The qualifying examination is given to determine whether a student
has acquired sufficient mastery of the field of concentration to
warrant admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. The exam should be
taken as soon as a student has completed the major portion of
the course requirements. It should be taken not later than four
years after the student first registered in the Graduate School–New
Brunswick and not later than two semesters before taking the final
dissertation examination.
The qualifying examination,
conducted by a committee of at least four members (the chair must
be a member) or associate members of the program's graduate faculty,
may be written or oral or both. Once a student has fulfilled the
language requirements, if any, and other relevant program requirements,
and has passed the qualifying examination, he or she is admitted to
candidacy for the doctoral degree. The student's program will certify
the results of his or her language examination on the application for
admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree. The student must obtain
this application from the Office of the Graduate School or at
http://gsnb.rutgers.edu/resources/graduate-students-forms
and submit it
to the chair of the committee at the time of the examination. It
should be properly signed by the four members of the candidate's
committee and the graduate director and then returned to the Office of
the Graduate School. Once a student has passed the examination, he or
she must remain registered--for courses or research--or lose his or her
status as a candidate. An exception to this rule may be granted to
recipients of the master of philosophy degree (see the section
concerning that degree later in this chapter).
