Comprehensive Exam - Graduate Handbook

The goal of the comprehensive exam is to determine the level of understanding of your own research and relate it to how it contributes to fundamental food science understanding in chemistry, microbiology, and processing.

Student will prepare a hypothesis-driven written research proposal based on format suggested (NIH or USDA). Topic will be determined by the advisor with agreement with committee. This should be based on her/his current research project, preferably with preliminary data available with agreement with the advisor. The written proposal should be provided to the committee one week prior to the exam date.

The advisor will form a committee with at least 4 faculty members (one outside departmental member is allowed, but not required). The advisor cannot serve as a chair for the comprehensive exam. The chair of the comprehensive exam committee will determine the exam outcome as (1) pass, (2) conditional pass, or (3) fail. If student has a conditional pass, student will receive comments from the committee and revise the proposal accordingly. If the student fails, student will have one additional chance to complete the comprehensive exam. The student is considered a Ph.D. candidate once the comprehensive exam is passed.

The oral comprehensive exam consists of two parts: a written grant proposal and an oral examination in which you present and defend the written grant proposal.

• Written proposal: The format of the written grant proposal will follow the guidelines of a government grant proposal (such as NIH R21 in page 19 or USDA in page 20, to be determined by the advisor).
• Oral exam: The formal of the oral examination will be a ~20 minute prepared presentation and defense of the grant proposal. Expect to be interrupted with questions; total exam time 1– 1.5 hrs. The oral comprehensive presentation will be closed, meaning only committee members may attend.

Timeline

It is strongly encouraged that the student takes this oral comprehensive exam within 18 months of starting the degree. It is important to discuss the timeline of the comprehensive exam with your advisor.

• Week 0: Your advisor gives you a topic for the grant proposal
• Week 0 - Week 3: Student can seek feedback from the advisor as needed during this time.
• Week 3: At the end of the third week, you should submit an independently written grant proposal to your committee.
• Week 4 or availability of the Committee: Present an oral presentation of the grant proposal to the committee.

Once the student passes the comprehensive exam, the advisor will form a dissertation committee. The advisor should provide the names of the dissertation committee to the graduate program director. The purpose of the prospectus meeting is to have the student, the advisor, and the committee agree to a reasonable scope and timeline for the doctoral dissertation. Students are encouraged to convene their committees yearly thereafter informally to provide progress updates.

NOTE: Current students who have not completed the comprehensive exam shall take this exam if Advisor and student agree.