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Written Qualifying Exam

Item 1 is tested through a written exam, which you must take at the beginning of your first summer at UF. In addition, you must be registered as a student for the summer A or C semesters. The exam is based upon a set of reading materials; the list of reading materials is available from the Academic Services office. To help you prepare for the exam, two courses are taught which are also based on the reading materials. Advanced Materials Principles 1 is taught in the fall semester and Advanced Materials 2 is taught in the spring semester. These courses are not required, and you may choose to study for the qualifying exam on your own without taking the courses.

The written exam is designed to take 2 ½ hours, but you will be provided with 5 hours to complete it. The exam consists of 10 questions, of which you must answer 8. Questions will be graded solely on a pass/fail basis. You must pass 6 of the questions to pass the exam. If you do not pass on your first attempt, you may take the exam again at the beginning of the following fall semester. Note that the exam in the fall is only for students who have failed their first attempt in the summer. If you do not pass the second attempt you will not be admitted to PhD candidacy, which means you will not be able to obtain a PhD degree from our department.