All Microbial Biology Ph.D. students are required to pass the Qualifying Exam before the end of their second year (the end of August).
Ph.D. Students (in consultation with their research advisor) are responsible for assembling an exam committee of four people (including the thesis advisor) and set a date for the exam before August 31 of their second year. At least three people on the committee must be members of the Microbial Biology Graduate Program (see the list of members on the Faculty Research web page). Students must send Dr. Zylstra an email with the names of the committee members at least one month before the qualifying exam so that he can approve the exam committee. Students must fill out the Qualifying Exam Form (sometimes called the Candidacy Form) and bring it to the Qualifying Exam so that the committee can sign that the student passed. The form must then be brought to Dr. Zylstra for his signature. If you have a virtual or hybrid qualifying exam then please email your Qualifying Exam Form to Dr. Zylstra and he will collect electronic (DocuSign) signatures from your exam committee. If the Qualifying Exam committee signs that the student did not pass the exam then the student, the research advisor, and Dr. Zylstra need to have a discussion of the options (most likely termination with a Plan B M.S.).
For the Qualifying Exam students must provide the committee with a 10 to 15 page research proposal (background, objectives and specific aims, and experimental plan) to form the basis of the exam. The purpose of the qualifying examination is for the student to demonstrate competency in the field of microbial biology. The exam is to determine if students can formulate a research proposal and defend their approach. Preliminary data is not needed for the proposal but can be included if student has already made progress on a research project.
In the oral examination students will specifically need to demonstrate:
- solid knowledge and foundation in microbiology, and the ability to engage in a scientific discussion in the field of microbiology, in particular their sub-field of study
- ability to formulate research questions and plan future research to answer these questions
- ability to develop testable hypotheses, articulate proposed experimental approaches, and predict expected results that will help accept or reject the hypotheses
- ability to explain broad concepts as well as specific technical details in their chosen field of study
Qualifying Exam Format: The student should present a 45 to 60 minute Powerpoint presentation of their Research Proposal. During and/or after the presentation the Qualifying Exam committee will ask questions on the proposal. The Qualifying Exam committee has the option to ask any relevant question concerning general microbiology knowledge.
Procedure for Scheduling the Qualifying Exam:
1) The student, in consultation with their research advisor, chooses four people (including their research advisor) to be on the Qualifying Exam committee and obtains Dr. Zylstra's permission for these professors to be on their Qualifying Exam committee. At least three people on the committee must be members of the Microbial Biology Graduate Program (see the list of members on the Faculty Research web page.
2) The student contacts the professors to be on the Qualifying Exam committee and ensures that they are willing to serve on the committee.
3) The student arranges a date and time (at least two hours) that all of the professors are available to meet for the Qualifying Exam (use a Doodle Poll or When2Meet).
4) The student reserves a conference room for the Qualifying Exam. In the case of a virtual or hybrid qualifying exam the student provides Zoom information to the committee.
5) The student provides the Qualifying Exam committee with their Research Proposal at least one week before the Qualifying Exam date.
6) The student brings their academic transcript and the completed Qualifying Exam Form to the exam. In the case of a virtual or hybrid exam the completed form is emailed to Dr. Zylstra.
7) After the exam the professors sign the Qualifying Exam Form that the student passed (or didn't pass). The form is then brought to Dr. Zylstra for his signature. In the case of a virtual or hybrid qualifying exam Dr. Zylstra will collect electronic (DocuSign) signatures on the Qualifying Exam Form.
8) Dr. Zylstra will email the signed Qualifying Exam Form to SGS with a cc to the student.