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An exam proctor will begin practicing exam instructions approximately 15 minutes before the exam start time. Students must be in the exam room with their exam at this time. If taking the exam on a laptop, it must be booted up and have passed the security check. Hand writers must not have a laptop with them in an exam room, unless otherwise allowed according to the professor’s instructions. A student entering the exam room after the proctor begins practicing instructions will not receive additional time for booting up their laptop, passing the security check, and/or practicing exam instructions.

When instructed by the proctor, write your exam number on the cover page of your exam, bluebooks, and any scratch paper you turn in as part of your exam. Handwritten exam answers must be written in blue books in blue or black ink. Number the bluebooks you use (1 of 1, 1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc.). Proctors will allow time to read the professor’s instructions. Other than counting the number of pages of the exam, students are not permitted to turn the page of an exam past the instructions page until the proctor instructs them to do so.

When taking a closed-book exam, no books, outlines, book bags, purses, or scratch paper (other than the scratch paper provided) may be at your seat during the exam. These items must be left outside of the exam room or in the front or sides of the exam room. Students may not begin to write anything, including on scratch paper, before the proctor begins a closed-book exam.

Students taking in-class exams are prohibited from having any electronic communication device, other than a laptop as allowed per the professor's instructions, during the exam. Cell phones and smart watches must be turned off during the exam and placed in a bag or backpack. Violations of this rule may be considered an Honor Code violation. A clock in each exam room will be the official timekeeper for the exam.

Non-alcoholic beverages are permitted in exam rooms; however, the container must have a lid.

After the exam instructions have been read and the exam begins, the proctor will remain in the room. Any student who has a question or problem during an exam should see the proctor.

Students may use the restroom or take a break during an exam. However, all exam materials must be left in the exam room and no additional time will be given. Students must sign in and out at the front of the room with the proctor.

All students participating in a Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree program must complete a thesis or dissertation proposal for approval by the members of the student's steering committee. The major professor and each of the graduate steering committee members must approve the proposal using the Graduate School's proposal approval form. MS thesis proposals should generally be completed two semesters prior to defense of the thesis; PhD dissertation proposals must be completed to achieve candidacy (in concert or in parallel with the candidacy examination process). Each Department/Program may have requirements that exceed those specified broadly in this policy; however, they must be consistent with the Graduate School's requirements. Departmental requirements beyond the minimum stated here must be specified in writing and submitted to the Graduate School as well as listed in departmental web pages. It is the responsibility of the student to be aware of, and comply with, all Graduate School and Departmental dissertation proposal requirements.

The objectives of this examination are to confirm the student's breadth and depth of knowledge in their chosen field of study as well as the student's understanding of the scientific process. The doctoral candidacy examination should be administered upon completion of the majority of coursework, and successful completion of the exam signifies readiness to undertake the research and dissertation component of the doctoral program. This examination must be taken within three years from the first date of matriculation, and at least one year prior to the dissertation defense.

Upon the recommendation of the appropriate Department Chairperson, the Associate Provost for Instruction and Office of the Graduate School appoints the doctoral candidacy examination committee consisting of the student's major professor, the student's steering committee and an additional faculty member from an appropriate area. Additionally, the Associate Provost for Instruction and Office of the Graduate School appoints a committee chair who is not from the department of the student's degree program. The role of the examination committee chair is to manage the examination, ensure its integrity and represent the interests of the faculty and student.

The examination must have both written and oral components, described below.

WRITTEN EXAMINATION

The purpose of the written exam is to assess the readiness of the student to move beyond the coursework stage of the doctoral program, into the development of a substantial research project and dissertation. Traditionally, questioning should verify sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge to successfully undertake such research, and then communicate the results in a scholarly manner appropriate to the discipline.

To initiate the examination process, the examining committee shall convene at a planning meeting with the student. During the first part of the planning meeting, the committee determines the form and schedule for the process and establishes the date for the oral component (reported on form 6E). The student is then excused from the meeting and the committee develops and discusses the exam content. There are three alternative forms for the written component, as follows:

• Form 1: Each member of the committee (excluding the chair) submits one distinct question, set of questions, or problem related to the objectives of the exam. The questions are discussed and agreed upon at the planning meeting. The major professor administers the written examination. Typically, each question or set of questions must be completed within a prescribed period of time, not to exceed approximately 8 hours each, with additional time permitted for reasonable breaks, meals, etc.. No more than one question or set of questions should be administered per 24 hours. Upon completion by the student, the examination questions are reviewed and graded by the committee members who prepared them. The committee then collectively reviews the entire examination.

