DOCTORAL PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS

 

Quantitative 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.

Quantitative Area

The Quantitative Psychology program provides two options, from which the student and advisor select the one that is most appropriate for the student, as follows.

Option 1.

Major paper. With this option, the candidate will prepare one written project within the domain of Quantitative 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 2.

Exam. The examination contains four parts: Applied Statistics/Data Analysis, Measurement/Item Response Theory, Structural Equation Modeling/Multivariate and Methodology. The examinations will be conducted over two days, with four hours devoted to each part. The student may bring to the examination, in paper or electronic format, all the papers on the approved reading list.

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.
3. Proposed committee membership is to be submitted to the Quantitative Psychology 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.