Ph.D. Qualifying Exam
The objective of the qualifying exam is to examine the student's foundation in materials science and engineering which will enable him or her to carry out research in a chosen field of study. All MSEN students pursuing the Ph.D. degree with or without a prior M.S. degree are required to pass the qualifying exam to continue their Ph.D. work. The MSEN qualifying exam consists of a critical literature review, the writing of a paper of at most 15 double-spaced pages in length, excluding references, and an oral defense of that paper before the qualifying exam committee. Format of the ExamThe MSEN qualifying exam consists of a research paper composed of a rigorous literature review of the state of the art in the assigned topic and a critical analysis identifying future challenges and suggesting possible directions. This paper must be prepared and written by the candidate alone. The paper should be at most 15 double-spaced pages in length, excluding references. The student will present an oral defense of the paper for to the qualifying exam committee. The exam committee members will ask questions about the examination theme and other topics related to the student's prior coursework. Request for Qualifying Exam
To register for the Ph.D. qualifier exam, students will provide the MSEN program office with an electronic version of a completed application form prior to the first day of classes for that semester. The application will include the name of the student's advisor, degrees received, current thesis topic, degree plan (classes taken to date and grades, plans for future coursework), and a one-page abstract of current research. Qualifying Exam Committee
Regarding the examining committee, at the start of each semester, the MSEN chair will select the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Committee for each student, no later than the end of September for fall semesters and the second week of February for spring semesters. The exam committee is composed of four MSEN faculty members. The committee includes the student's research advisor as a non-voting member. If the student does not have a research advisor at the time of the exam, he/she can randomly select one MSEN faculty to serve in the committee as a non-voting member. Voting members cannot all be from the same primary department (for example, all voting members cannot be from Chemical Engineering Department). The student will not know the members of the examination committee before he/she submits the research paper. Selection of the Topic
Before the qualifying exam, the MSEN office will ask each voting committee member to provide one research topic for the student's qualifying exam. Each committee member will suggest one topic and the MSEN office will combine and forward these topics to the student and the MSEN chair. The student will choose one of the three topics provided by the committee. These topics will be chosen to reflect the interest area(s) of the student. Students will be assigned a research topic that is different from that of their dissertation research or of the M.S. thesis topic. In case of a re-take, the second topic must be different from the first one. Evaluation of the Exam
The (three) voting members of the qualifying exam committee decide whether the student has passed or failed, along with any coursework recommendations. The voting will take place after the mini defense in the absence of the student and the student's research advisor. At least two "yes" votes from the three-member voting committee will indicate that the student has passed the exam. The committee will sign an evaluation form (with comments/recommendations, if any) and return it to the MSEN Program office right after the mini-defense. Timeline The qualifying exam is offered in the Fall and Spring semesters only.
| • | The qualifying exam must be taken by the end of the third semester, excluding summers. |
| • | In the event that the student fails the first attempt, a retake must be completed by the end of the fourth semester. If the student does not pass on the second try, he/she will not be permitted to continue in the MSEN Ph.D. program. Such a student can be allowed to continue to study for an M.S. degree in MSEN if he/she has not already earned a master's degree from Texas A&M University. |
| • | The student should file an application before the end of the first week of the semester to take the qualifying exam that semester. The program chair appoints three faculty members for each qualifying exam. The committee will come up with three topics no later than the end of October in the fall, and no later than the end of February in the spring. Then the student will have 4 weeks to write the paper and turn it in to the MSEN Program Office in electronic form on his/her selection among these three topics. The MSEN Program Office will forward the paper to the committee. The mini defense should take place within 2 weeks after the submission of the report. It is the student's responsibility to arrange for the examination time and the room. If it is not possible to arrange for the mini defense due to the unavailability of the members, the student can request the replacement of one of the committee members by the MSEN Chair. |
| • | For M.S. students switching to the Ph.D. program before completing the M.S., the three-semester clock should start whenever they started their studies at Texas A&M. If they have already exceeded the third semester, then they should take the qualifying exam in the first semester they switched to Ph.D. |
| • | If a Ph.D. student from another Texas A&M program, who has already passed the qualifying exam of that program, wants to switch to MSEN, they still need to pass the qualifying exam for MSEN. Their three-semester clock will start whenever they apply for the MSEN program. |