• Form 2: The student prepares a written report on a course or problem assigned collectively by the examining committee as a whole. The course or problem must meet the objectives of the examination and its content cannot be directly related to the student's dissertation research topic. The student has approximately one month to develop a thorough understanding of the assigned course and prepare a written report. The report is reviewed by the committee members and committee chair.

• Form 3: The student prepares and defends a written proposal of future research likely to be carried out during their Ph.D. project. This research prospectus must be presented to the examining committee two weeks prior to the oral candidacy exam and should include preliminary studies supporting the feasibility of the proposed research. The exam will test the candidate's understanding of concepts directly related to his or her immediate area of research, knowledge of prior related research that has been conducted by others, their ability to design and interpret experiments in this area, and capacity to think and write independently and to present work plans orally in a clear and rational manner. The report is reviewed by the committee members and committee chair. Form 3 is available only to doctoral students in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Resources Engineering.

At least 3 business days prior to the oral exam, the major professor shall confirm with the chair of the examining committee that the oral examination should proceed as scheduled. The written exam is thus considered to be "provisionally successful." If the written examination component does not meet the standards established for the candidacy exam, the committee has two options.

1. If the deficiencies are relatively minor, or in the case of Form 1, limited to a minority of the written questions, the oral exam may be postponed by the Office of the Graduate School at the recommendation of the chair of the exam committee. The student may then be provided with an additional time period, the length of which should be determined by the full examination committee in consultation with the chair, to address deficiencies identified in the written examination. This time period should be no less than 8 hours (typically for Form 1), and may extend up to 5 business days for Forms 2 and 3. This action is treated as a suspension and extension of the written exam "in progress," and, if ultimately successful, does not constitute a failure of the entire exam, nor count toward the limited number of attempts prescribed by Graduate School policy below.

2. If the deficiencies are severe, the major professor, in consultation with the examination committee may decide to fail the candidate without performing the oral component. This latter action does constitute a failure of the candidacy exam in its entirety, and does count toward the limited number of attempts prescribed by Graduate School policy below.

ORAL EXAMINATION

The purpose of the oral examination is to further confirm the fitness of the student to apply the skills and knowledge acquired to date toward a successful and significant research project. The oral examination provides the opportunity for the student to demonstrate their ability to think synthetically and critically in a manner conveying their readiness to commence the dissertation project.

The oral component of the candidacy examination is typically scheduled for a period of approximately two hours, and is broken in to two distinct rounds of questioning. The first round, lasting approximately 60 minutes, consists of questions from each of the members of the examination committee, including the chair should they choose to contribute questions. Time should be shared equitably among the questioners, with interjections or interruptions by other questioners prohibited during the first round. The second round of questions may be more flexibly structured, with broader discussion and interchange among questioners is encouraged.

Any member of the faculty may be a silent observer for the oral component. The candidate may also invite a silent student observer to attend the oral examination. At the completion of the oral examination, the candidate and observers are excused from the room and the examination committee determines whether the student has successfully completed the oral component of the exam and achieved the status of "doctoral candidate." The committee chair has the option to vote. Unanimous agreement is required to pass the student on the first attempt. If less than unanimous agreement is reached, the student is considered to have failed the first candidacy examination. A student who fails the first candidacy exam may request a second exam, which must take place no more than one year from the date of the first examination. The second candidacy examination may, or may not include a new written component, at the discretion of the student's major professor and examination committee, in consultation with the examination chair. At the second exam, the student has passed if there is not more than one negative vote. A student who is determined to have failed the second candidacy examination is terminated from the doctoral program.

SCHEDULING THE CANDIDACY EXAM

To schedule a doctoral candidacy examination, the student should complete the following steps:

1. In consultation with your major professor, complete Form 6B for your Department Chairperson to review, sign, and forward to the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies. Form 6B should be submitted according to the academic year deadlines for defense exams.

2. The Associate Provost for Instruction and Office of the Graduate School will assign a faculty member outside of your degree program to serve as chair of your examination committee. When you receive a copy of Form 6C which officially appoints your examination committee, you must consult with all members of your committee (major professor, steering committee, additional examiner, and defense chair) to arrange a mutually convenient date, time, and location for a planning meeting.

