Qualifying Examination
Purpose of the Medical Physics Oral Qualifying Exam
The purpose of the Medical Physics qualifying exam is to evaluate a student’s preparedness for pursuing a PhD. The oral qualifier is a chance to evaluate the student’s general medical physics scientific preparedness and ability to synthesize knowledge, as opposed to their ability to pursue a specific research project area. In the Medical Physics department, the oral qualifying exam is intended to complement the preliminary exam. In the preliminary exam, the student presents their research plan, and the committee evaluates the research project and the student’s potential to successfully complete their aims.
An Oral Ph.D. Qualifying Exam (Qualifier) is required for students pursuing a Ph.D. Degree. All students who take the qualifier must have completed the three fundamental 1st-semester core courses (MP501, MP510, and MP573) and at least one additional course of the student and advisor’s choosing prior to the Qualifier. The additional course must be a 500 level or higher, but it may not be a Rad Lab, a journal club/seminar course (e.g. MP900), or a research credit (e.g. MP990). The Qualifier will test the student on three core topics and an elective course and will be administered at the end of the first or second year of enrollment. The questions asked during the exam will be “integration style”, which means they will test over multiple concepts. The student must pass the Oral PhD Qualifying Exam in order to subsequently take the Preliminary Exam.
Additional details on the qualifier exam are available in the student handbook.