Qualifying Examinations
From Radiological Sciences
Radiological Sciences Ph.D. Qualifying Examination
The qualifying examination committee, with the consent of and approval of the Radiological Sciences COGS, determines the content and format for the Doctoral Qualifying Examination (‘qualifier’ hereafter). The committee is also responsible for the development of the examination and its administration and evaluation on an annual basis. The following summarizes the rules and procedures for the qualifying exam.
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[edit] Requirements:
1- All second year students in good standing who have completed their required coursework should take the qualifier at the end of their second year.
2- Students who reach the end of their second year and are on academic probation are not allowed to take the qualifier. These students are given one year in which to improve their GPA above the probationary level before they can sit for the qualifier.
3- Students have two chances to pass the qualifier. Those who fail on their first attempt must retake the qualifier the following year. Failure to pass the exam on the second attempt will result in removal from the doctoral program, but usually allowing one semester to complete an M.S. degree.
4- Students with prior coursework or professional experience adequate to prepare them in their declared track may request permission from the Radiological Sciences COGS to take the qualifier at the end of their first year. Students taking the exam prior to completion of all required courses must take the course(s) eventually, even if they pass the qualifying exam prior to course completion, unless specifically waived from taking each course by the Radiological Sciences COGS.
[edit] The Qualifying Exam:
Part I: Multiple Choice questions This part of the exam tests the students on the ‘breadth’ of their understanding of the core courses in medical physics. The multiple choice questions with five options (one correct option) format was chosen in order to help prepare the students for the ABR written exam. The students must answer all 150 questions.
Part Ia: Common multiple choice questions (8 am to 8:50 am)
# of Questions Course Title
25 RADI 6024 Anatomy & Physiology
15 RADI 5007 Statistics
Part Ib: Track-specific multiple choice questions (9 am to 12 pm)
Diagnostic, therapy and health physics tracks
# of Questions Course Title
35 RADI 5015 Diagnostic Imaging 1
35 RADI 6030 Therapy 1
20 RADI 5020 Health Physics
20 RADI 5025 Radiation Biology
Human Imaging Track
# of Questions Course Title
35 RADI 5015 Diagnostic Imaging 1
15 RADI 5018 Imaging Measurements
20 RADI 6049 MRI
20 RADI 6012 Nuclear Medicine
20 RADI 5025 Radiation Biology
Radiation Biology Track
# of Questions Course Title
20 RADI 5015 Diagnostic Imaging 1
20 INTD 5006 Molecular Biology
20 INTD 5005 Biochemistry
20 RADI 5020 Health Physics
35 RADI 5025 Radiation Biology
Neuroscience Imaging Track
# of Questions Course Title
35 RADI 5015 Diagnostic Imaging 1
15 RADI 5030 Neurosciences Imaging Methods/Lab
20 RADI 6017 Neurosciences Imaging Methods
20 RADI 6018 Advanced Topics in Neurosciences Methods
20 RADI 5025 Radiation Biology
Part II: Essay-type questions (4 hours; 1 pm to 5 pm)
This part of the exam tests the students on the ‘depth’ of their knowledge on advanced topics in their selected fields. These questions will be more conceptual than the morning questions and will require a short essay type answer. Questions for each of the specialty areas will be drawn from courses felt to be essential for developing competency in each specialty. The students must answer all eight questions in their declared specialty.
Diagnostic Track
# of Questions Courses Description
2 RADI 5015 Dx1
2 RADI 5018 Imaging Measurements
2 RADI 6016 Dx2
2 RADI 6049 MRI
Therapy Track
# of Questions Courses Description
2 RADI 6030 Therapy 1
2 RADI 5005 Radiation Dosimetry
2 RADI 6031 Physics measurements in radiotherapy (One
question will be from Advanced Radiotherapy
Physics 6030 in 2009)
2 RADI 5011 Radiation and nuclear physics
Health Physics Track
# of Questions Courses Description
6 RADI 5020 Health Physics 1
2 RADI 5011 Radiation and Nuclear Physics
Radiation Biology Track
# of Questions Courses Description
4 RADI 5025 Radiation Biology
2 RADI 5010 Medical Biophysics
2 INTD 5007 Cellular Biology
Human Imaging Track
# of Questions Courses Description
2 RADI 5015 Dx1
2 RADI 6049 MRI
2 MEDI 5071 Clinical Research Methods
2 RADI 5025 Radiation Biology
Neuroscience Imaging Track
# of Questions Courses Description
3 INTD 1041/ Fundamentals of Neuroscience/Neuroanatomy
INTD 6041.A
3 RADI6017/ Neuroscience Imaging Methods/Lab
RADI 5030
2 RADI 6018 Advanced Topics in Neuroscience Methods
[edit] Administering and Grading the Qualifier:
6- The qualifier will be offered within four weeks after the official end of the spring semester of each year.
7- Students planning on taking the qualifier and who meet the requirements mentioned above shall inform the Chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee, in writing, of their intent by the end of February.
8- A week or so before the exam, the Chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee will provide a list of random names/numbers to the students taking the qualifier. Each student will draw one of these random names/numbers and this will be the only identifier used on each page of the exam thus ensuring anonymity during the grading process.
9- The doors to the exam room will be opened at exactly 7:55 am on the day of the qualifier. Each student will be assigned a seat which they will use throughout the exam period. The students will be provided scientific calculators (Casio fx-250HC). The only items the students are allowed to bring with them into the exam room are pencils, erasers, and one bottle of drinking water not to exceed 1 liter. No cell phones, pagers or other electronic devices are allowed in the exam room.
10- For the short-essay questions, each exam question is graded by the faculty member who submitted that question. The graders are asked to grade each problem on a scale from zero to 10.
11- The Chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee is responsible for collating and tabulating the final scores. The Qualifying Exam Committee will prepare formal recommendations for each student.
12- Students scoring 70% or higher on both Part I and Part II (60% for MS Degree) shall pass these parts of the qualifier.
13- The results of the qualifier and the recommendations of the Qualifying Exam Committee are presented by the Chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee at the July COGS meeting and a vote is taken on the results.
14- A week after the July COGS meeting, each student’s results will be placed in his/her mailbox on the 6th floor.
15- Students wishing to change their specialty after passing the qualifying examination must retake the afternoon portions, Part II, of the examination in their newly declared specialty. Students wishing to take the next exam should notify the Chair of the Qualifying Examination Committee
After successfully completing Parts I & II of the Qualifying Examination, a student with the aid of his/her advisor shall establish a Research Qualifying Committee. The composition of the Committee must be approved by the COGS. The Committee shall consist of at least three members from the Program faculty list. It is recommended that these individuals be chosen such that they will form the nucleus of the Supervising Committee presented to the Graduate Faculty Council when the student requests admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. This committee shall assist the student in the process of completing Part III of the Qualifying Examination. The committee will be responsible for evaluating student research potential and recommending, to COGS, whether or not the student has successfully completed Part III of the Qualifying Examination.
[edit] Part III
Part III of the exam is an oral presentation given in the form of a grant proposal. This exam is preliminary to admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree and is not required of MS students. Students have to give their oral presentation based on their dissertation topic. Part III shall be completed within one year from the date of passing Parts I&II of the Qualifying Exam. If the student fails to do so, they may be required to retake the exam, barring special circumstances. The Student presentation will be evaluated by the members of the supervising committee, and the proposal will be mailed to the off-campus member for comments prior to the presentation. On March 30, 1994, COGS approved payment by the Division for binding of copies of students' thesis/dissertation for the Supervising Professor, the Radiology Library and the Graduate Office.
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