PhD Qual Exam |
From: grad_nvc Discussion List [ mailto:GRAD_NVC@listserv.vt.edu] On Behalf Of Cliff ShafferSent: Friday, 05 October 2001 15:38 To: GRAD_NVC@LISTSERV.VT.EDU Subject: PhD Qualifier Exam Dear PhD students and faculty: This message is to remind everyone that the season for PhD qualifiers will be coming up at the end of the Semester. Since this is the first time that we will be offering the new system, some things are still in a state of change, more so than is likely in future years. First, let me briefly review the process. PhD students pass the qualifier process by achieving 6 points total, where points can be earned in three ways: a) 0-3 points based on which quartile you are in from the total (eligible) CSA graduate student population. Students are only counted for the purpose of establishing quartiles if they have at least four CS (or crosslisted) courses taken for A-F grade at the 4000-level and above, and only such courses are counted for computing the GPA. b) 0-3 points for research achievement (see the GPC website for more details on scoring for this). c) 0-3 points for performance on the PhD qualifier exam. Students who are officially enrolled in the PhD program are obligated to take it at the first opportunity when it is offered, unless you have specific permission to defer it. What this means is that if you are in the PhD program now, and you have not already passed the qualifier under the old system, you *must* take the qualifier *this time* if you want the opportunity to get points under this category, unless you have a letter from the Department specifically permitting you to delay. Students who are officially in the MS program, but whom would like to take the exam, are welcome to. In general, the structure and schedule for the PhD qualifier exam is as follows. Groups of three or more faculty members will form areas within CS on which to give an exam. The exam will be based off of reading lists of published papers. Each committee will actually administer its exam as it sees fit. The deadline for the area committees to publish their reading lists is December 1. The exams will be administered in late January or early February, with results of the exam due to GPC from the area committees by the end of February. At this time, the faculty have begun the process of organizing themselves into committees. Naturally this has been done in the context of input from the students regarding which areas there is interest in having an exam. I encourage students who wish to take the exam to be discussing this with the appropriate faculty. Please be aware that the committee organization process is very much in a state of change at this time. However, the following reflects my current understanding of the situation. Parallel processing or computational science: Ribbens, Watson, Santos Faculty, please notify me if this is incorrect, if things change, or if I am missing any committees. Students: At this point, I ask that you send me an email message if you intend to take the exam this winter. Please indicate in what area you would like to take the exam. You may indicate an area other than the ones listed above, and perhaps this information will help to generate interest among the faculty in opening another area. But be aware that there is no guarantee that the faculty will offer an exam in an area just because there is a student who wants an exam in that area. -- Cliff Shaffer, Associate Professor Phone: (540) 231-4354 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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