Ph.D. Candidacy Examination
Scheduling of Candidacy Exam:
All students must take the Ph.D. Candidacy Exam on or before the third Friday of October of their second fall semester in the Graduate Program (for students starting in the Fall). The written part of the Exam (i.e. the thesis proposal) must be submitted to the Graduate Program Assistant (Sue Ellen Bainbridge) on or before the last Friday of September in the student's second fall semester in the program. Students who do not meet the stated deadlines must provide an explanation for the delay. The decision to grant the student a second chance to take the Candidacy Exam will be made by the student's Ph.D. Committee (i.e. as if the student has failed the Candidacy Exam the first time). In such cases, the student will be given at most a single opportunity to take and pass the Candidacy Exam.
In order to be considered Ph.D. candidates, students must pass the Candidacy Exam before completing 3 semesters as a graduate student at Penn State. Students must schedule their exams early enough in their academic program so as to comply with the above time stipulation for passing the exam. The student must be registered as a full time or part time degree student for the semester in which the Candidacy Exam is taken. (See the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin.)
In order to take the Candidacy Examination, students must first obtain a minimum GPA of 3.33 in the following courses: Ch E 524, Ch E 535, and Ch E 544. The minimum GPA requirement in these core courses is designed to insure that all Ph.D. students have sufficient understanding of the core Chemical Engineering fundamentals to pursue advanced study and professional career opportunities. Students who do not meet this prerequisite will be required to first complete a Masters thesis before they can petition for an exemption from the GPA requirement. The decision to allow the student to continue towards the Masters degree will be made by the student's thesis advisor.
Upon completion of the Masters degree, the student must submit a written petition (including a letter from the thesis advisor) to the Department, requesting an exemption from the GPA requirement. Petitions will be considered by the entire faculty and will only be granted if the student has demonstrated truly exceptional research performance, leading to publication of key research results. If the petition is approved, the student's Masters thesis defense will be used as the Candidacy Exam.
Updated 11/28/07