3. You must inform the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies of the agreed upon date, time, and location for your planning meeting at least two weeks in advance of the date. This Office will confirm in Form 6D these arrangements with all concerned individuals.

4. At the planning meeting, your exam chair and the committee complete Form 6E, the committee chair will sign it and return it to the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies, which will distribute copies to you and the committee.

5. If you are using Form 1 of the examination, you and your major professor should arrange for a time and location to administer the questions.

6. The last step is to meet with your committee and complete the oral examination at the designated date. At the end of the oral examination, your committee will ask you and any observers to leave the room while it determines if you have satisfactorily completed the doctoral candidacy examination. You will be invited back to receive the decision of the committee which will also be reported on Form 6F and returned by the exam chair to the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies.

Multiple choice questions are perhaps the easiest to complete - you simply put a cross in a box - however, the questions often have two answers that could, at first glance, be correct. Don't make the mistake of practicing the first answer and thinking this is correct without checking all the others.

If it says 'Tick one box', you must tick one box. If you leave it blank or tick two or more boxes you will get zero marks. These multiple choice questions will not start with command words like 'Describe...' or 'Explain...'. They will be written in the form of a question like 'What...?' or 'Why...?'.

There will be more multiple choice questions on the Foundation paper.

These questions have been written by Bitesize consultants as suggestions to the types of questions that may appear in an exam paper.

Multiple choice questions are perhaps the easiest to complete you simply put a cross in a box, however, the questions often have two answers that could, at first glance, be correct. Don’t make the mistake of practicing the first answer and thinking this is correct without checking all the others.

If it says 'Tick one box', you must tick one box. If you leave it blank or tick two or more boxes you will get zero marks. These multiple choice questions will not start with command words like ‘Describe...’ or ‘Explain...’. They will be written in the form of a question like ‘What...?’ or ‘Why...?’.

There will be more multiple choice questions on the Foundation paper.

These questions have been written by Bitesize consultants as suggestions to the types of questions that may appear in an exam paper.

Yes. Parking is enforced year-round regardless of the academic calendar and regardless of how many vehicles are parked in a lot.  The only time parking isn't enforced are university holidays in which the University is closed - Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Calculate How Much Life Insurance You Need

A no-exam life insurance policy may not be able to provide the full coverage amount you need, especially if you’re looking to cover many working years or the years of raising a family.

Before you start getting life insurance quotes, calculate how much life insurance you need. A no-exam policy alone may not be able to provide sufficient coverage.

Assess Your Chances Before You Apply

Getting life insurance without a long application process is appealing, but don’t jump into a no-exam life insurance application without understanding your chances of getting approved. Many no-exam policies require very good or excellent health for approval. A denial goes on your insurance record and could hinder future applications.

Don’t be surprised if you end up doing a more traditional application process, including a life insurance medical exam if you’ve had some health issues.

Look Beyond the Cost

Of course you don’t want to overpay for life insurance, but research more than cost. There are coverage options that can be very valuable long after you buy the policy, such as the option to convert term life to permanent life insurance. Also, look at whether there’s an accelerated death benefit, which gives you access to money from your own death benefit if you become terminally ill.

Be Truthful On the Application

No matter what type of life insurance you’re applying for, be thorough and truthful on the application.

“Pay attention to each question carefully and be ready to respond with information around specific medical conditions you have. Giving more detailed information will help streamline the process as well as get a more accurate underwriting decision,” says Tavan of Legal & General America.

Intentional misrepresentations can lead to application denials or, worse, denial of a claim after you pass away. Life insurance companies have many ways to verify application information. Technology on the backend allows them to verify data from additional sources.

Have a Plan in Case of a Rejection

If the company rejects you for no-exam life insurance because of your health, don’t supply up your life insurance search. If you need life insurance, you likely have other routes.

• Be prepared to go through a more traditional underwriting process that involves a life insurance medical exam.
• Work with an experienced life insurance agent who can identify insurers known to be more friendly to your specific health conditions.
• An experienced life insurance agent can shop around your application anonymously so that you don’t risk another rejection.

Looking for traditional term life insurance? See Forbes Advisor’s ratings of the best term life insurance.

A student admitted into the PhD program is classified as a PhD student. After the successful completion of the Doctoral Candidacy Examination (or 'PhD Candidacy Exam,' as described below), the classification of the student changes to 'Doctoral Candidate' (DC), or 'PhD Candidate.'

