Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination

The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination is conducted in two parts, referred to as "Comps I" and "Comps II". Comps I is a written exam that is taken in the first or second year of the program. Comps II is an oral exam based upon a written report of original student research. Successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination is required before a student is admitted into Ph.D. candidacy.

Comps I

The Exam may be taken no later than during the second year for students that have been continuously enrolled as full time students. Students may opt to take the Exam during the first year so long as they recognize that this counts towards their two attempts to pass.

• Comps I is a proctored written exam (closed book). The time allocated for the Exam is 6 hours (9AM-noon and 1PM-4PM with a one hour lunch break). Typically the exam is offered on the Friday before classes start in the spring semester.
• Calculators and one single-sided page (8.5”x11” or smaller with a 1” margin) of notes for each of the 6 areas referenced below (6 pages total, no more than 1 page for each area) are allowed.  Each page may contain text, graphs, and/or equations deemed relevant to the main ideas and techniques presented in the courses.  Font size should be equivalent to 10 point or larger, or, if the notes are hand written they should be easily readable without magnification.  The sheets will be checked at the exam. Books, and lap-top type computers are not permitted.
• Each candidate must answer 5 out of 6 questions, one on each of the core courses in the Atmosphere Track OR the Physical Oceanography Track.  Students must indicate before the exam which track they have chosen.
• Partial credit is given.
• Candidates who fail the exam must retake the entire exam the following year. Only one retake is allowed.

To prepare for the exam, students should take all 6 of the ATOC core courses in either the Atmosphere Track or Physical Oceanography Track (or transfer in the equivalent). A notebook of questions and solutions from previous exams can be obtained from the Graduate Program Assistant. The examination material corresponds to the topics listed under the course syllabi for the following courses:

Atmosphere Track (A-Track)

• ATOC 5050: Introduction to Atmospheric Dynamics
• ATOC 5051: Introduction to Physical Oceanography
• ATOC 5060: Dynamics of the Atmosphere
• ATOC 5151: Atmospheric Chemistry
• ATOC 5235: Introduction to Atmospheric Radiative Transfer and Remote Sensing 
• ATOC 5600: Physics and Chemistry of Clouds and Aerosols

Physical Oceanography Track (PO-Track)

• ATOC 5050: Introduction to Atmospheric Dynamics
• ATOC 5051: Introduction to Physical Oceanography
• ATOC 5061: Dynamics of Oceans
• ATOC/ASEN 5215: Descriptive Physical Oceanography (previously offered as Oceanography)
• ATOC 5400: Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
• GEOL 5270: Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry

Every effort is made to insure fairness in formulating and grading the questions. The questions are collectively considered by an Examination Committee, which includes several students that are Ph.D. candidates. Each student taking the exam is assigned a letter designation, so that the papers are anonymous to the faculty grading the question. Each question is graded separately by 2 faculty members - the faculty member that wrote the exam question and an additional faculty member that has expertise in the subject area. The decision as to whether a student passes the Exam is made by the entire ATOC faculty. While grades vary from year to year and from question to question based upon difficulty of the questions, a total score of 70% or higher is typically a passing score. Students are informed of the outcome of the Exam within 3 weeks of the Exam.