PhD comprehensive exam | School of Pharmacy

The PhD comprehensive exam tests the knowledge of the PhD candidate on topics related to the student's field of research and is used to judge whether the student has a mature, broad, and substantial understanding of the discipline, as evidenced by an oral examination.

Scheduling and preparing for the PhD Comprehensive Exam

In Pharmacy, the comprehensive exams must begin in term four. What this means is that the examining committee appointment should be submitted with a plan for scheduling the comprehensive exam, to ensure that the examination is passed (including any resulting conditions) by the end of term seven as per PhD degree requirements.

Once the PhD Comprehensive Examining Committee has been appointed and approved, and at least 12 weeks prior to the proposed comprehensive examination, the student should complete and submit the Pharmacy Comprehensive Examination Request form.

Students should avoiding scheduling their examinations during Pharmacy blackout dates.

Scheduling timeline

Timeline for scheduling the PhD Comprehensive exam
Task	Who	Timeline/Due date
Submit the appointment of the PhD Examining Committee for approval	Supervisor	In term 4 or when the a student transfers from MSc to PhD, whichever is earlier
Coordinate a date and time for the PhD Comprehensive Examination	Supervisor and Student	At least 16 weeks ahead of the intended examination date
Submit the PhD Comprehensive Examination Requestion online form	Student	No less than 12 weeks ahead of the intended examination date
Submit the composition of the exam to the graduate coordiantor, for approval by the Graduate Officer	Supervisor, in consulation with the examining committee	No less than 10 weeks ahead of the scheduled examination date
Arrange examination chair	Graduate Coordinator	Once the request for examination is received, before the examination date
Review and approve the exam composition	Gradaute Officer	Between 8 and 10 weeks ahead of the scheduled exam
Provide the student with the composition of their exam, including topics and reading list	Graduate Coordinator	8 weeks ahead of the scheduled comprehensive exam
Read, study, prepare	Student	The student is given 8 weeks to study for their examination.
Submit the examination questions and answer rubric to the graduate coordinator, for approval by the Graduate Officer	Supervisor, in consulation with the examining committee	4 weeks ahead of the exam
Review and approve the examination questions as submitted by the supervisor and examining committee	Graduate Officer	Between 4 weeks and 2 weeks ahead of the scheduled exam
Provide examining committee the list of questions	Graduate Coordinator	After approved by the Graduate Officer, approximately two weeks prior to the examination date.

School of Pharmacy blackout dates

Pharmacy blackout dates apply to thesis proposals and comprehensive exams.
Event	Date
University closures and convocation	Refer to Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs Important dates
Pharmacy Gradaute Studies Seminars	See Pharmacy Events for schedule
Pharmacy Council meetings	September 19, 2024
Pharmacy Research Day	TBD

Blackout dates are also noted on the Pharmacy graduates studies Outlook calendar, gradpharm@uwaterloo.ca

What to expect on the day of your exam

On the day of and one hour before the exam, the examination questions will be delivered to the student in the examination room. The student is given this time to prepare answers for the questions provided. During this hour, the student may refer to readings from their assigned list as well as any study notes they have created, to aid in their preparation for the oral examination. Please note that internet use is not permitted.

The oral examination is two hours, and is attended by the examining committee.

During the exam, the impartial chair selects the questions which each expert member will ask.

Eight questions will be addressed within the two-hour limit, with at least one being from each expert member. The student may use the whiteboard or flip chart to help them articulate their responses, as needed. Similarly, in the case of an online exam format, the student may share their screen to show relevant material (i.e., table, figure, drawing) from their readings, study notes, or notes prepared in the preceding hour to help articulate their responses.

Upon conclusion of the oral examination, the student is dismissed; the examining committee remains in the examination room to discuss the student’s performance and assess the responses to each of the questions.

After delibration, the student is invited back into the room to hear the results of the exam as determined by the committee. The examination report is signed and a copy forwarded to the student for their record. If appilcable, the student should follow up on any conditions set by the committee. The supervisor is repsonsible for confirming fulfillment of all conditions. All conditions must be fulfilled before the end of term 7.

Comprehensive examination committee

In the PhD student's fourth term, the PhD Comprehensive Examination Committee Appointment Form should be submitted for approval.

The comprehensive examination committee is comprised of a minimum of three expert members, normally drawn from the thesis advisory committee, and an impartial chair from the School of Pharmacy who is normally the graduate officer or their delegate*.

Examining Committees appointments are subject to minimum requirements for the PhD degree and must be approved in advance. Supervisors should complete and submit the PhD comprehensive exam committee appointment to the department grad coordinator for approval in term 4, or as soon as the student transfers to PhD from MSc, and no later than 16 weeks ahead of the intended examination date.

If a thesis advisory committee member cannot be present (e.g., is on sabbatical leave), an alternate may be selected if necessary to comply with the regulations.

Faculty who are not members of the student’s thesis advisory committee may, at the recommendation of the thesis advisory committee, be invited to the comprehensive examination. If they are invited they are granted full voting privileges.

*The Associate Director Graduate Studies and Research, the Director, or a member of the Graduate Studies and Research Committee who has approved doctoral dissertation status.

Comprehensive exam assessment

The committee will make a recommendation to the graduate officer on the PhD Comprehensive Examination Report (completed by the chair, on behalf of the committee).

A vote will be taken for a pass/fail on every question (majority rules); the student must attain a 60% pass (i.e. the student must pass at least five of the eight questions asked) for a global recommendation of option 1 or 2 (see below).

Possible recommendations of the committee:

Passed unconditionally. The student has passed the exam and nothing further is required. The administrative coordinator will process the milestone completion form, and the PhD comprehensive exam milestone will be recorded on the student's transcript.
Passed conditionally. The candidate is permitted to continue in their program on the condition that they also complete a supplementary program of study, as specified by the committee. The student may be required to take an additional course, or courses, or meet some other special conditions such as a special assignment. The Supervisor is responsible for seeing that the conditions are fulfilled within the specified time. Students who fail to meet the conditions set by the committee will be required to withdraw.
Decision deferred. The examination is adjourned to a later date, to be set by the committee. Adjournment is called if the candidate is weak in certain areas and the Committee feels that further studies followed by re-examination would be beneficial. Normally only one adjournment will be permitted. In the case of a deferred decision, the re-examination must normally be repeated within four months.
Failed. The candidate is required to withdraw from the program.