Purpose of the Candidacy Examination

The purpose of the candidacy exam is to test the ability of the student to conduct advanced research, as required to succeed in the PhD program. The Candidacy Examination explores the depth of understanding of the student in areas considered core to his/her specialty area in Biomedical Engineering or Biomedical Science. The student is expected to be familiar with, and be able to use, the contemporary tools and techniques of the field and to demonstrate his or her ability to analyze and critique the principle results and key findings.

Objectives of the Candidacy Examination

The PhD candidacy exam consists of a written report, an oral presentation, and an oral examination. Evaluation of the student’s written report and performance during the oral examination includes testing the student’s ability to survey the relevant literature, identify gaps in knowledge, define a research question, design experiments to answer that question, and discuss the interpretation of results and any potential pitfalls for the first specific aim of his or her thesis only. In addition, the student should be prepared to answer questions that test knowledge that is central to the student’s research discipline.

Composition of the Candidacy Examination Committee

A Candidacy Examination Committee, which will become the student’s Thesis Committee, of at least 5 members will be appointed in consultation with the student's thesis advisor, and is to include: at least 3 faculty members with a primary full-time appointment in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems ('the School') and at least 1 faculty member who is not a member of the School's faculty (preferably from outside of the University). At least 3 of the Committee members must be currently tenured or tenure-track faculty members at Drexel University.

The student's advisor should be a member of the Candidacy exam Committee, but not its Chair. The Chair shall be a School faculty member, preferably a senior faculty member. All members of the Candidacy exam Committee must attend the presentation in person or via Skype. Individual examinations on a one-on-one basis are not permitted. If one member of the Committee does not attend and a replacement who satisfies the aforementioned requirements of the Committee cannot be found, then the Candidacy exam meeting must be rescheduled.

Preparation of the Written Report

The written report consists of one Specific Aims page for the student’s entire thesis (1 page limit) and a research proposal describing the first Specific Aim only. The Specific Aims page should briefly provide the rationale for the entire thesis and list the main goals of each Specific Aim for the entire thesis. These Specific Aims are not set in stone and can be changed prior to the thesis proposal, but it is helpful to be aware of the bigger picture of the entire thesis to put Specific Aim 1 in context.  The rest of the document (6 page limit, not including references, at least 11pt font and 0.5” margins) should include the following sections for the first Specific Aim only:

• Background/ Significance - should include a literature review that critically evaluates previous work in the area, identifies gaps in knowledge, and leads to the formulation of a scientific question that will be addressed by the specific aim.
• Innovation – briefly highlight the main innovative aspects of the proposed research
• Experimental design
• Experimental Methods
• Expected outcomes and interpretation
• Anticipated potential pitfalls and alternative approaches

This document must be saved as a .pdf file and emailed to the Committee at least 2 weeks before the scheduled date of the candidacy exam. Reports that do not follow these formatting guidelines or that are not sent to the committee at least 2 weeks before the candidacy exam will NOT be accepted. The Committee will use this document to prepare questions for the candidacy exam. Note that this written report will not be the sole focus of the questions posed during the oral candidacy exam- other questions will include general knowledge pertinent to the student’s field of research.

Other Documents to Send along with the Written Report

Students should submit to the Committee a Drexel unofficial transcript and a resume containing education, publications, and presentations, along with their written report.

Preparation of the Oral Presentation

Students should prepare a presentation that mirrors the content of the written report. This presentation will not be interrupted and will be planned to last 20-30 minutes to leave time for questioning. It is recommended that the students include slide numbers on each slide to increase efficiency during questioning.

Preparation for the Oral Exam

Questions posed by the Examiners during the oral examination will focus on the written report as well as content knowledge that is considered central to the student’s discipline. In general, through both the written report and the oral examination, students will be expected to demonstrate:

• a broad command of existing knowledge that is central to the student’s research discipline;
• the ability to think critically about research questions in their field;
• the ability to identify existing gaps in knowledge and how their proposed research fills those gaps;
• understanding of relevant research methods, including key assumptions and technical considerations such as experimental, analytical, and statistical methods.

Students are advised to review the example candidacy exam questions.

