In all cases, students are allowed to take the Qualifying Exam twice. If the Exam is failed both times, the student is dismissed from the program. The Qualifying Exam is given twice each academic year - the week before classes begin for the Fall semester, and the first week of classes during the Spring semester. The Exam is based on material taken from the five courses identified in the document Requirements for the PhD in Computer Science . The Qualifying Exam is graded anonymously.
Students write a code number on what they submit rather than their names.
The key to the code numbers is kept for the department by Terry Hayden. The identification of students will be kept from faculty grading the exam until after the faculty report their results to the Chairman of the Qualifying Exam Committee. At least two faculty should grade each of the questions on each exam to avoid the hazards of individual bias. Faculty should not see the result of other faculty's grades until after all grading is complete. Results of the Qualifying Exam will be available approximately two weeks from the date of the exam.