The faculty of the Department of Mathematics approved the following policies at their meeting on November 15, 2018. The changes will be in effect for exams starting January 2019.
- Students meet the qualifying exam requirement when they have passed two qualifying exams. Students are required to pass at least one exam by the beginning of their fourth semester, and two by the beginning of their sixth semester.
- For students who transfer into the Ph.D. program the faculty subcommittee of the Graduate Program Committee (Exceptions Committee) has discretion to waive a qualifying exam requirement, provided the student has satisfied a commensurably rigorous requirement in another program.
- The qualifying exam committees have the discretion to identify a borderline range for students below the pass threshold. A borderline score is considered a fail unless it is converted to a pass by decision of the Exceptions Committee. The following policies apply:
- A borderline score is considered a fail if the student did not complete the graduate coursework corresponding to the exam (typically two semesters) with a grade of B or higher.
- In exceptional cases the Exceptions Committee may convert a score in the borderline range to a pass. The Exceptions Committee will consider all cases of exams with scores in the borderline range for the students who have completed the corresponding graduate coursework with a grade of B or higher. The committee should take into account input from the student’s advisor, the qualifying exam committee and the instructors of the corresponding courses.