of the work the student has accomplished (that comes later in the thesis defense). If the student has weaknesses in a particular area, it is better to address and remedy it early in their graduate career.
A second benefit of having the Oral Qualifying Exam early in the student’s graduate career is that they will begin to know other professors besides their research advisor through forming their Thesis Advisory Committee. These professors will not only be valuable resources for advice on their experiments but will also be able to help when the student starts to look for postdoctoral positions. These professors will be able to monitor the student’s progress through graduate school and will, therefore, be able to offer a more in-depth letter of recommendation than someone who has only read the thesis and spent several hours in the defense several months before graduation.
A final benefit of completing the exam in the second year is that it begins the process of writing the thesis. Sections of the Qualifying Exam proposal often serve as a basis to build upon for thesis chapters. The effort put into writing the Oral Qualifying Exam proposal will also help later with writing papers and research proposals for postdoc fellowship applications.
Forming a Thesis Advisory Committee
Students must form their Thesis Proposal Committee and schedule their qualifying exam within one (1) year of passing the written qualifying exam. In rare circumstances, the Director may approve an extension of this time limit, with appropriate justification, in written form, by the student and the student’s research advisor.
The student shall select four (4) members to serve on their Thesis Proposal Committee with the agreement of their advisor. All members should be active faculty in the MMG graduate program, and no more than two shall be from the student's department, center, or institute. A student’s advisor may be included as a member of the committee but is not required. Ad hoc members from outside the program are permitted with the program director's approval.
During the exam, the Thesis Proposal Committee will (a) elect a chairperson who must be a member of the MMG program but not the student’s advisor; (b) review academic performance and future coursework with the student; and (c) administer the examination.
Academic Requirements
Although it is not expected that all the course requirements will be completed by the time of the exam, the student should have completed the Molecular Biosciences first-year curriculum and at least one additional Microbiology and Molecular Genetics course requirement. To take the exam, the student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 in these courses.
The Thesis Proposal Committee is responsible for reviewing the student’s academic record. Before the examination begins the student should provide the most current academic transcript and CV for the committee members to evaluate. The committee should note any deficiencies in the student’s grades or course work in a letter by the chairperson of the committee.
Thesis Proposal Guidelines and Oral Presentation Examination
The students should write a proposal that will be defended orally before the examination committee. Although the format and topic can be flexible, it is recommended that the proposal be similar to an NIH RO1 proposal that is on or closely related to the student’s planned research for their thesis. The proposal should contain a statement of the specific aims, background, significance, a description of the research design and methods, and a bibliography. Potential problems and outcomes of the experiments should be anticipated. The student should be familiar with what different types of results may be expected from the experiment, how they will analyze the data, and what type of conclusions can be drawn from this analysis. The written research proposal should be presented to the Examination Committee at least a week before the examination.
The purpose of this part of the examination is to determine if the student is intellectually prepared to begin dissertation research, not to judge their research results. The student should be taking the exam within their first full year in the lab. Preliminary results are, therefore, not a prerequisite for the presentation of the proposal.
The written research proposal should be approximately ten (10) pages in length and sent to the committee members to review at least one (1) week before the examination.
The student should give a short presentation with slides outlining the background, questions, preliminary data, and experiments described in the proposal. Committee members are expected to question the student on the proposal to gauge the student’s knowledge of the background literature along with their understanding of the proposed experiments and how they relate to the questions they are trying to address. If the committee feels there are gaps in the student’s knowledge they can recommend solutions, such as additional course work, journal clubs, writing a review, re-writing the proposal, etc.
Forms and Post-Exam Requirements
Students should supply the Thesis Proposal Committee with two forms prior to the qualifying examination.
- Qualifying Exam B (Proposition) Form (the official Rutgers SGS Application for Admission to Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy)
- Annual Research Advisory Committee Meeting Form (for students in the SGS Biomedical graduate programs)
Forms can be found on the Academic Forms page under Qualifying Exam B.
Shortly before the exam, students should complete Part 1 of the Qualifying Exam B form and present it to the Chairperson of their committee at the time of the examination.
Each committee member should sign both forms before being routed to the graduate program director and the SGS Senior Associate Dean for signature.
After the examination, the committee chairperson shall submit a written report to the Program Director and committee with a copy sent to the student. The report should indicate the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate and whether the student has passed the examination and should be admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. The Program Director will notify the student of any reservations or conditions that the Committee has placed.
The student is responsible for properly submitting both completed forms to SGS and the program administrators to verify that the exam was successfully completed.
See Guidelines for Students for the appropriate time for faculty review and assessment.
FAILURE TO PASS EXAMS
Successful completion of both parts of the qualifying examination in a timely manner is required to remain in the graduate program. Students who fail either or both sections of the Qualifying Examination may request a second examination. A second instance of failure in either section of the Examination will result in termination. The Qualifying Examination Committee may determine that the student is eligible for a terminal Master of Science degree. Subsequent appeals should be directed to the Student Affairs and Standards Committee.