A. Soil Science

B. Crop Science

Graduate Student Handbook

Examinations and Performance Standards

A. Soil Science

1. Preliminary Examination for the Ph.D. Degree

The preliminary examination should be scheduled at a time when most required coursework has been completed, preferably before the sixth quarter of academic work.

The Soil Science graduate faculty requires that a student pass a written departmental examination before taking the oral preliminary examination for the Ph.D. degree. The written examination tests the student’s ability to integrate knowledge from different subject areas, to reason, and to apply principles to solutions of problems relating to soil science.

The student’s major professor is responsible for arranging the written part of the preliminary examination. The examination will consist of two questions in each of the following areas:

1. Soil Chemistry
2. Soil Genesis, Morphology and Classification
3. Soil Biology and Biochemistry
4. Soil Physics

In addition, there can be two or more questions from the student’s graduate committee members whose discipline is not soil science. When appropriate for the student, questions on larger scales (nutrient cycling at ecosystem level, watershed water dynamics, etc.) or practical applications (nutrient, water or tillage management, etc.) should be arranged.

The authors of the questions must indicate which questions are open book or closed book and approximately how much time should be allotted to answer the questions (1 to 2 hours). Open-book questions can be answered using text or library resources if the student so desires. The answers will be returned by the major professor to the authors of the questions, who will indicate to the major professor whether the student passes their question(s). All questions should be evaluated within two weeks of the test date. If a student does not pass one or more sections of the examination, they will have one opportunity to be re-examined and successfully pass those sections. Additional course work may be suggested by the graduate committee as a result of this examination, or the student may be encouraged to work towards an M.S. rather than Ph.D. degree. All written examination answers will be provided to the student's graduate committee and will be considered in deciding whether the student passes the Preliminary Qualifying Examination.

After passing the written examination, the Ph.D. student will then take the oral preliminary examination within six months. In preparation for the oral exam, the student will prepare a research proposal that is not related to his/her thesis topic. Exceptions to this time line must be approved by the student’s graduate committee and the soils graduate faculty.

The oral preliminary examination is intended to evaluate a Ph.D. student’s ability to utilize scientific literature, to think critically, to write creatively, to articulate ideas, and to demonstrate understanding of general and specific fields of study.  This examination will also test the student's ability to develop, investigate, and defend an original research idea. The originality, scholarly quality, and the technical feasibility of the proposal will be evaluated. The preliminary examination will consist of two parts:

i. Written Research Proposal:

1. Before the time of the written preliminary exam, the Ph.D. student must submit a one-page abstract/outline on a topic for a research proposal to his/her graduate program committee for approval.
   
2. The topic of the proposal must be different from the student’s thesis research project.
   
3. The topic of the proposal must be reviewed and accepted or rejected within one week of submission. The committee may accept a topic with one dissenting vote.
   
4. A research proposal on the approved topic is then written and must include the following sections: introduction, objectives; rationale and significance, research design and methods; timeline, literature cited, budget with justification, and personnel required to achieve the objectives.
   
5. The written research proposal is limited to 30 double-spaced pages (references, budget, and personnel information will not be included in the page count).
   
6. The written proposal and a written proposal checklist and approval form (see Checklists and Timetables section for the form) must be submitted to the Ph.D. student’s committee at least six weeks prior to the anticipated date for the oral exam.
   
7. Within one week of submission, the committee must vote to approve the proposal as suitable for the exam.
   
8. In the event that the proposal is not approved by two or more members of the committee, the student will have two weeks to modify and re-submit the proposal to the committee for a second decision.
   
9. Within one week of re-submission, the committee must vote to approve the revised proposal
   
10. A Ph.D. student will fail the oral examination if the revised proposal is not approved by two or more members of the committee.
    

ii. Examination

The examination will start with a 20-minute presentation of the proposal (open to all interested) followed by an examination by graduate committee. This examination is comprehensive (not just on the proposal) and evaluates the student’s general knowledge and ability to convey and discuss scientific ideas, theories, and techniques. It is the responsibility of the student to have the appropriate pre-examination Graduate School paperwork completed and to schedule the exam.

Note: A Written Proposal Checklist and Approval Form (see Checklists and Timetables section for the form) should be attached to the written proposal when submitted for review by the student's committee. Upon review, the student's committee members should return the written proposal, review comments, and a completed form to the student.

2. Final Oral Examination for the Ph.D. Degree

1. At least one complete academic term must elapse between the preliminary oral and the final examination.
   
2. The formal oral presentation by the candidate is open to all interested persons. The student and major professor should publicize it.
   
3. Examination of the candidate and final deliberation will be conducted by only the graduate committee.
   
4. The examination normally concentrates on the thesis.
   
5. It is the responsibility of the student to follow OSU Graduate School guidelines with regards to scheduling and pre-examination forms.
   

3. Final Oral Examination for the M.S. Degree

1. The thesis and course work examinations are combined into one examination for M.S. degree candidates. The candidate should expect to be examined on both parts.
2. The formal oral presentation by the candidate is open to all interested—the examination is restricted to the graduate committee. The student and major professor should publicize the presentation.

B. Crop Science

1. Written Examinations

1. Crop Science masters candidates are not required to take a written exam; however, major professors may use a written examination to prepare students for their oral examination or as another means of student assessment if agreeable to the student's graduate advisory committee.
2. A written comprehensive examination must be taken by all Ph.D. candidates in accordance with OSU guidelines (the examination must be completed before the oral preliminary examination which must be completed one term before the final oral and copies of the written examination must be given to doctoral committee members at least one week before the oral prelim). The written examination may be taken using two formats. One format follows the conventional question and answer format. The other option is the written research proposal format.
3. The conventional question and answer examination is developed by the student's major professor(s) with input from the student's doctoral advisory committee.
   
