DOCTORAL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS

 

Engineering Program

Introduction

In order to complete a Ph.D., students must pass a set of doctoral preliminary exams (prelims). These exams are designed to measure the student’s understanding of an area. These exams vary in nature and format by the program, which are outlined below for each area. This section provides information on the policies and procedures for the exams needed to set up and take these exams. The student should contact his/her advisor and/or area coordinator prior to preparing for preliminary exams insofar as each concentration has different policies, which are subject to change.

Prerequisites

In order to take prelims, a student must complete a Master’s degree, must complete the core curriculum, and must obtain the approval of his/her prelims committee. It is not necessary to have completed a minor in order to take preliminary exams. With the approval of their advisor, students may enroll in prelim hours while preparing for these exams. These hours are Pass/Fail and count as part of the 12 hours needed to qualify as a full-time student and be considered as a GRA/GTA. Students are encouraged to save their core course and seminar readings, inasmuch as these will more than likely be pivotal for exam preparation. The institute requires that all graduate students complete their Ph.D.s within five years of the term in which s/he passes preliminary exams.

Area Specific Information

The prelims committee composition varies by area. The content of prelims is determined by the Prelims Examination Committee. Different areas of concentration may have different format requirements.

Engineering Program

Purposes and Goals

The purpose for the preliminary exam is to ensure that the student has achieved an acceptable level of mastery of a designated area in psychology appropriate to the doctorate degree and is prepared to engage in independent research at the level of the dissertation.

Goals for the preliminary exam include:

1. Demonstration of proficiency and knowledge in proposed area of expertise

The student should be able to integrate ideas across related but distinct literatures; should be able to identify main principles, ideas, and arguments in the field of study; and should be able to defend and analyze major hypotheses in the area by citing empirical evidence and theoretical arguments.

2. Demonstration of language/writing skills

The student should be able to prepare a paper or written response that is well organized, coherent, and accessible, as well as grammatically correct.

3. Demonstration of creative thought

The student should be able to present ideas that are not contained in the literature but are supported by the literature. This may include the generation of new models, hypotheses, or frameworks - with possible solutions to problems contained within the literature. The demonstration of creative thought is of paramount importance, without it, the student will not pass the preliminary examination.

Committee Structure

Composition of the committee will be consistent with the School of Psychology rules governing eligibility of faculty to serve on doctoral committees. Currently only regular faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology and adjunct faculty of the School of Psychology may serve on Prelims Committees. The committee will be comprised of at least five members, at least three of which must be regular faculty of the School of Psychology. The chair of the committee must be a regular faculty member of the School of Psychology and, generally, must be an active member of the Engineering Psychology program. The projected dissertation advisor will appoint this committee in concurrence with the student and the Engineering Psychology Area Coordinator. The advisor will chair the committee and have primary responsibility to coordinate the exam process, gather evaluations, and report the results to the faculty.

Formal Committee and Student Meeting

Prior to formally beginning the prelim process, the student must meet with the entire committee. The student will give a brief (5 - 10 minute) presentation on the domain along with specific issues to be addressed by the examination. In the meeting the format of the examination is agreed upon, the scope is defined, and the specific date for completion is noted.

Methods for Determining Content

The preliminary examination committee should design the examination for the individual student. What constitutes a designated area is a judgment of the preliminary exam committee. Methods for determining content generally are negotiated between committee and student, based upon the areas of proposed expertise identified by the student. Those areas emphasized should be relevant to the specific focus of the dissertation, although breadth in the general area of expertise must also be demonstrated. An initial step defining the content will be a reading list compiled by the student in consultation with the committee. Additionally, the student should prepare an outline and a summary of the domain to be covered within the examination. The summary should not exceed two pages. Other methods of determining content may depend on the exact format of the exam.

Methods for Determing Format

To satisfy the purposes and goals for the exam the Engineering Psychology Faculty have decided that the major paper best meets these goals. Nevertheless, there may be other formats for the exam. These might include combinations of a closed-book and a take home test, a major review paper with a subsequent oral examination, etc. The final format is negotiated between the student and the committee. Each member of the committee is expected to contribute to and evaluate the final product. The examination and subsequent product should be a committee and not simply an advisor creation. The preliminary examination form should be prepared by the student and signed by the advisor, the committee members, and the student. Copies of this form must be forwarded to the Engineering Psychology Area Coordinator and to the Graduate Coordinator.

Time to Complete the Exam

The maximum time allowed to complete the prelim exam is six months from time the advisor signs the preliminary exam form. The advisor normally signs the preliminary examination form during the formal meeting with the examining committee.

Grading System for Preliminary Exam Papers in Engineering Psychology

Grade	Sample Criteria
Pass with Commendation	Paper is of extremely high quality.
Pass	Paper meets the expectations of the committee members; it is of high quality and no changes are required. Committee members may provide comments and suggestions that are formative in nature, for future projects done by the student.
Revisions Required	The paper must be revised and re-reviewed. Committee members should provide a list of the specific issues of concern that will need to be addressed by the student before the paper will be considered a pass. Committee may request to require a full review or only a review by the Committee Chair (student's advisor).
Fail	The paper does not meet the goals described above and a revision would not be sufficient to achieve the goals.

Process

1. Sometime before the prelims paper is finalized, the advisor is allowed to give general guidance to the student based on a draft of the paper. The specific timing of this review should be determined by the student and advisor - allowing time for the advisor to read the document and time for the student to make the recommended adjustments before the paper is due. The gist of the advisor's comments might include:
• you are not doing enough integration
• you need more summary sections
• the section on X is very confusing
• you have totally omitted the work of Dr. Q which is very relevant
• you need to focus on shorter paragraphs and crisper sentences
• make sure there is a reason for every section and clear linkages to the goals for the paper
2. By 5 PM on the agreed upon date (at most 6 months after the advisor signs the Prelim Form after the formal preliminary committee meeting), the student will provide electronic (or paper) copies of the paper to each member of the committee. (NOTE: If the student does not provide a paper by the 6-month deadline, the student will receive a grade of Fail.)
3. The Committee members agree to review the paper within one month, and provide their grade with supporting comments to the Committee Chair (the student's advisor).
4. The Committee Chair will integrate the comments and determine if consensus has been reached. The Committee Chair should draft a letter to the student - the letter should then be reviewed by the committee members to ensure that the contents accurately reflect their views. If revisions are required, the committee should decide if a full committee review is required of the revision or only a review by the Committee Chair.
5. The Committee Chair should then schedule a meeting with the student to discuss the results.
6. Normally, if revisions are required, the student will have one month from the meeting with the advisor to make the changes. The revised paper should be accompanied by an explanation of how (and on what pages) the issues were addressed and changes were made.
7. Within 2-weeks, the revision will be graded as Pass/Fail; either the full committee or the Chair (see #4 above) will grade the revision.
8. In the case of a grade of Fail, the student's continuation in the program will be reviewed by the Engineering Psychology Faculty.

**NOTE FOR STUDENTS IN ALL AREAS:

Composition of the prelims committee should be consistent with the School of Psychology rules governing eligibility of faculty to serve on doctoral committees. Currently, only regular faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology and adjunct faculty of the School of Psychology may serve on Prelims Committees.