Scheduling the Qualifying Examination
The student’s Primary Academic Advisor is responsible for informing the Executive Committee that the student is ready to schedule the Qualifying Examination. This notification should include a status report on the student’s supplemental coursework (courses planned and completed with brief descriptions and names of instructors) and an abstract that describes/ summarizes what will be turned in as the written component of the examination. The abstract is based on the format for the Project Summary that is provided as part of an NIH grant application (see below). The Executive Committee will use this information to help decide which faculty members can serve on the Examination Committee. After the Qualifying Examination Committee is chosen, the chair of the committee will coordinate the scheduling of the examination. The written part of the examination must be distributed to the members of the Examination Committee a minimum of two weeks prior to the date for the oral part of the examination. The oral part of the examination should not exceed three hours.
Abstract (500 words or less): The abstract or Project Summary is meant to serve as a succinct and accurate description of the proposed work when separated from the application. State the application’s broad, long-term objectives and specific aims, making reference to the health relatedness of the project. Describe concisely the research design and methods for achieving the stated goals. This section should be informative to other persons working in the same or related fields and insofar as possible understandable to a scientifically or technically literate reader. Avoid describing past accomplishments and the use of the first person.