Prelim (oral) examination

Preliminary (General) Exam MUST BE COMPLETED AND PAPERWORK SUBMITTED BY AUGUST 15TH 

The preliminary examination is a qualifying examination given to all students of the UConn Health Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. Program. Passing this exam formally admits the student to doctoral candidacy. Each student must complete the preliminary examination by the end of the second academic year in order to retain continued support of tuition and stipend. Students should plan according to this requirement in scheduling the prelim exam.

Systems Biology prerequisite courses:

  • MEDS 6448 (Foundations of Biomedical Science I)
  • MEDS 6455(Introduction to Systems Biology)
  • Any one of the following: MEDS 5420 Molecular Genomics Practicum or MEDS-6450 Optical Microscopy and Bio-imaging.

The intent of the prelim exam is to test the student’s ability to formulate an original research proposal and to construct and defend a sound hypothesis-driven experimental approach to accomplish the proposal’s specific aims.

Timetable for submission of the Prelim exam Proposal:

  • Step 1: Assemble the advisory committee consisting of five members:
    • Major Advisor
    • At least 2 additional Systems Biology faculty
    • 2 additional faculty from UConn Health, JAXGM, or external as appropriate
    • Assemble your committee in the fall of your second year for PhD students or the first graduate year for dual degree students (MD/PhD and DMD/PhD programs)
  • Step 2: Meet with the committee to discuss the specific aims of the proposal and answer any questions about procedures associated with the exam.
  • Step 3: Based on feedback provided in meeting , the student will submit a revised copy of the specific aims of the proposal to the committee. Once specific aims have been agreed upon by the student and the committee, the student will complete and submit the written proposal. For advice on what to include and how to format the proposal, see https://health.uconn.edu/cell-analysis-modeling/proposal/
    • Step 4: The oral exam should be scheduled at least one week after the proposal submission date.  Once you have submitted your written proposal to your committee you are welcome to share this document with other students and lab members to prepare for the oral exam. You can ask questions of your committee members, your advisor, or other students related to very specific details (model parameters, data set size, etc) but should not discuss more general scientific questions your work will address.
    • Step 5: Oral examination. Students should plan on the examination lasting approximately 2 hours.

    Oral Exam Procedure

    Prior to the day of the exam: a student shoul provide each member of his/her committee with a copy of the proposal at least one week prior to the meeting.

    The student should prepare a slide presentation of approximately 15 minutes that covers all the details of the written proposal and any specifics that would help the committee understand the rationale, experiments performed, and the expected outcomes. The committee will interrupt the presentation with questions throughout. You will likely not make it through the whole presentation, don’t panic this is normal!

    On the day of the exam: The program or associate director, or designate, will serve as the chair of each examining committee. Examinations will be scheduled to allow a maximum of 2 hours for each exam.

    When the committee has gathered and the members have been introduced to the student, the chair should ask the student to leave the room briefly. The topics to be discussed in the student’s absence are:

    • The student’s overall record. Any deficiencies needing special attention in the oral questioning should be identified.
    • The quality of the written proposal. If the quality is so poor as to be unacceptable, the student can be given a “fail” at this point.
    • If the proposal is generally acceptable; any specific deficiencies revealed in the written proposal should be identified and pursued in the oral questioning.

    After this discussion, the student will be invited to return to the room. The chair should explain the ground rules to the student, explain the role of the program director/assistant director, committee chair (or designate), and ask the student to begin the presentation. If questioning is slow in getting started, the committee chair should lead off, preferably with a question that the student should be able to answer comfortably. The chair should then turn over the questioning to one of the other examiners. One role of the program or associate director is to ensure that the exam is administered fairly and that all exams are administered uniformly.

    Exam questions should be designed to probe the student’s depth of knowledge on the chosen subject of the proposal, both theoretical and technical. In addition, exam questions should determine the student’s general knowledge of their chosen scientific field. When the chair feels that the student has been examined sufficiently, he/she will ask the student to leave the room while the committee discusses the performance. Each student’s performance should be evaluated in four areas: 1) quality of the written proposal, 2) quality of the oral presentation, 3) defense of the proposal, and 4) general knowledge. The student will then be asked to re-enter the room and told the outcome of the exam. The result of the exam is then reported to the Graduate School on the Report on the General Examination for the Doctoral Degree form that must be signed by all members of the examining committee.

    Possible outcomes

    • Pass: This is the outcome expected for most students. It can represent a range from absolutely stellar performance to a good, generally solid one.
    • Conditional Pass: This is used when a particular aspect of the exam shows clear deficiencies or when the overall performance is marginal. The committee must suggest what the student should be required to do to clear the deficiency (such as rewrite the proposal, take a particular course, etc.) If the student is expected to consult with the committee members individually, this should be stated, and a time frame for completing the examination should be established. The committee chair must put this in writing during the meeting so that there is no ambiguity about what is being asked of the student. When the committee communicates the outcome of the exam to the student, advisors should discuss the conditions of a conditional pass with the student. A passing grade on the preliminary exam will not be communicated to the Graduate School until the conditions set forth have been satisfactorily fulfilled. CONDITIONAL PASS SHOULD BE REPLACED BY PASS BEFORE AUGUST 15TH FOR THE STUDENT TO REMAIN IN THE PROGRAM!
    • Failure: This is the outcome when the written proposal and/or performance on multiple aspects of the oral exam are unacceptable. A student who fails will talk to the Program Director and Associate Dean of Education to discuss the possibilities. The amount of time available for completion of the repeat exam must be specified at this time. A student who fails the exam twice must leave the program.

    The Preliminary Exam process including any necessary remediation associated with a Conditional Pass must be completed by August 15th of the 2nd year for Biomedical Science PhD students or the 1st year for Dual Degree Students (MD/PhD and DMD/PhD Programs).