Continuing Graduate Student Handbook

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The Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Exam should be taken by the end of the third year. The exam is based on a discussion of the three broad analytic fields built around the students’ reading lists and their analytical field statements (in the case of human geographers) produced in consultation with the examining committee.

To take the Qualifying Examination, a student must:

• Maintain no less than a B average in all work undertaken in graduate standing;
• Have no more than two courses graded "Incomplete";
• Complete at least one semester of academic residency;
• Be registered during the semester in which the exam is taken;
• Apply to take the Qualifying Exam 4 weeks before the exam;
• Complete the Analytic Field Statement (human geographers) or Analytic Paper (physical geographers)

The examination is conducted by a committee of four faculty members appointed by the Graduate Dean on the advice of the department (nearly always a selection by the student with his or her program advisor). There are specific rules regarding committee composition that must be adhered to; they are outlined below.

Guidelines for Preparing for the Exam

The Point

The exam is required by the university for the doctoral degree.  It is meant to be a test of general knowledge in preparation for doing a dissertation.

The exam is normally taken by the end of the third year.

The exam is a rite of passage, to be sure, but it is also a way of signaling that you are making good progress intellectually and that you have a reasonable mastery of certain fields of knowledge.

• For Human Geographers the exam is not supposed to be a test of your dissertation prospectus. 

• For physical geographers, on the other hand, your proposed research will play a much more significant role.  While your dissertation prospectus is not the subject of the qualifying exam, it will be used as a starting point to test your understanding of relevant topics in earth system science. 

Qualifying Exam Committee

Students should have a QE committee identified by the end of year two.  That means meeting with each professor and getting their consent to add them to your committee beforehand. Typically, your qualifying exam committee is composed of the same members as your dissertation committee. The committee composition is as follows:

Graduate division requirements

1. The committee requires at least four members
2. One Additional Member beyond the number may be added. 
3. The Qualifying Examination Chair cannot serve as the Dissertation Chair for the same student. 
4. The Chair must be a member of Geography
5. There cannot be two Co-Chairs for the Qualifying Examination

Departmental requirements

6. At least 50% of the committe Specific Senate members who are either members Geography or affiliated faculty of Geography. 
7. The Academic Senate Representative (ASR) must be an academic senate member who is not a member of the Geography department. Affiliated faculty are allowed to serve as the ASR.    
8. The Chair, as a fourth member, can serve in a purely administrative capacity. 
9. Exceptions to #6 or #7 must be requested in writing by the student’s faculty advisor and the Head Graduate Advisor.  Exceptions will be made with consideration to the purpose of the composition requirements, which are to enforce disciplinary standards (in the case of #6) and to allow for outside oversight (in the case of #7).  

The Detailed Reading List

A reading list must cover three broad fields (a university requirement). Each of those fields is normally broken up into 3-5 sections, with a minimum of 35 texts. 

Start sketching out the topics and readings early on. Some things you will have read before, and some will be recommendations to round out your knowledge of a field. (Talk to fellow students who have done their exams about their lists, and build on the work of others instead of reinventing the wheel).

One advisor can work with you on one major field, or there can be overlap across fields (indeed, this is hard to avoid and sometimes the most engaging part). Once your committee is formed, you and the committee should agree on which approach to take.

Have the reading lists in good shape at least two semesters before taking your qualifying exam. That will give you enough time to read everything.  Some adjustments will be made in the lists right up to the time of the exam as you read everything. You may realize that some entries are not as good as hoped, or are redundant, or tangential.  Some new things may also come along. And some readings might be excerpted.

Be sure to give the final version of your complete reading lists to your committee members at least two weeks before the exam. (The lists are only for you and the committee; they do not have to be filed with the department or the graduate division.)

For human geographers:

• The real work for orals is the reading: preparing your lists and working your way through all the books.

• Typically, the major fields include analytical and regional themaics. The actual breakdown of topics is up to you and your advisors. There is no perfect organization of topics and reading, and there is often some overlap of readings between fields.

• The length of each list is determined in consultation with committee members and will vary based upon the demands of particular texts. In general each list ranges from 35 to 60 texts, comprised of both whole books and key articles. Final lists are approved by committee members.

• Readings should be essential works in a field, not an exhaustive list.  (This is not a bibliography. Keep trimming!)

• You should prepare a short summary statement (1-2 paragraphs) for each section of your reading list – for both the overall list and each field. This should be done near the end of your preparation, perhaps a month (but at least two weeks) before the exam.  It focuses the mind and reminds you why that section exists and how the readings cohere.  It also shows the professors you know what you’re up to.

For physical geographers:

• You should precede your reading list with a research statement of your intended research goals (i.e., a draft prospectus).  If you have conducted research towards these goals (you probably have), then you can include this. You cannot merely submit your analytical paper, but you can address the same themes, if appropriate. 

