By the end of the second year in graduate school, you must take a preliminary exam to advance to candidacy. The exam has two parts: a written research proposal and an oral examination. The exam is administered by a committee of three MIT Biology faculty members.<\/span><\/p>\n The best times to take your prelim is in the spring of your second year (see deadlines). Discuss the best timing with your advisor. You need to plan your prelim in advance to provide adequate time for scheduling and for preparation.<\/p>\n Prelim exam checklist:<\/p>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t To assemble your committee, you need to provide the Education Office with a title and a 1-3 sentence description of your research proposal, and the names of the two faculty members of your choice (not your advisors or collaborators) who will serve. These two faculty are typically the members of your thesis committee, although this is not a requirement. Your thesis committee members will expect to serve in this role, so if you wish them to do so, you do not need to ask them.<\/p>\n Please email the required information to Betsey Walsh<\/a>. Based on this information, the graduate committee will appoint a third member. One member of the prelim committee will be designated the chair and will be asked to write a report to the graduate committee after the oral exam. After you have been assigned a third member, you can schedule your exam.<\/p>\n Your advisor may help you prepare, and they will be present at the oral exam. However, the thesis advisor’s role at the oral presentation is limited to providing answers to specific questions asked him or her by the committee or the student.\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t You will write a paper that describes a focused research project, typically with two specific aims. The proposal document is limited to 10 double-spaced pages of text plus two pages of figures. The figures may be incorporated into the text, if desired, for a total of 12 pages. Font size should be no smaller than 11.5 Times New Roman or 11 point Arial or Helvetica, with margins of at least 0.75 inches all the way around. References should be included but do not count towards the page limit.<\/p>\n Most students write their proposal about a project that they are actively pursuing, but this is not a requirement. The proposal need not include all elements of your current research; good proposals are focused and specific. Preliminary results are not required or expected and should not take up a large part of the document.<\/p>\n The proposal should include these sections:<\/p>\n The proposal is intended to help you organize your thoughts about a research problem and provide practice writing persuasive scientific text. The proposal also serves as a foundation for the oral examination. The proposal will be evaluated as a piece of scientific writing, and it is important that the background, methods and scientific logic be accessible to scientists working outside of the immediate research area described, i.e. to any graduate student in the Biology Department. The proposal will also be evaluated for thoughtfulness, clarity and organization.<\/p>\n The proposal should be prepared and written by you, the student, but you may consult your advisor and other colleagues for input and advice. You should provide a frank estimate of the extent to which your advisor or other colleagues contributed to the writing of the paper in a sentence at the end of the text.<\/p>\n You should not discuss the proposal with members of the committee after it has been distributed to them.<\/p>\n Well-written examples of prelim proposals are available here:<\/p>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Possible outcomes include:<\/p>\n You will be informed of the official outcome in writing within a few weeks of the exam. Students who do not pass one or more parts of the exam will be given another opportunity to do so, and a deadline. Students who fail to pass the preliminary exam after two attempts cannot continue in the PhD program, but they may be eligible to complete a master\u2019s degree by preparing a thesis. If you do not pass part of the exam, it is important to discuss next steps with your advisor and possibly with the directors(s) of the program.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t After you have completed your first thesis committee meeting and turned in your signed thesis committee form to the Education Office, you can request your prelim assignment. \u00a0You must provide the Education Office with the title and summary of your proposal, along with the names of two faculty members who will serve on your prelim committee by May 1st at the latest. Please email this information to Betsey Walsh<\/a>. The graduate committee will then appoint a third member to your committee.<\/p>\n Two weeks Before your oral exam: The paper should be completed and distributed to the members of your committee, your advisor, and the Biology Education Office. Please let Betsey Walsh know the date of your scheduled prelim exam via email<\/a>.<\/p>\n June 21st of your second year: Prelim oral exams for second year students should be completed before this date.<\/p>\n Note that exceptions to this schedule may be granted by the program director(s), e.g. if a student changes laboratories prior to taking their prelim, the deadlines may be extended. Contact the program director(s) if you think you need an extended deadline.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nDescription of Prelim Exam Components and Process<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\tThe Process\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tThe Preliminary Exam Committee\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tThe Proposal\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tThe Oral Exam\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tEvaluation and Outcome\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tImportant Dates\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t\t