Timeline

The student must complete the Candidacy exam no earlier than July 1st of his or her first year, and no later than the end of the summer term of the second year. The student must petition the Candidacy exam Committee for any deviation from the above outlined policies. It is recommended that the student follow the timeline below:

• 2-3 months before the exam: In consultation with Advisor, form Committee, name the Chair of the committee, and schedule exam date
  • The Advisor should ensure that the Chair is familiar with the responsibilities of the Chair, listed below.
• At least 8 weeks before the exam: Finalize research ideas with Advisor and begin writing the written report
• 2-6 weeks before the exam: Meet with the Committee Chair to discuss exam format
• 2-3 weeks before the exam: Practice oral presentation
• 2 weeks before the exam: Send written report, transcript, and resume to the Committee

Other Responsibilities of the Student

1. The student is responsible for arranging a time (Doodle is a suggested tool) during which all Candidacy exam Committee members must be present (Skype is permissible for those who would otherwise have difficulty attending). However, all Candidacy exam Committee members must attend the presentation and question session in one way or another.
2. The student is responsible for scheduling a day, time, and room reservation (see the School of Biomed front desk in the Biomed Office for room reservations, or email Danielle Crocker at dnc23@drexel.edu) for the Candidacy exam presentation. Allow at least 1.5 hours when booking the room.
3. The student must submit a D-3 Dissertation Advisory Committee Appointment form (if changes to the Candidacy exam Committee occur after the Candidacy and prior to the thesis proposal, then an updated D-3 form should be filed).
4. The student must bring forms D-2 and D-2A (one copy of D-2A for each Candidacy exam Committee member) to the Candidacy exam presentation for the Committee members' signatures.

Responsibilities of the Advisor, Examiners, and Chair

Advisor- Advisors are responsible for working with the student to select appropriate members of the Candidacy exam Committee who are knowledgeable in the general area of research of the student. The Advisor should ensure that the Chair is familiar with the responsibilities of the Chair, listed below.
The Advisor should work with the student to make sure he or she is preparing appropriately for the exam. It is recommended that the Advisor attends a practice presentation by the student and prepares practice oral examination questions.

Examiners- Examiners are responsible for thoroughly reviewing the student’s written report and for preparing questions related to the proposed research of Specific Aim 1 only as well as questions that more test the student’s general knowledge of facts and concepts that are pertinent to the student’s proposed research.

Chair- It is the responsibility of the Chair to ensure a fair and balanced examination while maintaining the high standards of the School. The Chair should ensure that every Examiner has the opportunity to ask questions during the exam, and that the exam remains an examination of the student as opposed to a discussion of the research. In addition, the Chair should meet with the student several weeks before the exam to ensure the student understands how to prepare for the exam. During the exam, the Chair should maintain the order of questioning. Following the exam, the Chair should summarize the recommendations of the Committee and ensure that the student understands them.

Recommended Procedure for the Candidacy Exam

1. 20-30 minutes: The student presents their research presentation.
2. 5 minutes: The audience is given the opportunity to ask questions, and then is dismissed.
3. 40 minutes: Each Examiner takes approximately 10 minutes to ask questions of the student.
4. 10-15 minutes: The student is dismissed while the Committee deliberates.
5. When a consensus decision is reached, the student is asked to return, and the Chair informs the student of the Committee’s decision and summarizes the Committee’s recommendations. These recommendations are included in the D-2 form. Each Committee member will individually complete a D2A form, and copies will be emailed to the student following the Candidacy Exam, with copy to the Committee.

Pass/Fail Criteria

The Candidacy exam Committee will meet in a closed-door session immediately after the question and answer session and will come to a consensus decision, with 4 possibilities based on the merit of the student's performance. Each Candidacy exam Committee member will also complete a form (based on the current D-2A form) highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the student's performance, and will specifically address certain criteria, including:

1. Pass
2. Conditional pass: At the discretion of the Candidacy exam Committee, the student may pass the exam contingent on meeting one or more additional conditions. Examples of conditions include (but are not restricted to) taking a course on a particular course perceived as lacking in the student's background, and receiving a B+ or better, revising the written Candidacy exam document to the satisfaction of all Candidacy exam Committee members, or providing a written review of one or more research articles related to a specified topic.
3. Re-take the Candidacy exam within a period of 6 months, including submission of an extensively revised preliminary proposal document.
4. Failure and dismissal from the PhD program, with the option to engage in the master's program, at the discretion of the Candidacy exam Committee.