Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Graduate School–Newark
 
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American Studies 050
Behavioral and Neural Sciences 112
Program
Prequalifying Students (First Two Years)
First-Year Program
Second-Year Program
Early Research Project
Advancement to Candidacy
Qualifying Examination
Examination Formats
Doctoral Dissertations
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Biology 120
Business and Science 137
Chemistry 160
Creative Writing 200
Criminal Justice 202
Economics 220
English 350 (Includes American Literature 352)
Environmental Science 375
Environmental Geology 380
Global Affairs 478
History 510
Jazz History and Research 561
Liberal Studies 606
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Mathematical Sciences 645
Nursing 705
Peace and Conflict Studies 735
Physics, Applied 755
Political Science 790
Psychology 830
Public Administration 834
Sustainability: Urban Eco-sustainability Track
Urban Environmental Analysis and Management
Urban Systems 977 (Joint Ph.D. Program with NJIT and UMDNJ)
Women's and Gender Studies 988
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Camden Newark New Brunswick/Piscataway
Catalogs
  Graduate School–Newark 2012–2014 Programs, Faculty, and Courses Behavioral and Neural Sciences 112 Examination Formats  

Examination Formats


Qualifying Exam

Each student submits a paper focused on his or her early research project, and makes an oral defense of his or her research paper.

Research Component: Written and Oral Defense

The written component of the research consists of a write-up of the early research project in a form suitable for publication or as an NRSA grant application (but not subject to its page limitation). The student is free to pick the journal format (e.g., Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, or Journal of Neurochemistry) that he or she will follow. The style, however--including the title page, abstract, citations, reference list, figures, and other components of the manuscript--must adhere strictly to the format of the journal chosen.

Since this paper is used to evaluate the student's ability to prepare a scholarly work before being advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, it should represent primarily the work of the student. The conduct of experiments, analysis of the research data, and their interpretation can and should be discussed with the adviser. On the other hand, the manuscript itself must reflect primarily the organizational thinking and writing ability of the student and contain minimum input from the adviser.

The committee recognizes, however, that even some of the best manuscripts require revision before they can be published in a journal or submitted as a grant application. Thus, the committee will accept certain manuscripts even if they need some revision and resubmission. Candidates must submit their manuscript to the committee chair no later than 5 p.m. on the first Friday in September of their third year in the program.

If the committee accepts the manuscript, the chair will schedule an oral examination and early defense of the manuscript. Typically, these oral examinations occur during the second or third week of September. The examination opens with an oral presentation of 15 to 20 minutes by the student outlining the early research project. This is followed by questions from the committee, which may range from technical, methodological, and conceptual aspects of the research and manuscript to literature that relates to the project.

Manuscripts deemed unacceptable by the committee are returned to the student for revision, and the oral portion of the examination may be postponed. At this time, the student may solicit the adviser's advice in preparing a revised version. While the adviser may offer specific help on the organization, structure, style, and content of the manuscript, the actual writing is to be the student's.

To pass the qualifying examination, the student needs affirmative votes from a majority of the committee members. Since the purpose of the qualifying examination is to identify weaknesses or deficiencies that a student must rectify before graduation, the program encourages faculty advisers to attend their students' presentations and subsequent examinations as silent observers.

No more than three weeks after completing the examination, the program notifies each candidate in writing of his or her results. This letter, which becomes part of the candidate's permanent record, also will detail strengths and weaknesses that were identified by the examination and suggest steps to remedy deficiencies.

Policies Governing Reexamination

If the student fails either or both portions of the examination, he or she may be permitted to retake the failed portions one time only. Thus, the reexamination may involve the oral presentation, manuscript defense, or both. Working with the student's adviser, the qualifying examination committee sets the time for the reexamination. In no case should that date be later than December 20 of the year in which the initial examination was taken.


 
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