   The examination must:
   1. address the breadth of knowledge expected of Ph.D. candidates specializing in the candidate's specific area of study, hence examinations will be different for agronomists vs. geneticists vs. seed physiologists;
       
   2. be structured to require four hours of work on each of two consecutive days. This will generally entail four questions or sets of questions each day.
       
   3. be approved by a member of the CSS Graduate Faculty Committee. The committee member will not evaluate the examination for specific content but for evidence of questions requiring breadth, depth and synthesis of knowledge. He/she also will assess time requirement (not too long or too short).
       
4. It is recommended but not required that major professors use the following procedure to develop the exam:
   1. ask each doctoral committee member to submit a question or questions which will require one hour’s time to answer. The graduate council representative may submit a question if he/she so desires.
       
   2. ask professors of key classes to develop a one-hour question.
       
   3. ask other faculty members to develop one-hour questions.
       
   4. take questions from the CSS examination question list.
       
   5. the major professor has final authority in developing examination content.
       
   6. Each examination question will be graded by the individual submitting the question.

2. Oral Examinations

Students enrolled in the M.S. and M.Ag. programs must satisfactorily complete an oral examination conducted by their graduate advisory committee. The examination is normally two hours in length, with about half of the time devoted to thesis presentation and defense, and the remainder to subject matter areas. The M.Ag. examination is similar but the examining committee consists of only the three-member advisory committee.

Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must satisfactorily complete two oral examinations conducted by their doctoral committee. The preliminary oral examination is normally about two hours in length, and is intended to cover course work and related subject matter. The final examination is also about two hours in length; normally it is devoted to thesis research presentation and defense, but may cover other related areas as well. At least one complete academic term must elapse between the preliminary oral and the final examination.

The M.S. and M.Ag. oral and the Ph.D. preliminary examination must be scheduled with the Graduate School at least one week prior to the date of the exam. The Ph.D. final examination must be scheduled with the Graduate School two weeks prior to the date of the exam. A copy of the student's thesis is delivered by the student to the Graduate School at least one week prior to the M.S. oral examination and two weeks prior to the Ph.D. final exam. The Graduate School does not require a copy of the M.Ag. paper, either before or after the exam.

Meeting notices are not sent to committee members by the Graduate School. It is the responsibility of students to be certain that all committee members are aware of the time, date, and location for all exams.

In scheduling the final exam, the student is responsible for distributing copies of the thesis to all committee members, including the graduate representative, in advance of the defense date.

All departmental students and faculty are encouraged to attend the portion of the M.S., M.Ag., and Ph.D. final examinations devoted to presentation of the thesis (usually 30-45 minutes). The student being examined should schedule the presentation in a room large enough to accommodate these extra persons and should ask the major professor to send a notice of the one week before the exam. Students should observe deadlines set by the Graduate School concerning microfilming, graduation, and other important events.

The examining committee is required to render a decision at the end of the examination period while the committee is in session.

3. Guidelines for Ph.D. Preliminary Examinations Following the Written Proposal Format

The written research proposal followed by an oral defense and examination is an alternative option to the standard written and oral preliminary examinations described above. This examination is intended to evaluate a Ph.D. student’s ability to utilize scientific literature, to think critically, to write creatively, to articulate ideas, and to demonstrate understanding of general and specific fields of study. This examination will also test the student's ability to develop, investigate, and defend an original research idea. The originality, scholarly quality, and the technical feasibility of the proposal will be evaluated. The preliminary examination will consist of two parts:

1. Written Research Proposal:
   
   1. Before the end of his/her third year of study, a Ph.D. student must submit a one-page abstract/outline on a topic for a research proposal to his/her graduate program committee for approval.
       
   2. The topic of the proposal must be different from the student’s thesis research project.
       
   3. The topic of the proposal must be reviewed and accepted or rejected within one week of submission. The committee may accept a topic with one dissenting vote.
       
   4. A research proposal on the approved topic is then written and must include the following sections: introduction, objectives; rationale and significance, research design and methods; timeline, literature cited, and personnel required to achieve the objectives.
       
   5. The written research proposal is limited to 10 single-spaced pages (references, timeline, and personnel information will not be included in the page count).
       
   6. The written proposal and a written proposal checklist and approval form (see Checklists and Timetables section for the form) must be submitted to the Ph.D. student’s committee not more than four weeks after the committee has approved the topic.
       
   7. The committee must vote to pass the proposal within one week of submission.
       
   8. In the event of a no pass decision by two or more members of the committee, the student will have two weeks to modify and re-submit the proposal to the committee for a second decision.
       
   9. The committee must vote to pass the revised proposal within one week of re-submission.
       
   10. A Ph.D. student will fail the written examination if the revised proposal receives a no-pass decision by two or more members of the committee.
        
   11. The student must set a date for his/her oral examination within three weeks of the decision to pass the proposal.
        
2. Oral Defense and Examination
   
   The oral examination will consist of two parts:
   1. A one-hour defense of the written proposal.
      The defense of the proposal will include an introduction of the proposal by the student followed by questions from the committee members.
       
   2. A one-hour general oral examination not necessarily related to the proposal.
      The open questions may include anything related to science or training of the student that the committee members deem relevant. The decision to pass is made according to the rules of the Graduate School, which gives the committee the options to pass, not to pass and to terminate the student's work, not to pass and allow a re-examination or to recess and re-convene within two weeks.

Note: A Written Proposal Checklist and Approval Form (see Checklists and Timetables section for the form) should be attached to the written proposal when submitted for review by the student's committee.  Upon review, the student's committee members should return the written proposal, review comments, and a completed form to the student.