Quals

Ph.D. qualifying examination

Each student must pass a Qualifying Examination, typically before the beginning of their third year. If the student fails the exam, they will be placed on academic probation and may retake the exam once and need to complete the exam by the end of May in the third year; failing the second time is grounds for dismissal from the program.  Prior to the qualifying examination, each student will turn in a Qualifying Examination Petition form with the signatures of the Director of Graduate Studies and the student’s Advisory Committee. This form must be completed by the end of the student’s second year.

Students pursuing joint degrees in Cognitive Science and another discipline may request to postpone the Qualifying Examination by one year, by writing to the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Qualifying Examination is expected to have a written and an oral component and to demonstrate (1) in-depth knowledge of the student’s Content Specialization, (2) knowledge of some other area of Cognitive Science, (3) academic writing competence, and (4) the ability to defend a position in an oral setting.

In consultation with his or her Advisory Committee, the student will agree on the format of the examination. Within these constraints, two broad categories of Qualifying Examinations are possible: (1) Papers or (2) Conventional Written Examination.

Papers

In consultation with their Advisory Committee, the student selects topics and develops questions for two qualifying papers. Each paper should answer a question, such as: “How might simulation-based models help to clarify or dispel the view of communication as information transmission?” The papers should address two different methodological approaches or topics. The questions as approved by the Advisory Committee must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies via the Qualifying Examination Petition form before the writing period. With the approval of their advisory committees, students are encouraged to write papers that can contribute directly to their professional progress, for example as submitted publications or components of grant proposals (e.g., NIH National Research Service Awards). The combined lengths of the papers should be 50-60 content pages, double-spaced, not counting the references. While the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is allowed, each student needs to discuss and reach agreement with their committees, before starting the quals work, about how AI tools may be used and how their use should be documented.

The student is typically given the period of three months during the summer following their second year in the program to write the papers. During this time, they may consult any works on the paper topics but may not discuss the topics with others. Questions to Advisory Committee should only concern procedural matters. After the papers are submitted to the committee, they are evaluated by the committee members, normally within a period of a week, and can be returned to the student with comments. Next, the student meets with the committee to defend their answers orally; the oral portion of the exam should take place within three weeks of the submission of the papers. Based on the written answers and the oral defense, the student may be passed immediately, failed outright, or required to rewrite one or more of the papers and possibly also to meet with the committee again for a second oral defense. If the student satisfies the committee with these additional assignments, they have successfully passed the Qualifying Examination; otherwise, the exam is considered failed and must be completely retaken.

Conventional written examination

The student and their Advisory Committee agree on a set of topic areas and readings. The topics must include at least one area outside of the student's Content Specialization and must be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies via the Qualifying Examination Petition form before the exam date. The student then has three months to prepare for the exam, normally during the summer following the second year in the program.

Students have to answer four questions. Each committee member writes one or two questions, and the committee selects which questions will be offered to the student and whether the student will receive more than four questions to choose from for their answers.  The student has two days, four hours per day, to answer the questions, typically in an examination room. Students are allowed to bring notes and texts to the exam. The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is not allowed. Within a week, the committee evaluates the student's answers. The student does not normally receive feedback from the committee but may discuss the answers informally with members of the committee in preparation for the oral portion of the exam. The student meets with the committee within two weeks after submitting the answers to orally defend their answers and respond to follow-up questions. If the committee agrees that the student's written and oral answers are satisfactory, the student has successfully passed the qualification exam. Otherwise, the committee may fail the student outright or may require the student (1) to elaborate further in written answers to one or more questions or (2) to answer in writing one or more additional questions. If the student satisfies the committee with these additional assignments, they have successfully passed the qualification exam; otherwise, the exam is considered failed and must be completely retaken.