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.
• 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 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:

• ATOC 5050: Introduction to Atmospheric Dynamics (previously offered as ATOC 5720)
• ATOC 5051: Introduction to Physical Oceanography (previously offered as ATOC 7500: TPC-Physical Oceanography)
• ATOC 5060: Dynamics of the Atmosphere
• ATOC 5151: Atmospheric Chemistry
• ATOC 5235: Introduction to Atmospheric Radiative Transfer and Remote Sensing (previously offered as "Remote Sensing of Atmospheres and Oceans")
• ATOC 5600: Physics and Chemistry of Clouds and Aerosols

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.

Comps II

Successful completion of the Comps II is required before a student is admitted into Ph.D. candidacy. The following are guidelines for the comprehensive examination:

1. At least one week before the Exam, the candidate must provide each member of the Ph.D. committee with a written document representing original research by the student.
2. The form "Application for Admission to Candidacy for an Advanced Degree" must be completed in duplicate by the student. The copy is for departmental use; the original is for the Graduate School. The application must be submitted to the Graduate School at least 14 days before the Comps II Exam is taken.
3. The COMPS II exam must be taken by November 15 of the third year.  This assumes that COMPS I was first attempted during January of the second year; exceptions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.  The student is responsible for scheduling the Examination.  If the student is not ready for the examination at this time or if committee member travel schedules preclude scheduling, the student should submit an Official Request for Time Extension.  Failure to take the exam in the allotted time frame constitutes a failure of the exam (see #6 below).
4. The Comps II Exam typically requires 2 hours. The candidate makes an oral presentation on the research, typically of about 40 minutes duration, for which attendance is open. The remainder of the Exam consists of questions directed to the candidate by the committee members (closed attendance; only the candidate and the committee). The questions typically pertain to the subject matter and content of the research, but may also be asked on topics outside this area, at the committee's discretion.
5. The Exam is conducted by the Ph.D. Committee. The student’s advisor cannot be the chair of the Examination Committee (although the advisor typically serves on the Committee).
6. A successful candidate must receive the affirmative votes of a majority of the members of the examining board. In case of failure, the examination may be attempted once more after a period of time determined by the Ph.D. committee, which typically does not exceed 3 months. The student is automatically suspended after a second failure.

The goal of the research paper for Comps II is to demonstrate the candidate's ability to conduct independent research. If the student is funded as a research assistant, then the research topic is typically selected to fall within the scope of the research grant providing the financial support for the student. However, the student is expected to select and articulate their own research topic. Varying degrees of guidance may be provided by the research advisor and other members of the research group; however, the student needs to demonstrate the ability to conduct independent research.

Some research papers for Comps II have the scope of a M.S. thesis or are publishable, although this is not a requirement. The length of the research papers of successful candidates has varied widely. A typical length is 25 pages; 10 pages is likely to be too short, while 40 pages may be unnecessarily long. A successful written research paper and examination convinces the Ph.D. committee that the candidate has:

• A thorough understanding of the research literature in the chosen field
• Addressed an original research problem
• Familiarity with the tools and methods of research
• Demonstrated capability to conduct independent research