The Preliminary Exams

The required preliminary exam consists of two parts: 1) a written, comprehensive examination in late January/early February of the fourth semester after the core courses have been completed, and 2) an oral examination on the student's research to be taken at the beginning of the fifth semester after the research paper has been completed.

The written exam is authored, administered, and graded by a committee of several faculty members and is given simultaneously to all students in the second-year class. This exam is approximately eight hours long, lasting two days. Four hours are devoted to "closed book" questions, four hours to "open book" questions. During the "open book" exam, the student can use all resources in the building except for other people and, if prohibited, the internet. Exams from past years will be distributed in advance.

If a student fails the written exam, one more attempt is allowed. The re-take exam, which is administered by members of the prelim exam committee, is typically at the end of the fourth semester. The student chooses the re-take exam format, which is either another "closed book" plus "open book" written exam or an oral exam in the spirit of the written exam. The oral re-take exam is chaired by a member of the Academic Program Committee. If the student fails the re-take exam, he/she will not be allowed to pursue a Ph.D., but may still obtain a Masters degree by completing a short, written thesis, usually a version of her/his research paper, and passing the research oral exam described below.  

The student takes an oral exam on her/his research at the beginning of the fifth semester. (This research exam can be taken before the written exam if the student's research paper is completed earlier.) While the goal is for the student to finish a paper that would qualify for submission to a publication like the Astrophysical Journal, the bar for passing the oral exam is lower. The student should get as close as possible to a submission-worthy paper before the oral exam (and many do in fact defend submitted or published papers). The outcome of the exam is determined by the quality of this research paper (and the student's understanding of what it still requires to be publication-grade), the student's presentation of the material, and the student's answers to questions on the paper's content and related areas of astronomy. The exam begins with the student's 25-30 minute talk on the research paper, followed by a round of questions. The student then leaves the room while the committee decides whether additional rounds of questions are necessary. The exam must be no longer than three hours. If the student fails the research exam, a second try will generally be allowed up to six months later. If the student fails the research exam again, he/she is dropped from qualification for a Ph.D., although a Masters degree may be awarded at the discretion of the committee.

The chair of the research exam committee should be an astronomy faculty person not associated with the student in research, mentoring, or advising. The chair is also a voting member who asks questions. The chair is empowered to make sure that correct procedures are followed and that the rights of the student are protected. The chair will also be responsible for filing the signed papers reporting the exam's outcome to the Graduate College. The chair has the right in extreme circumstances to report directly to the Chairman of the Department, if she/he feels that an exam was conducted improperly and/or the result was not justified.

The Graduate College requires that the examining committee consist of a minimum of four people, including at least three tenured or tenure-track faculty members. The committee should include no more than two members associated with the student in research. Additional members not associated with the student, including the chair, are approved by the department's graduate advisor after consulting with the student. At least one member should work in a markedly different field than that of the candidate. In rare cases, there may be reason for an additional research collaborator of the student to be appointed to the committee, but then two non-associated committee members must be appointed so that the committee has five people. (Note that, regardless of committee size, two negative votes are sufficient to fail the candidate.)