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Comprehensive Exam

All doctoral programs at McGill require candidates to pass a comprehensive examination. The purpose of comprehensive examinations is to determine whether the student demonstrates the necessary research skills and academic achievements to continue in the Ph.D. program.

The Evaluation Form is located on the Forms page.

PhD. Comprehensives Policy

Ph.D. Comprehensives Policy

Preamble

All doctoral programs at McGill require candidates to pass a comprehensive examination, such as a qualifying examination, a preliminary examination, a candidacy paper, a comprehensive evaluation, a thesis proposal, etc. The results of this examination determine whether or not students will be permitted to continue in their programs. The methods adopted for examination and evaluation and the areas to be examined must be specified by departmental regulations and approved by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. It is the responsibility of the Unit to make this information widely available and for students to inform themselves of these details.

Objectives and Content

The purpose of comprehensive examinations is to determine whether the student demonstrates the necessary research skills and academic achievements to continue in the Ph.D. program. Permissible objectives may only include assessing foundational knowledge of the discipline (retrospective comprehensive) and/or ability to conduct independent and original research (prospective comprehensive). As such, comprehensive examinations must not reexamine graduate course content completed at McGill. Units must consult GPS guidelines for retrospective and prospective exams when establishing their comprehensives.

The content of the comprehensive must be consistent with the stated objectives and should be appropriately circumscribed. At least 3 months prior to the examination, students must be given an indication of the range of material that may be covered in the examination and suggestions as to how to cover this material (e.g., via reading lists, courses, etc.).

Format

Units must provide doctoral students with a written description of the Ph.D. comprehensive process, detailing objectives and content, format, timing, assessment, grading and reporting, and failures (and procedures for repeats).

The format of the comprehensive must be consistent for all students within a given program. The following list gives some of the more common formats, which are often combined:

  • written examination
  • take-home examination
  • synthesis of relevant research in the field
  • written research proposal and/or thesis proposal
  • oral examination or defence

Timing

Units must clearly specify when the comprehensive must be taken and how this fits into the program milestones, e.g., whether all coursework must have been completed prior to undertaking the comprehensive and/or whether the comprehensive is the final step before thesis research and writing.

Scheduling of the comprehensive must be specified by the unit and the comprehensive exam must be completed by the end of PhD3. Students must be informed of the date of the exam with sufficient time to prepare for it.

Assessment

Assessment parameters must be made clear to the student in advance of the examination. This includes information about who sets the exam questions and who evaluates the student. If performance is assessed by a committee, it must be made clear how the committee is appointed and who sits on it, and how the evaluation is to be carried out (consensus or vote).

Where there is more than one component to the examination (e.g., an oral exam plus a written exam), it must be made clear to the student how these components are factored into the final grade. For example, it must be clearly specified whether each component counts equally, whether the assessment is global, and whether failure of one part of the comprehensive examination (or of one question) results in overall failure.

All Ph.D. comprehensives must be represented by an administrative course number, usually XXXX 701. Grading of this course must be Pass/Fail. A Pass is required for students to continue in the program.

Feedback

The assessment and reasons for the decision, including identifying specific strengths and weaknesses, must be provided to the student in writing within 2 weeks of the examination. There must be sufficient detail to allow the student to understand the decision.

In the case of oral examinations, the student must be given feedback on presentation, logical exposition, ability to answer questions, etc. To help ensure that assessments can be put in context, units may choose to make a record of the examination (including audio or video recording) and/or to have a neutral observer, chair, or outside committee member, or to make the oral presentation open to members of the academic unit. If recorded, an unedited copy of the recording must be forwarded to the student within 2 weeks of the examination.

Failures

In the event that the student is judged to have failed the comprehensive, units must allow, without prejudice, one repeat of the comprehensive (in whole or in part) within a minimum of four months and a maximum of six months. After the first failure, a grade of HH (which designates “continuing”) will be recorded on the student’s transcript.

The student must be informed in a face-to-face meeting and in writing by the department that they have failed the comprehensive. At this meeting and in the written document, the student must be informed of conditions relating to a repeat of the examination, including the nature of the re-examination and committee membership, as well as the deadline for retaking the exam. Units have the right to specify further requirements in the event of failure, e.g., requiring students to take an additional course or courses in areas where they have shown weakness on the comprehensive.

If the student does not repeat the exam by the deadline specified by the unit, the HH will be converted into F and the student will be withdrawn from the university. In the event that the repeat comprehensive is passed, the grade of HH will be converted to a Pass and the student will be allowed to continue in the program.

Appeals

A student withdrawn due to failure of their comprehensive exam has 30 days to appeal this decision. They must follow the steps specified under Requesting an appeal in case of withdrawal due to failure in the Failure Policy.

Approved by Executive of Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) Feb. 17, 1997 and Council of FGSR March 7, 1997; Revised by GPS July 9, 2014, June 29, 2015, June 14, 2017, December 18, 2019 and April 11, 2022.

