Student Handbook: Oral General Exam Guidelines

Prior to the oral examination, a graduate student in the Department of Genome Sciences will have successfully completed a written thesis proposal.

A. At least one week before the oral examination, the student will provide the committee members with a synopsis (one page max) of the thesis proposal.

B. During the oral examination the student is expected to:

1. Give a brief (15-20 minutes) presentation of the thesis project: salient background, major questions and results to date, and projections for the immediate future.
   
   Answer questions concerning the bases of experimental procedures employed, the conclusions drawn from the results to date, and possible alternate strategies.
   
   Be able to demonstrate an understanding of other experimental approaches being used in other laboratories to answer the same and related questions (which may use other organisms, prokaryotic or eukaryotic).
   
   
2. Be able to describe and evaluate the major experimental and/or conceptual foundations of the thesis project (for example, much current work with eukaryotes is conceptually indebted to earlier work on prokaryotic systems).

C. Examination Format:

1. The committee should meet alone before the examination to review the students record and the results of the written proposal.
   
   The chair person of the exam committee shall be someone other than the thesis advisor to encourage objectivity in the conduct of the examination. The chairperson will ensure that the lines of inquiry adhere to the guidelines in section B above. (Following completion of the exam s/he may also serve to convey to the student and advisor any specific suggestions and criticisms made by the committee.)
   
   The thesis advisor must refrain from volunteering information during the questioning unless requested to do so by other members of the committee.
   
   Sufficient time without interruption should be available for each examiner to pursue a line of inquiry. ("Sufficient time" should be agreed upon by the committee members prior to commencing the exam.)
   
   
2. After consulting with the thesis advisor, the committee shall make its appraisal of the student's performance with both the student and the advisor out of the room.