Qualifying Exam Tips

It’s qualifying exam season here in the Biomedical Engineering department at Georgia Tech and assisting 2nd years with practice has brought so many memories of when I took my own qualifying exam. Honestly, the three months leading to the exam were very stressful and tiring. When I started my PhD, I remember I did not know much about the qualifying exam until about ~8 months before I took it. This gave me the idea to share a bit about the exam and also provide some tips that helped me prepare for my exam.

First off, what is a qualifying exam? That’s the big question here. Well, a qualifying exam is one of the most important exams that a PhD student will take. It is designed to test three things: a) a student’s ability to think logically; b) a student’s preparedness for graduate school; c) a student’s knowledge and preparedness for their research project. The exam itself is a big deal because it determines if a PhD student is capable of advancing with their studies and research.

In most schools, the exam requires three important components:

• Exam Committee: These are faculty members chosen to conduct your qualifying exam. In most cases, they are usually chosen due to their knowledge about some aspects of your project.

• Written Exam: This is a written research proposal that students are usually required to write in NIH format.

• Oral Exam: This tests a student’s ability to answer questions related to their research topic or written research proposal.

Note: Different departments have different exam requirements. Some require students to take only a written exam or only an oral exam or even none of these exam formats. For example, I have heard of departments that have told their students to read certain papers, and then tested their student’s knowledge on those papers. Please check with your department.

Now let’s jump right into some tips that came to my mind:

Before Exam (Five months to One month before)

1) Start Early: The biggest mistake one can make is waiting last minute to start thinking of a research topic. 4 to 5 months before the exam, start talking to other graduate students and your research advisor about some ideas you may have. Talking to them will bring clarity on what you want your proposal to cover.

2) Meet with your committee members: It is always important to meet with your committee members at least once before the exam. Before meeting with them have an idea of what your written research proposal will be on. This can help you pick their brains or get information on specific questions they expect you to know for your oral exam.

3) Try to stay organized: As you are figuring out a project or putting your proposal together try to have a precise location for papers or information you come across. You can create a folder precisely for the qualifying exam on your laptop or you can create a bookmark folder on your google chrome or utilize Zotero to keep records of papers you come across. The worst thing you can possibly do to yourself is forgetting where you came across that one vital information you need for your written research proposal.

4) Ensure you are following all required guidelines: When working on your written proposal, check with the department to ensure that you are utilizing the right format. Ensure you know what you need to include in your document. Do you need to include an abstract? background? How many aims do you need to have? Do you need a research strategy section?

5) Talk to older graduate students: This is a big one! Look for older PhD students who had the same people on their committees or who had similar research proposals. Practice with them and ask them what questions they were asked, what they needed to know, what they think you should know etc.

6) Study all information related to your written proposal: Know information about almost everything on your proposal and things related to information on your proposal. If your proposal utilizes pigs, know why a pig is a better animal model than rats, know how you can translate your research to humans. If it is about neuro-inflammation, know everything about the brain (neuro) and inflammation. If you are using a piece of equipment, know the parts of the equipment, how the equipment works, other types of equipment that may perform the same function and why you have chosen to use the one you included in your written proposal, etc.

7) Practice: Before or once you are done with your written proposal, practice the oral exam with your research advisor, collaborating research advisors, lab members, and older PhD students. Try to start practicing at least a month before the exam and practice with a whiteboard. Have at least two practices per week. While it is good to practice with older PhD students, it is also important to practice with faculty members. I personally think that you will be more comfortable with older graduate students than faculty members. It is important to get used to being uncomfortable, so you don’t mess up or freeze up in front of your committee members during the oral exam.

8) Take notes after each practice: Remember questions you were asked during your oral practice exam. Especially those you did not know, so you can polish your knowledge on them.

Right Before Exam (One week before)

9) Rest: We all know that the time before the qualifying exam can be stressful. The worst thing you can do is getting burnt out right before the oral exam. Personally, I think it is smart to take the week before the exam to polish up on all the knowledge you “already” know at this point. Avoid learning new information because that may throw you off. Just practice what you already know.

During Exam

10) Be calm: During the exam, try to stay calm. One thing you need to know is that your exam committee members are not out to get you or prove that you are dumb. They are there to ensure that you know relevant information about your research topic. Try to stay calm, drink water during the exam, and if you need them to repeat a question, politely ask them to.

11) Answer questions well: During the exam when asked a question, try to answer efficiently. Do not freeze up. Try not to provide too much information. If you do not know the answer, say you do not know it, but don’t just say that. Tell them what came to mind or tell them another way you would approach the question. Use the board to answer questions or explain concepts.

After Exam

12) Be kind to yourself: Realize that the qualifying exam is to test a student’s ability to think logically. That being said, you probably MAY NOT know the answer to all their questions. Know that you tried your best irrespective of the outcome of the exam. After the exam, try to take the next day off.

If you want to talk one-on-one about the qualifying exam, please message me. You got this!