All students who are enrolled in the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program in Physics are required to pass the PhD Qualifying Examination (QE) as part of the requirements for the PhD degree.
QE requirements: a written report and an oral examination, maximum TWO attempts are allowed.
Timeline:
- For those without an MPhil degree: they must make their first attempt prior to the end of the 4th regular term (Fall/Spring) of study, and pass the QE before the start of the 5th regular term (Fall/Spring).
- For those with an MPhil degree: they must make their first attempt prior to the end of the 2nd regular term (Fall/Spring) of study, and they must pass the QE before the start of the 3rd regular term (Fall/Spring) of study.
QE Registration Procedure:
Student needs to submit a “Registration for the PhD Qualifying Examination” form to the Department of Physics either in person to Physics Administration Office (Rm 4461, 4/F, Lifts 25-26) or via email to phweb@ust.hk, at least 4 weeks in advance of the proposed examination date. The registration form can be downloaded from Physics Intranet (HKUST login is required, under Section "PG Matters").
Appointment of PhD Qualifying Examination (QE) Committee
The PhD Qualifying Examination (QE) Committee shall be comprised of three academic faculty members.
- The Chairman must be a Physics faculty member other than student’s primary research supervisor and shall be nominated by the QE Coordinator of Department of Physics.
- The supervisor shall be one of the Examination Committee members.
- The third member of the Examination Committee shall be nominated by the QE Coordinator and may be from a different academic Department/Division within the University.
Written Report
At least 2 weeks prior to the proposed examination date, the student should submit a written report (about 30 pages following the University guidelines on thesis written format) to each of the Examination Committee members and to the Department of Physics either in person or via email to phweb@ust.hk. This report should include:
- A clear statement of the central questions of the thesis research,
- A justification for choosing these questions as worthy of study (e.g., how past research has set the stage, general significance of anticipated results), and
- An outline of work completed up to date and future plan of her/his PhD thesis research.
Oral Examination:
- The student is required to make an oral presentation that should take about 30 minutes and shall not exceed 1 hour.
- The presentation is followed by a question-and-answer (Q&A) session.
Second Attempt for the PhD Qualifying Examination:
- In case the candidate fails the first attempt of the QE, she/he is required to make the second attempt before the deadline stated above (see section "Timeline").
- The members of PhD Qualifying Examination (QE) Committee for the second attempt shall normally be the same as those of the first attempt.
- The student should arrange the examination date and time and submit the “Registration for Second Attempt of the PhD Qualifying Examination” form to the Department of Physics either in person or via email to phweb@ust.hk, at least 4 weeks in advance of the proposed examination date (see section "QE Registration Procedure" above).
Contact phweb@ust.hk if you have questions concerning the PhD Qualifying Examination (QE).