The purpose of the candidacy examination is to assist in the determination of whether or not the student is competent to pursue a Ph.D. program. In addition to the candidacy examination, the student is expected to demonstrate sufficient intellectual capacity and maturity to progress successfully through the course work and other organized aspects of the Ph.D. program. The Candidacy examination is supervised by the Ph.D. Candidacy Exam committee, which is composed of four faculty members from the Acoustics Program. The committee administers the examinations as required by the Acoustics Program and the Graduate School and then reports the outcome to the Graduate School via the Program Office. Thereafter, the student's course work and research is supervised by his/her doctoral committee, which is usually chaired by the student's advisor.

Potential candidates are required to take the candidacy examination within the first three times it is offered after they have enrolled in the doctoral program. The candidacy examination is based on fundamental concepts of acoustics, as presented in courses equivalent to ACS 501 and 502, and mathematical concepts up to the level of advanced engineering mathematics, such as covered in EACH 524A. The candidacy examination is administered twice a year. The fall exam typically will be given in September and the spring exam in late January. The candidacy examination will consist of both a written and an oral part. The two Candidacy exams from the previous academic year are on file in the Program Office and are available for review.

A standing Candidacy Examination Committee, consisting of four members of the Graduate Faculty in Acoustics, will prepare, administer, and evaluate both the written and oral portions of the candidacy exam. Based on the Committee's evaluation of the student's performance on both the written and oral portions of the examination, a student will either pass or fail the Candidacy examination. If a student fails the examination, the Committee will decide if that student should be allowed to retake the exam the next time it is offered. A student will be allowed only two opportunities to pass the candidacy exam. At the discretion of the Candidacy Examination Committee, a student who fails the exam may be required to retake only one of the two parts.

Written Exam

The Candidacy Examination Committee will determine the questions to be asked on the written exam. The written examination will consist of a four hour closed book test focusing on the student's understanding of basic concepts as contained, for example, in ACS 501 and 502, and applied mathematics as found, for example, in EMCH 524A. Special formulas, relationships, tables, etc. will be provided as necessary. The written examination will be common for all students taking the candidacy exam in a particular semester.

Oral Exam

Oral exams will be individually scheduled by the Acoustics Program Office and administered by the Candidacy Examination Committee approximately one week after the common written exam. Typically the oral exam will be one to two hours long. The purpose of the oral portion of the exam is to provide an evaluation of the depth of understanding a student has of basic concepts and the ability to express himself/herself verbally under questioning. The oral exam may be composed of follow-up questions on specific portions of the written exam and other technical topics that the Candidacy Examination Committee feels are appropriate.

 

Graduate Program in Acoustics, The Pennsylvania State University