Environmental Engineering Ph. D. Qualifying Examination Procedures

1. The purpose of this examination is to evaluate Ph.D. students after they have completed the first 15 credit hours and prior to completing the first 30 credit hours of doctoral level course work in the Ph.D. program, while maintaining a good standing status. All students pursuing the Ph.D. degree must take this examination. A student who passes the examination will subsequently be referred to as a Ph.D. candidate.
   
2. Any Ph.D. student who is eligible for taking this examination must notify the department and his/her advisor. The department will permit the student to initiate the qualifying examination procedure and notify his/her Graduate Advisor.
   
3. The department will notify the student to obtain all necessary forms. The academic administrative assistant will print out an Unofficial Transcript and an initial Ph.D. Degree Plan and provide this to the student.
   
4. The student and Graduate Advisor will select an Advisory Committee (at least four faculty members including the Advisor) and will request the College of Graduate Studies to assign a Graduate Council Representative (GCR).
   
5. The Advisory Committee will develop the qualifying examination, either as an in-class or a take-home examination, and notify the GCR and the College of Graduate Studies about the timeline of the examination.
   
6. The student will submit the solution to the academic administrative assistant by the prescribed deadline. The academic administrative assistant will forward the qualifying examination question and solution to the Graduate Advisor, the Graduate Advisory Committee (GAC) and the GCR.
   
7. Within two weeks after submission of the solution, the Graduate Advisor, who will grade the examination and review the result with the GAC, will call for a meeting of the Graduate Advisory Committee, the GCR and the student to discuss the examination solution.
   
8. After the meeting, the Graduate Committee will inform the student whether he/she has passed the examination. The decision made by the Graduate Advisor must be ratified by at least two-thirds of the Committee members.
   
9. Appropriate documentation should be filed with the department and the College of Graduate Studies whether the student passes or fails the qualifying examination. Possible examination outcomes are that the student:
   (a) passes unconditionally;
   (b) passes conditionally;
   In this case, the committee will outline the weaknesses and the conditions the student could (or must) fulfill before reconsideration. The student may request a change from conditional pass to pass, once the conditions have been fulfilled and endorsed by the Graduate Advisor. The Graduate Advisor may then allow the student to submit the final "Qualifying Examination Report" to College of Graduate Studies.
   (c) fails, with or without option to retake the qualifying exam
   
10. If the Ph.D. student fails with option to retake, he/she may be allowed to take the qualifying examination once more while pursuing his/her Ph.D. candidacy.