• The reading list will be appended at the end.  This draft prospectus plus reading list can vary in length from 3-10 pages.  There is no set guideline at this time. The real challenge for the orals is to demonstrate a firm grasp on the state of knowledge regarding various subfields of earth system science.  This means a qualitative and quantitative understanding of current research, and your reading list is a statement of those subfields you have chosen to master.

• The reading list can consist of a mix of textbooks and articles. 

• The reading list is a useful guide for the examiners, but questions during the exam will likely be generated from your draft prospectus and courses that you have taken with committee members.

• To be most useful, the three broad subjects and associated reading list that you choose should coincide with the specific members on your committee.  You can subdivide one broad subject or add another to address the issue of 4 committee members.  

The Analytic Field Statements (for human geographers)

Each qualifying exam list will form the basis of your Analytical Field Statements.

The statements are a critical engagement with three different  fields of knowledge that relate thematically or theoretically to the student’s research. Each statement should outline the contours of the field and offer critical engagement with key themes and debates. The statements may also conclude by thinking across the fields, and by proposing contributions to them . Each field statement should be a minimum of 5-10 pages (15 -30 pages total). These field statements should help the student engage with the literature needed to develop their research prospectus. They also serve as a means of engagement with the committee while preparing for the qualifying exam.

Completion of the Analytical Field Statement is a prerequisite for taking the Qualifying Exam.

The Analytic Paper (for physical geographers)

The Analytic Paper should be of a form suitable for submission to an academic or scientific journal.  It should be relatively short (20-30 pages, maximum), succinct, and to the point, with a central problem, a major thesis and supporting arguments and evidence.   It is a learning exercise in what it means to come up with an idea and present it in the manner of a publishable paper.  It is not meant to be exhaustive, wide-ranging, nor a definitive proof.  

The Analytic Paper can take several forms.  It might lay out a field of inquiry, such as the role of the Tibetan Plateau in the East Asian monsoon, show how the existing literature handles it, and propose a new way of looking at the key issues by bringing a different literature to bear and, possibly, a new thesis for further investigation.   It might take the form of a specific empirical puzzle, such as the climate record during the late Mayan period, and show what is lacking in the data needed to answer the problem and propose what might be done to rectify the shortcoming.  Or, it might be an investigation into and contribution to a specific problem in modeling (as in drainage basin hydrology) that already appears in the literature.

The student should work on the analytic paper in close consultation with their main faculty advisor.  The analytic paper must be approved by the main advisor and submitted to the department to be considered complete.  Completion of the Analytical Paper is a prerequisite for taking the Qualifying Exam.

Preliminary Prospectus (Human Geography)

You are expected to have a preliminary prospectus (5-10 pages)  ready by the time of your Oral Examination, as a way of clarifying your project and putting the reading lists in perspective.

This is a first pass at the Prospectus, and is not expected to be fully formed and completely worked out.  There will be time after the qualifying exam to perfect it.

You should work with your primary advisor on the pre-Prospectus, starting at least a month (preferably two months) before the Oral Exams.

The Lead-Up

1. Complete all departmental requirements in coursework, analytic field statement or analytic paper, and preliminary prospectus as approved by internal faculty advisors through the QE Prep Google Form, to be submitted to the GSAO by a faculty advisor.
2. Schedule the exam date with QE committee and indicate it on the QE Prep Google Form.
3. Submit the Qualifying Exam Committee eFormat least 3 weeks in advance.  The application is a Higher Degree Committees e-form. Go to CalCentral > My Dashboard > Student Resources > Submit a Form. See step 3 below, for special instruction regarding remote or hybrid exam format.
4. For Remote or Hybrid exams only: The student must provide a statement in the comment box located on their QE app eForm using this template: “I and my committee agree to a [hybrid, in-person, or remote] QE exam.” The student should also be sure to read and be aware of Graduate Division policy on remote and hybrid exam format in advance of taking the exam.

Talk to your professors!  The more exchange you have before the exam, the more confidence you have in each other.

Ask examiners about strategies of answering and about the nature of the oral exams, in general.

Give the Chair of the exam committee the order of questioning you would like.

Prepare a brief draft prospectus.  This will help you define your fields and direction, and will give the committee a better idea where you are headed.  A full prospectus is not required until after the qualifying exam.  An official prospectus approval meeting with your dissertation committee should take place within four months of the qualifying exam.

The Exam Process

Exams are officially 3 hours long.  They usually run closer to 2 1/2 hours.

NOTE: if for some reason a committee member cannot attend the exam at the last minute (because of illness, for example), DO NOT proceed with the exam.  Ask the GSAO or HGA to contact the Graduate Division ASAP for guidance on how to proceed. The Graduate Division will not recognize the outcome of the exam if the actual exam committee deviates from the approved committee. 

The basic format is this:

• You will be asked to leave the room while the committee has a brief discussion of procedures and of you and your preparation.
• You will return and be asked to give an introduction to your intellectual trajectory: where you’ve been and where you are going with your doctoral research. 

  • For human geographers, this should be up to 10 minutes. 

