Purpose of the Qualifying Examination
The purpose of the
Qualifying Examination is for the PhD student to demonstrate that he/she has
adequate advanced knowledge and research skills to formulate and carryout a
high-quality dissertation project in his/her chosen area of interest. The
examination process can assess a student’s: 1) ability to integrate and apply
concepts covered in the program’s core courses; 2) depth of knowledge in their
chosen area of research interest; and 3) readiness to design and conduct a
novel dissertation project that has the potential to produce useful new
information, i.e., to move on to the dissertation phase of the program.