UBC requires that a comprehensive exam be taken before moving to candidacy for PhD. The purpose of the comprehensive exam is to assess whether the student has developed strong thinking abilities, required knowledge of the discipline, required academic background for the research to follow and ability to communicate knowledge of the discipline. Below are the guidelines for the exam. They apply to registered PhD students or to students transferring from a Masters to the PhD program. In either case, the comprehensive exam should be taken within 24 months of initial registration. It is held after the completion of required course work.
- The IOP comprehensive exam will be based on testing the student's ability to integrate knowledge from course work taken (e.g. Onco 502, Onco 510, and Onco 548) or their equivalent.
- It will also be based on the student's ability to defend his/her proposed research. This could include background knowledge, ability to think through potential pitfalls of the proposed approach, consideration of alternative approaches etc.
- The student will be asked to provide up to a 5 page document giving background on their proposed research, goal and rationale of the project, preliminary results, and discussion on the potential impact of their research. They will be asked to provide a 15 min presentation of their proposal before answering questions.
- The entire exam should normally not take more than 2 hours.
- The examination committee will be made up of a chair person (normally the Director of IOP), the supervisor, a member of the student's research committee, and another IOP faculty member not on the student's research committee. Additional members may be added at the discretion of the chair person.
- It is the student's responsibility to arrange the date, time and location of the examination. Generally the schedule should be set four to six weeks prior to the exam.
