Year 2

MS Exit Exam:

The Exit Exam will be scheduled as a part of ROC 7890 and will require review of all courses taken during the first year.  You will be required to obtain at least a 70% to pass.

PhD Qualifying Exam Part 1:

This portion of the exam consists of a set of 100 multi-part questions from 6 specific subjects (Physics of Radiation Oncology, Physics of Diagnostic Radiology, Physics of Nuclear Medicine, Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry, Radiation Safety and Radiobiology, and Magnetic Resonance and Ultrasound).  The questions can be obtained at any point in time from Dr. Burmeister in electronic format. The test itself will contain 6 questions, each a randomly selected question from each section and you are required to answer 4.  You must obtain a 50% or higher on each of the answered questions and must obtain an average score of 70% or higher to pass.

PhD Qualifying Exam Part 2:

This portion of the exam contains 6 multi-part questions.  The 6 questions are written from 3 specific categories (Diagnostic Physics, Radiological Physics/Dosimetry, and Radiation Safety/Radiobiology) with 2 questions written from each category.  You are required to answer 4 total questions: 1 question from each of the 3 category and a 4^th question for a category of your choosing. The questions are not given ahead of time.

PhD Candidacy Status:

Official PhD candidacy status is necessary to take the required dissertation credits for the degree (ROC 9992, 9993, and 9994)*. Requirements to achieve candidacy status are as follows:

1. Plan of Work submitted to graduate school
2. 50+ hours of completed coursework
3. Completion and passing of both PhD Qualifying Exams
4. Naming of Dissertation Committee
5. Completion of Prospectus

The forms needed to apply for candidacy can be found on the graduate school website

*Note that ROC 9991 may be taken before candidacy status is achieved. You must achieve candidacy status by the end of the semester in which 9991 is taken (unless taken in the Winter semester, in which case, candidacy status must be achieved by the end of the Summer semester).

Naming of PhD Dissertation Committee:

The decision of who should serve on your committee should be made with your dissertation advisor, and must meet the following requirements:

1. You must select a chair or 2 co-chairs for the committee
2. There must be 4 members on the committee, or, if there are 2 co-chairs, there must be 5 members total
3. At least one of the committee members, in addition to the chair, must be from the home department (i.e. hold a graduate faculty appointment)
4. At least one committee member must be an external member NOT from the home department to allow a broadening of the committee and offer a different perspective

PhD Prospectus:

This is the proposal for your dissertation research and consists of a written proposal, a public presentation, and a private Q&A session with your committee following the presentation.  Once the written portion is completed, you should fill out the appropriate paperwork found on the graduate school website to obtain candidacy status.  Prior to the presentation, the following should be completed and available for review by your committee so they may sign off:

1. Copy of written prospectus with "Prospectus and Record of Approval" paperwork
2. If your dissertation involves human studies, copy of signed IRB approval letter
3. If your dissertation involves animal studies, IACUC approval is required
4. "Conflict of Interest" form
5. "Recommendation for Candidacy Status" form

After your committee signs all of the above forms, it can be submitted to the WSU PhD office for approval.

Graduation:

You must register to graduate at the beginning of the term in which you intend to complete the program coursework, including all didactic coursework, essay project, and seminar presentation.  If you don't complete all requirements for the degree within that term, you will need to register again in the following term. 

To graduate with an MS at the scheduled completion of the program, end of the Winter Semester of your 2^nd year, you must apply for graduation by the end of the 4^th week of classes in the Winter Semester.  This usually corresponds to the end of the first full week of February.  The deadline can sneak up on you if you are not paying attention, so be sure you stay on top of this if you want to graduate and get your degree during the Spring Commencement of your second year.  You can apply to graduate in Pipeline under the Student tab.  It only takes a few minutes to verify the correct spelling of your name and the program you are graduating from.  There is a $50 fee to apply.  If you do miss the deadline for Winter graduation, you can apply for Spring/Summer graduation and still walk during the Spring Commencement.

Graduation and commencement information is listed at http://commencement.wayne.edu/graduation.php

Once you have graduated, email Mary Cerulla and ask her to move you from the student email list to the alumni email list.