62
votes
Accepted
Is it common to drop 50% of PhD students in a program?
I am quite surprised to hear that a serious math grad program in the U.S. still operates in this fashion.
Yes, decades ago, this was somewhat the style, sadly.
Our/my program has not operated this way ...
- 91.2k
36
votes
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"In the event of failure, the candidate will be asked to withdraw from the Graduate Program.", How is it different from being fired?
When you withdraw from the program, you can tell people later (in a job interview, social situation etc) that you “decided to withdraw from the program”.
If you are fired you will have the option of ...
- 202k
27
votes
Is it common to drop 50% of PhD students in a program?
Some universities need more teaching assistants, but cannot afford to pay for good ones. So they recruit unqualified teaching assistants as PhD students, and then kick them out when they fail their ...
- 100k
21
votes
Accepted
What is the chance of making a successful appeal to dismissal decision from a PhD program after failing the qualifying exam in the 2nd attempt?
I'm sorry for the tough situation you find yourself in.
First things first: no one outside your university and department can speak with any authority whatsoever as to what this particular group of ...
- 132k
16
votes
Accepted
How to approach my PhD advisor after failing a qualifiying exam?
You should talk to your advisor.
It's completely natural to feel embarrassed if you have done badly in an exam where everyone was expecting you to do well. It's also natural to feel you have let your ...
15
votes
What is the chance of making a successful appeal to dismissal decision from a PhD program after failing the qualifying exam in the 2nd attempt?
This is an honest and heartfelt answer from a History PhD student.
My university was not a tier 1 school, but it is one of the University of California unis. Our Qualifying Examinations were designed ...
12
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"In the event of failure, the candidate will be asked to withdraw from the Graduate Program.", How is it different from being fired?
In the U.S., and to the extent I understand it, in Canada, funding is slightly and significantly separate from "being allowed to hang around, register for classes, etc.".
Of course, in many STEM ...
- 91.2k
11
votes
Is it common to drop 50% of PhD students in a program?
I know that some physics PhD programs were notorious for taking on extra students (knowing that they'd likely fail the qualifying exam) and just using them for the cheap TA labor and giving them a ...
- 219
10
votes
Accepted
What is the the history of Qualifying Exams in the US?
In the United States, Ph.D. qualifying exams or quals (also called comprehensive exams or comps, preliminary exams or prelims, and other terms) date back to the late 1930s and proliferated in the ...
- 1,538
9
votes
Should I give up on academia after failing my qualifying exams?
I know from personal experience that you do not need to give up! I also mastered out of a PhD program (in mathematics), but then successfully entered another PhD in mathematics program, and completed ...
- 323
7
votes
In the GRE, why are we allowed to use calculators and not dictionaries?
The GRE is ran by ETS, so only they will be able to answer your question about why they don't allow dictionaries.
Your same logic starts to question the entire point of these tests. Using Google is ...
- 19.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Change of interest right before qualifying exam
Given that you're in the US, my advice to you is slow down. You don't need to pass your oral exams in your first year, and studying for and passing an exam in a subject that you intend to drop ...
- 132k
6
votes
How will failing a PhD qualifying exam affect admission to other PhD programs in the future?
Just because your son failed a qualifying exam for university X doesn't mean he's not qualified to get a PhD at all.
The chances of this affecting future PhD admissions are slim as they would only ...
- 12.8k
6
votes
How to cope with failing qualify exams?
From someone who's been there - I started in a PhD program in mathematics, received only a "Masters pass" on my written qualifiers the first time around, retook a year later to the same result. Left ...
- 323
6
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"In the event of failure, the candidate will be asked to withdraw from the Graduate Program.", How is it different from being fired?
In some places, doctoral students aren't actually employees though they have some other position, such as a TA, which can be a separate thing. Your relationship to the university is "student", not "...
- 399k
6
votes
Can you transfer universities after successfully passing qualifying exams and begin with ABD status at the new university?
It is sometimes possible to transfer between doctoral programs and get credit for all the coursework you have completed and for having already passed the Ph. D. qualifying exam. However, I think the ...
- 21.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Problem with a cheater
Arrive early and choose a good seat. Focus on the exam and take a bit of care that your work isn't easily visible. Beyond that, relax as much as you can, especially about the circumstances.
I wouldn'...
- 399k
5
votes
How to cope with failing qualify exams?
The problem is that faculty members explicitly told me they wouldn't supervise students unless they pass the quals. That means I have to waste another year because of the exams. I am concerning that ...
- 137k
5
votes
Should I turn down PhD offer if I think I may not pass qualifying exam (risking immigration issues if I fail)?
Professors and admissions committees have a lot of experience in accepting students- they wouldn't offer you a position unless they were confident that you were capable of handling the program. It's ...
- 8,412
5
votes
Accepted
Asked to Provide a Submitted Manuscript that is not Published Yet
It's normal to show unpublished work to colleagues, sometimes for their input/advice/suggestions for edits, sometimes because they're working on similar work (whether collaborating or not), or, like ...
- 135k
5
votes
Failed my 2nd Qualifying Exam in PhD. Absolutely devastated. How to proceed?
I have evidence that it is possible to do a good PhD in a new university after failing to pass qualifiers in an earlier one. In fact, the person I'm thinking of finished at a higher rated university ...
- 399k
5
votes
Forgot to debrief participants on an old qualifier project. Can this error cause my qualifier project and poster I did on it to be revoked at all?
Debriefing is not a universal requirement in human subjects research. I have never written one in an IRB I have submitted.
This is what my investigator's manual says (but check yours; emphasis added):
...
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4
votes
How do deal with low self-confidence after a failed research rotation?
As suggested in a comment, ask your present PI to sketch out explicitly the goals for this rotation. Take the initiative by writing a first draft, but ask the PI to help you refine your list.
Send ...
- 39.3k
4
votes
Anxiety and depression about the future of my PhD study
My advice would be to find another advisor, maybe even a different university. If you are just at the beginning, then it is a good time to move.
There is very little worse than an unsupportive ...
- 399k
4
votes
How to reduce stress before your qualifying exam
I hope "next Friday" means in a week, not in a day.
Cramming is usually the worst option. Staying up late the night before also.
There is a danger in late study that the mind may not have ...
- 399k
4
votes
Accepted
How to reduce stress before your qualifying exam
There is no universal answer to this question, because different people find that different techniques work well/badly for them, and they also have different levels of aptitude for rapid learning and ...
- 73k
4
votes
How to nail PhD qualifying written exam?
The only thing I have to add here is a response to your last sentence:
I thought about talking with the program coordinator but it might not be wise as things might get worse at the end.
Speaking as ...
- 5,081
4
votes
Accepted
Does having qualifying exam subjects on my transcript help? (Math)
Doing well in any advanced courses, whether intended as preparation for qualifying exams or not, is a plus. But you need to do well in them, not just have them on your transcript.
Note, also, that in ...
- 399k
3
votes
Accepted
What are some tips for passing qualifying written exam (i.e., writing a lot in a week)?
Step one, plan your writing. The most efficient way to work is to write an outline before you start. However, in this case, where you have five days, you might need to alternate activities -- ...
- 39.3k
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