Qualifying Exam Guidelines

One of the purposes of a Doctoral Committee is to provide students with mentorship and guidance beyond that provided by the Thesis Advisor. UCSD policies on who serves on the committee were developed, in part, to provide some consistency across departments. Exceptions to their policies require both the Graduate Affairs and Dean's approval. The Department policy of having Departmental Exam Committee members continue to serve on the Doctoral Committee is to provide students with Faculty who, over time, are familiar with the student, their research, and the history of the exams. If a student has found other Faculty with particular interests pertinent to the research, it is quite permissible to expand the committee to beyond the minimal four members; it is not necessary to remove a Departmental Exam Committee member to compensate. A Doctoral Committee must be approved by the Department and the Graduate Division at least two weeks prior to the examination. To ensure that the Department meets this deadline, students should inform chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu of their committee a minimum of four weeks prior to the examination date.

Below are guidelines for selecting a committee*; please contact chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu if you have questions.

• Member 1: Doctoral Committee Chair = Your Thesis Advisor
• Member 2: Chair of Departmental Exam Committee, Inside Research Division/Track
• Member 3: Either: 2nd Member of Departmental Exam Committee, Inside Research Division/Track; Or Chemistry & Biochemistry Co‐Advisor, (if Thesis Advisor is an adjunct in Chemistry & Biochemistry, or is from outside the Department)
• Member 4: 3rd Member of Departmental Exam Committee, Outside Research Division
• Member 5: UCSD Faculty with primary appointment in a different department than the Doctoral Committee Chair's primary department (may not have joint or adjunct appointment in Chemistry and Biochemistry)

*Effective Fall 2021, the Senate revised the Ph.D. committee composition to require a minimum of 4 members. Students who opt to utilize this updated rule may submit a request to chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu (cc the Research Advisor to indicate their endorsement) to "drop" one of their Departmental Exam Committee members. The request will be forwarded to the Vice Chair for Graduate Education for review.  Note that prior to submitting the request, students should ensure that their proposed Ph.D. committee will comply with the Manual of the San Diego Division, Academic Senate, Regulation 715.

The Doctoral Committee must be approved by the Graduate Division two weeks prior to the Qualifying Exam. A minimum four‐faculty committee is required. Other members may be appointed at the student's discretion. Of the four‐member committee:

• At least 4 must have UC San Diego faculty appointments.
• At least 1 member must have a primary appointment in a different department than the chair's primary department.
• At least 2 members must be from the student's home department or program (Chemistry & Biochemistry).
• At least 1 member must be tenured or emeritus (Associate or full Professor). 
• Proposed members from other UC campuses, other universities, or industry are exceptions and must be requested in writing.
• At least 2 members of the Departmental Exam Committee continue to serve on the Doctoral Committee.
• The student and Advisor choose the remaining member(s).
• There may not be more than one affiliate professor.
• If the research Advisor is an affiliate, a ladder‐rank faculty member must act as Co‐chair.

Subsequent changes to a committee require both Departmental and Graduate Division approval. Please contact chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu for information.

Effective FA22, all Qualifying exams are required to be conducted in-person. Please contact chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu in case you would like to request an exception for a hybrid exam.

Zoom Instructions (For approved hybrid exams)

Please follow instructions on the Zoom page to learn about setting up Zoom Web/Video Conferencing. The Committee Chair will need to setup the Zoom meeting and invite any committee members approved to be remote. Before setting up the Zoom meeting, please take a moment to carefully review these Zoom meeting safeguards to keep your remote exam safe and secure: https://blink.ucsd.edu/technology/file-sharing/zoom/safeguards.html.

The University requires a Qualifying Examination for Advancement to Candidacy for the PhD. The purpose of the examination is for students to gain approval of their proposed thesis research project from their Doctoral Committee. The exam must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. Students should confirm the date and time of the examination with ALL of their committee members, and then contact chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu. Student Affairs ensures that the necessary paperwork is filed, the room is scheduled, and notices are sent. Students submit a summary to their Doctoral Committee and to chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu at least two weeks before the Qualifying Examination. The summary should include a comprehensive description of the proposed thesis research (including key references), its significance, and the progress that has already been made.

The day of the examination, Ph.D. Coordinator ensures the needed forms are shared with the committee via an e-folder. At the examination, students first give a 30‐minute presentation. The presentation is followed by a question‐answer period when the committee examines students for indications of the knowledge, insight, motivation, and demonstrated productivity required to produce an acceptable thesis in the normal time. The student may or may not be asked to leave the room for a time prior to hearing the committee's evaluation. Students may Pass, Provisionally Pass, or Fail the exam. The committee will inform the student of the results, and will explain any recommendations or requirements. These will be written on the internal form referenced above, and emailed to chem-gradadvising@ucsd.edu. Students receive a copy at a later date.

Once a student has fully passed the Oral Qualifying Examination, the committee will e-sign the “Advancement to Candidacy” form. It then needs to be e-signed by the Vice Chair for Graduate Education. Our office will coordinate securing the required departmental signatures via DocuSign after the student successfully passes the Qualifying Exam. The student will receive a DocuSign copy of the completed form once the committee members and department Vice Chair has signed off.

JDP Students: The SDSU JDP Coordinator, Rob Queen, will initiate and route the Advancement to Candidacy (JDP-3) form to all required signees via Adobe Sign. The signature routing order will be: SDSU JDP Graduate Advisor > Doctoral Committee > SDSU/UCSD Co-Directors >  Student > SDSU Graduate Affairs > UCSD Graduate Division > Final copy sent to everyone. Because signatures are required from both campuses, be certain to allow reasonable time to obtain all the required signatures. 

Next, the student pays the $50 Advancement to Candidacy fee through either their TritonLink account or by going to the UCSD Cashier's office. The advancement paperwork will automatically update and route to the Graduate Division and the Registrar's Office for final processing.