DOCTORAL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS

 

I/O 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.

I/O PROGRAM

The I/O prelim system provides three options, from which the student and advisor select the one that is most appropriate for the student, as follows.

Option 1.

Written projects in I/O psychology. With this option, the candidate will prepare two written projects, selected from three topic domains:

1. Industrial Psychology,
2. Organizational Psychology,
3. I/O-Methodology.

Each project must be approved by at least two* I/O faculty “readers,” who will review the proposed project and grade the finished product. Each project will provide a comprehensive review of the literature on a topic relevant to the field specified above. The candidate will be expected to also provide his/her own substantive discussion that builds on the literature to gain some new insight or conclusions.

Option 2.

Major paper. With this option, the candidate will prepare one written project within the domain of I/O psychology. The expectation is that this paper will be of a “Psychological Bulletin” quality and scope. Five* faculty readers approve the outline of the paper and grade the finished product.

Option 3.

Exam. The examination contains two parts. In Part 1, two questions each are administered from the Industrial Psychology, Organizational Psychology, and Quantitative Methods domains, respectively. In Part 2, a comprehensive paper is written based on a topic selected by the student’s committee. The exams and paper are scored by the committee and results conveyed to the examinee. The candidate is given two weeks to complete the examination (both parts). Five faculty* prepare the examination and grade the finished product.

NOTES:

1. For each option, there will be a reading list that is approved by the examining faculty. This list will represent the minimum reading background for the Preliminary Examination.
2. *School of Psychology rules require that the preliminary examination committee be composed of at least 5 members. For Option #2, 5 unique faculty readers must be involved across the two papers (e.g., 3 for one paper and 2 for another).
3. Proposed committee membership is to be submitted to the I/O Area Coordinator and to the Graduate Coordinator.

**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.