PhD Program General Exam 1

Students in the Mechanical Engineering PhD program are expected to take the General Examination 1 (Ph.D. Qualifying Examination). The primary purpose of General Exam 1 is to evaluate the student's ability, not only to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of mechanical engineering course material, but to evaluate original thinking.

The General Examination 1 will be in four (4) parts: 

Part 1-   A written exam covering three core courses (EGM 6533 Advanced Strength of Materials, EML 6716 Advanced Fluid Dynamics,  EML 6223 Mechanical Vibrations or EML 6317 Advanced Control Systems). An elective course can substitute for a core course). This exam will be three hours in duration and will require three problems to be answered.

Part 2 – A written exam covering two other elective courses subjects. This will be  one hour in duration and will require one problem from two elective courses to be answered.

Part 3 -  A written exam in Mathematics. This will be a two-hour exam and the student must answer two problems.

Part 4 – A pre-proposal that consists of an oral presentation and written paper based on several articles selected by a committee (including the advisor). The student will identify knowledge gap(s), do a literature review (with guidance of the advisor). During the presentation, the questions will be limited to those that help demonstrate knowledge important to the research topic/area.

Students may be exempted from taking a written exam in all or some of the Parts (1, 2, 3),  based on the following criteria: 

(a) Students with a cumulative GPA >=3.5 on all courses selected for the QE (minimum B+ in each class), will be exempt from Part 1,  Part 2,  and Part 3 only. These students will be allowed to take only Part 4. 

(b) Students with a cumulative GPA  >= 3.5,  but with a grade of B or less on some of the courses that are part of the Qualifying Exam, will be required to take a written examination only for those courses in Parts 1 or Part 2, or Part 3. These students will also take Part 4. 

 (c ) Students with a cumulative GPA that is less than 3.5 on courses selected for the QE, will be required to take a written examination in all courses in Parts 1, Part 2, Part 3, as well as Part 4.

A new set of exams will be prepared and questions and problems from previous exams are not available to students. It is expected that the exam on the elective courses will focus on the student's area of specialization.

Grading

An overall grade of 70 percent on part one, part two, and part three of the General Examination 1, and a passing grade in the preproposal, constitutes successfully completing General Examination 1.  If the student fails any of the parts, the student will have one more opportunity to successfully pass the exam.   The student must score 70 percent in each subject that is retaken. Alternatively the student may retake the entire exam when it is next offered. General Exam 1 is scheduled immediately after the last day of the final examination period in the fall semester and in the spring semester each year. The preproposal can be defended during the last two months of the semester including the week after the final exams period, if the advisor indicates that the student is ready.

When to Take the Exam

Students who have obtained the MS in ocean engineering, or the MS in mechanical engineering at FAU, will be allowed to take the General Examination 1 at the end of the first semester, if the student has completed the pre-proposal. Otherwise, the General Examination 1 must be taken no later than the end of the second semester of Ph.D. study. Those admitted to the PhD program directly after the BS degree in ocean or mechanical engineering at FAU may take the exam after completing 24 credits of graduate coursework.