Other students are required to take the qualifying examination before the end of the fourth semester in the program. The examination will be chaired by the student's advisor and will be conducted by at least three members of the student's advisory committee. The examination will be in at least three distinct areas of study that are relevant to the student's research interests and that are agreed upon by the student and the committee at least two weeks prior to the examination. The examination shall be no more that three hours in length. After the examination, the committee will decide by majority vote to either pass, fail or reexamine the student in one or more areas of deficiency.
Failure terminates the Ph.D. program in the semester in which it was given.
Re-examination must be successfully completed within the following semester or the Ph.D. program is terminated. Under exceptional circumstances, the examination schedule may be changed with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. The preliminary examination may be oral or written or both. All five members of the Committee must be present. The Committee must be appointed and approved at least two months prior to the examination.