Scope and Timing
PhD students who pass comprehensive exams must take and complete a Doctoral Qualifying Exam to advance to PhD candidacy. The Doctoral Qualifying Exam typically occurs before the end of a student鈥檚 third year. Students are generally expected to complete the Doctoral Qualifying Exam within 12 months of passing all comprehensive examinations; failure to attempt the Doctoral Qualifying Exam within 18 months of passing all comprehensive examinations may result in loss of financial support. The purpose of the Doctoral Qualifying Exam is to assess whether a student is prepared to pursue doctoral-level research in biostatistics with an appropriate degree of independence and whether the student can demonstrate proficiency with applied and theoretical statistical concepts within a specific content area through written and oral communication. The exam assesses the student鈥檚 ability to synthesize and communicate advanced statistical concepts and examines the depth and breadth of the student鈥檚 knowledge in biostatistics and biomedicine. The exam is not intended to be solely a dissertation proposal, nor is it intended to reassess a student鈥檚 technical competency. Rather, the intent of the exam is to gauge the students鈥� preparedness for pursuing doctoral research and proficiency in communicating statistical concepts to a broad audience. Passing the Doctoral Qualifying Exam requires demonstration of refined critical thinking skills, along with excellence in written and oral communication skills.
Formation of the Doctoral Qualifying Exam Committee
The Request to Appoint PhD Committee form must be completed in Kuali (Vanderbilt's enrollment management system) at least four weeks prior to the date of the oral exam. A student should, in the months following completion of all comprehensive exams, establish their Qualifying Exam Advisor and research domain for the purposes of the Doctoral Qualifying Exam. Once a student has made sufficient progress, the student and the Qualifying Exam Advisor must establish a committee having a minimum of four voting members. The committee must include a Chair who is not the Qualifying Exam Advisor but may be any Biostatistics Graduate Faculty member who is a voting member of the committee. Voting members of the committee must include three Biostatistics faculty with a PhD, ScD, or DrPH in Biostatistics or a related field, one of whom is the student鈥檚 Qualifying Exam Advisor. Voting members of the committee must also include one faculty member from Vanderbilt 溏心vlog免费B站 at large who is not in Biostatistics, Statistics, or Mathematics; faculty not possessing a PhD (e.g., School of Medicine faculty who hold an MD) are eligible to participate as voting members of the committee. The composition of the committee must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Exam Format
The Request to Schedule Qualifying Exam form must be completed in Kuali at least four weeks prior to the date of the oral exam. The Doctoral Qualifying Exam has a written and an oral component.
Written Component
The student, with guidance from the Qualifying Exam Advisor, prepares an overview document that summarizes the review or exploration of an advanced area and demonstrates synthesis, familiarity, and command of the area. While there are no strict formatting requirements, the document should generally be the equivalent of 10-20 single-spaced pages; the student must submit it to the committee at least 14 days in advance of the oral exam. If the student is not able to provide the requisite amount of time for the Doctoral Qualifying Exam committee to review the written portion of the exam, the exam should be rescheduled.
Oral Component
The oral component of the exam, which is closed to the public and lasts approximately two hours, must take place in person. The student prepares and presents a 30- to 45-minute presentation (almost always in the form of slides). The Doctoral Qualifying Exam committee then engages the student in a discussion to assess, e.g., communication and critical thinking skills. The committee then excuses the student to deliberate and complete a Doctoral Qualifying Exam assessment form (found in Appendix D [page 26] of ), which becomes part of the student鈥檚 record. The committee invites the student back to communicate the results.
There are three possible outcomes of the exam: Pass, Conditional Pass (conditions to be set by the committee and subsequently approved by the DGS), and Not Passed. Upon satisfactory completion of the exam (i.e., Pass or Conditional Pass with conditions met), the student advances to candidacy. In the case of failure, the student has six months to retake the exam. The Doctoral Qualifying Exam committee, with approval of the DGS, will determine the date of the second exam. Failure on the second attempt will result in dismissal from the PhD program.
Following Successful Completion of the Exam
Showcasing Work to the Department
Students passing the Doctoral Qualifying Exam are expected to present a research poster as part of our annual Biostatistics Research Day (see the MS Capstone page for more details); a student may choose to deliver a Wednesday Seminar to our department in lieu of this requirement.
Eligibility for the MS-in-passing
Students passing the Doctoral Qualifying Exam and all didactic course requirements may earn a (non-terminal) non-thesis MS (i.e., an MS-in-passing). To apply for the MS-in-passing, students will need to complete a graduation intent form in Your Enrollment Services (YES). The non-thesis MS-in-passing option should be listed on the Intent to Graduate in YES.
Eventual Formation of a Doctoral Dissertation Committee
Students are not required to continue working in the research area of their Doctoral Qualifying Exam or even continue working with the same advisor after completion. However, almost all of our students do so. To avoid misunderstandings, it is the responsibility of both the student and the Doctoral Qualifying Exam Advisor to communicate clearly in advance if the intention is or is not for this exploration of an advanced research area to transition into completion of a doctoral dissertation.