Taken from Programs, Courses and University Regulations 2024-2025 (last updated Apr. 3, 2024).
EXAM BOOKING It is the students responsibility to schedule the Comprehensive Examination within the required time frame, and then notify the GPC of the date, time, and location
OBJECTIVES
  • The exam tests the research aptitude of the student, their ability to critique and integrate knowledge, and their ability to propose original and innovative research;
  • The exam tests the knowledge of the student in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, and in fields related to the student’s area of research.
ORGANIZATION

The examination committee is composed of five members

  1. Student’s Supervisor
  2. Student’s Mentor

+ Jury Members (which consist of):

  1. Internal departmental member
  2. Internal departmental member
  3. External member to the department
     
  • Jury members should not have been previously on the student’s advisory committee
  • Only the jury members will evaluate the student
  • The supervisor and mentor are permitted to ask questions during the examination, but the bulk of the exam will be conducted by the jury members
  • Once the committee is confirmed, the student will email the Graduate Program Coordinator the names and email addresses of all members.
  • The jury decides if the candidate has passed or failed or to adjourn the exam.

HELPFUL LINKS:
WRITTEN COMPONENT
Thesis Proposal

The student must summarize the plans for their Ph.D. research. It is expected that the student will consult with their supervisor, but that the student plays the major role in the writing and organization of the proposal.

Format:

  • 10 pages double spaced
  • Times New Roman, 12 point
  • 1” Margins

The written thesis proposal must include:

  • Introduction and statement of the problem (1 page)
  • Relevant background literature (2.5 pages)
  • Rationale for the study, hypothesis and specific aims (0.5 page)
  • Methods for each aim, including the rationale for the choice of methods when alternatives exist, possible problems that may be encountered, and solutions (2.5 pages)
  • Summary of results to date, analysis and interpretation of data (2 pages)
  • Discussion and statement of expected contributions to original knowledge (1.5 pages)
  • References
  • Thesis proposals that exceed the page limit will not be accepted.

One week before the comprehensive oral exam, the student must submit to the Graduate Program Coordinator

(1) Thesis proposal, (2) a short CV, (3) an updated unofficial transcript
ORAL COMPONENT
The duration of the oral exam is approximately 2 hours. It is set one week after the submission of the thesis proposal. The date should be determined well in advance by the student, taking into account the availability of all the jury members. After a 5-10 minute closed discussion among the jury members, the exam takes the following format:

Presentation
(Thesis Proposal)

Maximum 30 minutes

A presentation of the student’s doctoral research project. The student’s mentor will keep the student on time.
Discussion Period + Questions
(Thesis Proposal):

Maximum 30 minutes
  • Discussion and elaboration of the thesis proposal
  • Questions regarding the thesis proposal
Discussion Period + Questions
(General Knowledge)

Maximum 45 minutes

From the time students enter the graduate program they are expected to continuously and consistently build on their general science knowledge of the field through regular and ongoing reading (primary literature, review articles, books), discussions, and seminar attendance, on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

Students should be able to explain and discuss principles of the major concepts listed below, and have a current understanding of modern molecular and cell biology. Students are expected to be able to explain basic concepts beyond those related to their own projects.

  • Cell organization and compartmentalization (prokaryotic and eukaryotic)
  • Nucleus and gene expression, chromosomes, chromatin, genes, DNA, RNA, transcription, post-transcriptional regulation, splicing
  • Proteins, translation, post-translational modifications
  • Membrane and vesicular traffic, secretion, endocytosis, autophagy
  • Cytoskeletal networks, extracellular matrix, cell adhesion and migration
  • Cell signaling: basic mechanisms, key pathways (G-protein coupled receptors, receptor kinases, second messengers, small G proteins, ubiquitination)
  • Cell metabolism: lipids, mitochondria, peroxisome, lysosome, unfolded protein response
  • Cell cycle basics, proliferation, apoptosis, senescence

The general knowledge section should not be focused on the student’s thesis project. Should questions steer in this direction; the mentor will interject and guide the committee back to asking general knowledge questions
EVALUATION

 A Pass is required for students to continue in the program.

Following the exam, the committee will have a closed discussion regarding the oral and written components of the exam and the mentor will complete the evaluation form based on the outcome of that discussion.

The mentor will request that the jury members anonymously rate the student’s performance in each of the three categories: written thesis proposal, oral examination of the thesis proposal, oral examination of basic concepts in molecular, cell, and developmental biology. The mentor will read the votes. The committee will discuss the rankings and then make a global assessment. If necessary, the mentor will cast the deciding vote. The evaluation will be based on the rating criteria provided on the evaluation form: Pass (excellent, very good, good, satisfactory) / Fail (unsatisfactory).

Unsatisfactory outcome (fail): In the event that the student is judged to have failed the comprehensive, they will be allowed one repeat of the exam (in whole or in part) within a minimum of four months and a maximum of six months. The committee must indicate the conditions relating to a repeat of the examination, including the nature of the re-examination and committee membership, as well as the deadline for retaking the exam on the evaluation form. After the first failure, a grade of HH (which designates “continuing”) will be recorded on the student’s transcript. If the student does not repeat the exam by the deadline specified by the unit, the HH will be converted into F and the student will be withdrawn from the university. In the event that the repeat comprehensive is judged to have failed, the student will receive a grade of F and will be withdrawn from the university.

The student must upload the completed evaluation form to myProgress for GPD approval, at which point the milestone will be updated.
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