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Format of the Qualifying Examination

The Qualifying Examination includes a written and an oral component. The written component is based on the format for the Research Plan in an NIH grant application as shown below (other parts of the NIH application are not included). Use Arial 11 pt. font with required margins: 0.8” top and 0.5” for all others. Of note, this may or may not be directly related to the student’s actual dissertation plan.

  1. Specific Aims (1 page):
    1. State concisely the goals of the proposed research and summarize the expected outcome(s), including the impact that the results of the proposed research will exert on the research field(s) involved.
    2. List succinctly the specific objectives of the research proposed, e.g., to test a stated hypothesis, create a novel design, solve a specific problem, challenge an existing paradigm or clinical practice, address a critical barrier to progress in the field, or develop new technology.
  2. Research Strategy (6 pages – not counting bibliography/references): Organize the Research Strategy in the specified order and using the instructions provided below. Start each section with the appropriate section heading – Significance, Innovation, Approach. Cite published experimental details in the Research Strategy section and provide the full reference in the Bibliography and References Cited section.
    1. Significance
      1. Explain the importance of the problem or critical barrier to progress in the field that the proposed project addresses.
      2. Explain how the proposed project will improve scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice in one or more broad fields.
      3. Describe how the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field will be changed if the proposed aims are achieved.
    2. Innovation
      1. Explain how the application challenges and seeks to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms.
      2. Describe any novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation or interventions to be developed or used, and any advantage over existing methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions.
      3. Explain any refinements, improvements, or new applications of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions.
    3. Approach
      1. Describe the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project. Unless addressed separately in Item 15 (Resource Sharing Plan), include how the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted as well as any resource sharing plans as appropriate.
      2. Discuss potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success anticipated to achieve the aims.
      3. If the project is in the early stages of development, describe any strategy to establish feasibility, and address the management of any high-risk aspects of the proposed work.
      4. Point out any procedures, situations, or materials that may be hazardous to personnel and precautions to be exercised. A full discussion on the use of select agents should appear in Item 11, below.
  3. Bibliography & References Cited: Provide a bibliography of any references cited in the Research Plan. Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication; you can use “et al.” convention in place of listing all authors in a citation), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. Make sure that only bibliographic citations are included. Be especially careful to follow scholarly practices in providing citations for source materials relied upon when preparing any section of the application.

 

(Note: If a proposal has multiple Specific Aims, then the student may address Significance, Innovation and Approach for each Specific Aim individually, or may address Significance, Innovation and Approach for all of the Specific Aims collectively. As applicable, also include the information about preliminary studies as part of the Research Strategy, keeping within the three sections listed above: Significance, Innovation, and Approach.)

 

The oral component of the Qualifying Examination entails the student giving a detailed oral presentation (approximately 30 minutes) of the research that they proposed in the written part of the examination (NIH R03 Research Plan) to the Qualifying Examination Committee.  During and after the presentation the Committee will ask the student questions that pertain to the research proposal, which can also tap into pertinent background information from the core curriculum and supplemental coursework that the student took. When the Committee is done asking questions, the student will be asked to temporarily leave the room so that the Committee can deliberate and reach a decision concerning the student’s performance – then the student will be called back in to hear the Committee’s decision (see 3.1.4.4), including a summary of the basis for the decision.