Departments: Biomedical | Civil & Environmental | Electrical & Computer | Mechanical

PhD Written Qualifying Exam Details

3-6-2008

The Written Qualifying Exams for the ESE PhD program are to be held twice per year, in the late spring and the late fall.  Students are notified by the DSC Chair in writing when they should take the exam. This is a take home exam held over a weekend period (noon Friday to noon Monday).  It is intended to test the general technical background of the students in environmental sciences and engineering, as well as their critical thinking abilities. Questions are grouped into the following 5 general technical areas:

The exam questions are compiled by the Doctoral Studies Committee (DSC) with input from all ESE PhD program faculty. In addition, a technical paper may be provided for critical review.  Students can elect to answer questions in 4 out of the 5 technical areas listed above.  The answers are graded by the faculty members that supplied them.   The results of the exam are communicated to the students in writing by the DSC.