  • For physical geographers, aim for a 20 minute presentation with visuals (either by slide presentation programs or using the chalkboard/whiteboard).

• Questions from committee members will likely cause this section to be 30 minutes to an hour long. Afterwards, each professor has 20 minutes to ask questions, in the order you select.  There will be some jumping in by other profs, here and there.

There is a break at midpoint.

After the exam, you will be asked to leave the room while the committee decides your fate, then called back for their decision. This takes about 10 minutes, but can be longer. Don’t panic! A long discussion may be about any number of things, and what exactly to tell the candidate – it doesn’t mean you are doing badly!

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The Exam – Content: Human geographers

Questions can be of almost any nature, but they are supposed to pertain to the topics and readings on your list. They tend to be general and often aimed at getting you to integrate different readings and think abstractly about a problem – not just regurgitate what you read.

Questions may be theoretically or empirically based, or about specific writings.  Alas, there’s no knowing what might pop into the head of your examiners – so don’t be surprised or shocked.  Randomness is a part of the process.

A basic strategy is to build up answers from the readings. But the ultimate purpose is to say what you think, given what you know.

You can always ask a professor to repeat a question, or clarify it.  You can always say, “I don’t understand the question” or “I don’t know”.  Remember, there is almost never one right answer to a question, in any case.

An exam is more than a set of questions. It is, first of all, a dialogue: the professors want to know if you are comfortable enough with the material on your reading list to have a discussion about it. Do not worry so much about what exactly a questioner is looking for, but about what you want to say.

What professors most hope for is that you are now in a position to think for yourself, to become their peer. But they know it’s a turning point and you are likely still to be struggling to get over that transition.

Remember, too: no one wants you to fail. If they are doing their job, they wouldn’t let you in that room if they thought you couldn’t pass.

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The Exam – Content: Physical geographers

After your introductory presentation, questions can be of almost any nature, but they are supposed to pertain to the topics and readings on your list. They can be general or specific, but most questions involve a response that demonstrates a thinking process rather than a simple answer.   This may also come in the form of rapid-fire questions that lead you through the thinking process.  Other questions may be completely open-ended. 

Most questions will involve the current state of knowledge.  Some committee members may specifically want you to know the history of the field of research, and even if your committee does not ask, you should appreciate the historical context of your field of study. 

A basic strategy is to start answering an open ended question is to reword of the question to make sure you understand, then to proceed with a description of fundamental concepts that demonstrate how you would come up with the solution. 

If you don’t know the answer to a question, you should not answer a different question, or worse, try to bluff your way through.  You should address specifically what you do and do not know and expect that this will lead to a dialogue with committee members.  Remember, the exam will be more a demonstration of how you think on your feet rather than your ability to recall specific numbers or answers.

You should practice answering questions at the board.  It is one thing to be able to answer questions in your head or on paper, and it is another thing to be able to answer questions on your feet while writing on the board. 

You should consider the amount of mental and physical endurance this exam will take, and plan appropriately in terms of food, water, caffeine and sleep that you need. 

View this exam as a great learning experience— a prime opportunity to get feedback on your intellectual trajectory.  

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After the end of the exam, you will be given the outcome of the exam and a brief summary of the committee’s opinion and advice for further improvement, by the chair.  You should also go talk to your professors later on to get their feedback.

Possible outcomes include pass, partial fail, and fail.  If the decision is partial fail or fail, the committee may allow for the exam to be retaken at a later date, either for some sections (in the case of a partial fail) or all sections (in the case of a fail).  In this case, you will be asked to do further preparation and a possible reexamination.  It’s not the end of the world; just some more time in the trenches.

Even if you pass, you may feel dissatisfied, either with your answers or with the questions put to you.  That is very common. After all, you’ve just worked for months to get ready and you want to have something grand to show for it. The exam is only a couple hours long and can only touch a part of what you have done and what you know. It is just a sample.

A pass is a pass.  Take pride in it and put it behind you.  Don’t forget to celebrate!  Your fellow students will be happy to join you…

Advancement to Candidacy

Formally constituting dissertation committee through eForm in Cal Central.

On successful completion of the Ph.D. qualifying examination, the student should apply immediately through the Graduate Division for formal “Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D.” 

Students who are using human subjects in their research must take the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI) on-line training course here and print out the results to submit with their application.

The Application for Candidacy is an eForm, located in CalCentral, that can be submitted once you have successfully passed your QE.

This application along with a candidacy fee must be filed at the end of the semester in which the qualifying examination was passed.  Students should apply for advancement as soon as possible after passing their qualifying exam, so they will be eligible for a Doctoral Completion Fellowship (DCF).

Terminal M.A. Degree.

A student who successfully completes the Qualifying Exam but does not wish to continue the PhD program may request to be awarded terminal M.A. degree in Geography.

A student who does not pass the Qualifying Exam, but has otherwise completed all departmental program requirements leading to the Qualifying Exam, can be released from the program and awarded a terminal M.A. degree.