Qualifying Examination

Current Regulations (valid from 24/01/2014 and also valid for students who opted for the new Program Regulations, issued by Resolution CoPGr-6.674)

The qualifying examination is required in both MSc and PhD courses.

Students are responsible for their registration in the examination, which must be submitted before the deadline established by the program in these regulations (items 1.1, 2.1 and 3.1). The exam must be taken within 60 days after submission of requests for qualifying. Graduate students who fail to register for the examination within the designated period will be terminated from the program, as in accordance with item V of article 52 of USP Charter of Graduate Studies.

The Examination Committee must be composed of three members, with a minimum title of PhD, its configuration being defined in these regulations for each course (MSc or PhD).

 1. MSc Qualifying Examination

1.1 MSc students must register to undertake the qualifying exam before 12 months have transpired since enrolling in the course. The program will arrange two periods for the examination during the year, one per semester. Registration dates will be published in the program’s website.

1.2 The objective of the MSc qualifying exam is to evaluate the student’s knowledge acquired in subjects and regarding the chosen theme of research, and also the capability to execute the proposed research project.

1.3 The exam will consist of a monograph (maximum of twenty pages) and an oral presentation concerning the research project, as well as an analysis of the student’s academic record.

1.4 Three copies of the monograph must be delivered at the Graduate Student Administration when registering for the examination.

1.5 The oral presentation will have a minimum duration of twenty minutes and a maximum of thirty, followed by a discussion prompted by the examining committee (composed of the applicant’s supervisor and two other supervisors of the program, designated by the CCP).

2. PhD Qualifying Examination

2.1. PhD students must register to undertake the qualifying exam before a 20-month period has transpired since enrolling in the course.

2.2. The objective of a PhD qualifying examination is to assess the applicant’s capability to independently develop a thesis project in the chosen research area.

2.3 The exam will consist of a written test. If the minimum grade is achieved (50% of the maximum possible grade), an oral argumentation regarding the test will occur on the following day. Afterwards, the candidate will give a 20-minute oral presentation concerning the current development of the research project. The student’s academic record will also be considered for evaluation.

2.4 The written test and oral presentation contents will dwell on the maximum of six themes related to the candidate’s research field, suggested by the supervisor and approved by the CCP.

2.5 The exam themes, as well as the examining committee composition, must be forwarded by the supervisor to the CCP at least 10 days before registering for the examination.

2.6 The Qualifying Examination Committee will be composed of three PhD holders, at least two of them being supervisors from the program.

2.7 The CCP will appoint the head of the Qualifying Examination Committee, following the existent hierarchy among its members whenever possible.

2.8 The student’s supervisor will not be part of the examining committee, acting only as moderator of the exam.

3. Direct Entry PhD Qualifying Examination

3.1 Direct entry PhD students must register to undertake the qualifying exam before a 20-month period has transpired since enrolling in the course.

3.2 This examination has the same objective as the PhD qualifying examination and will follow the same norms.

Students who fail the exam may apply once more, registering no later than 120 days after the first exam. After registration, the student will have 60-day period to take the second test. If a passing grade is not achieved, the student will be terminated from the graduate program and will receive a certificate of subjects completed.

Regulations (valid until 23/01/2014 and also valid for students who opted for the former Program regulations):

The qualifying examination is required for both MSc and PhD courses.

Graduate students who do not take the examination within the expected period will be terminated from the program, as stated in item IV article 54 of USP Graduate Studies Charter.

Students who fail must retake the examination within 180 days after the date of first exam, as stated in article 79 of USP Graduate Studies Charter.

The examining committee will be composed abiding by the rules established in § 4 article 94 of USP Graduate Studies Charter.

Public sessions for the qualifying examinations must not exceed three hours for the MSc course and five hours for the PhD courses.

MSc qualifying examination

MSc students have a maximum deadline of 18 months from the beginning of the course to register for the exam. The examination must be taken before 120 days have passed since registration. The program will provide two examining periods along the year, one per semester.

The objective of the MSc qualifying exam is to evaluate the student’s knowledge acquired in subjects and regarding the chosen theme of research, and capability to execute the proposed research project.

The exam will consist of a monograph (maximum of twenty pages), and an oral presentation concerning the research project, as well as an analysis of the student’s academic record.
Three copies of the monograph must be delivered at the Graduate Studies Administration when registering for the examination.

The oral presentation will have a minimum duration of twenty minutes and a maximum of thirty, followed by the discussion prompted by the Examining Committee (composed of the applicant’s supervisor and two other supervisors of the program, appointed by the CCP).

Phd and PhD with direct entry programs

PhD students have a maximum deadline of 18 months from the beginning of the course to register for the exam. The examination must be taken before 120 days have transpired since registration.
The objective of a PhD qualifying examination is to assess the applicant’s capability to independently develop a thesis project in the chosen research area.

The exam will consist of a written test, followed by a discussion regarding the test if the minimum grade is achieved (50% of the maximum test grade). The discussion will occur on the following day. Afterwards, the candidate will make a 20-minute oral presentation concerning the current development of the research project. The student’s academic record will also be considered for evaluation.

The written test and oral presentation contents will dwell on the maximum of six themes related to the candidate’s research field, suggested by the supervisor and approved by the CCP.

The exam themes, as well as the composition of the examining committee, must be forwarded by the supervisor to the CCP at least 10 days before registering for the exam.

The examining committee will be composed of three PhDs, at least two of them being supervisors from the programs.

The CCP will appoint the head of the examining committee, following the existing hierarchy between the members, whenever possible.

The student’s supervisor will not be part of the examining committee.