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.

The student will prepare a hypothesis-driven written research proposal based on the format suggested (NIH or USDA). The advisor and the committee will determine the topic. This should be based on her/his current research project, preferably with preliminary data available upon agreement with the advisor. The written proposal should be submitted to the committee one week before the exam date.

The advisor will form a committee with at least four 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 the student has a conditional pass, the student will receive comments from the committee and revise the proposal accordingly. If the student fails, the student will have one additional chance to complete the comprehensive exam.

A student is considered a Ph.D. candidate once they have passed the comprehensive exam and met all coursework requirements.

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 on page 19 or USDA on page 20, to be determined by the advisor).
• Oral exam: The format 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 is 1–1.5 hours. 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: The 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 administrator and 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 informally convene their committees yearly thereafter to provide progress updates.

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