If you have any questions, please arrange for a meeting with the graduate academic advisor or your faculty chair. Deadlines occur earlier than students often expect!
Review your eligibility for the preliminary examination
To be eligible to hold a preliminary exam, the student:
- must have a current/accurate, approved degree plan on file with the Graduate and Professional School no later than 90 days prior to the preliminary exam (submitted via DPSS)
- must have a graduate GPR of at least 3.0
- must have a graduate degree plan GPR of at least 3.0
- must be registered in the university (in the term the preliminary exam occurs)
- must be within six hours of completing all formal (graded) coursework on the degree plan (i.e., all coursework except 681, 684, 690, and 691)
- must have successfully completed the BME Qualifying Examination
Action items
Once the student has reviewed the above eligibility, the student should:
- establish the time, date and location for the preliminary exam with the student’s committee.
- establish the format and organization of the preliminary exam with the student’s committee. The preliminary exam typically consists of an oral and written component.
- submit the Preliminary Examination Checklist and Report two weeks before the exam date.
- submit the proposal to the student’s committee at least two weeks before the exam date.
- reserve a conference room, if needed, via the BME front office.
Submit preliminary examination checklist and report
Must be initially submitted at least two weeks prior to the preliminary exam date (see below for more details about the preliminary exam and proposal)
- Form to be completed via ARCS. Must be approved by the graduate academic advisor, all members of the student’s committee, the director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate and Professional School.
- Form is due, in fully approved format, to the Graduate and Professional School within ten business days of the preliminary exam.
Ph.D. students entering prior to fall 2022: are required to complete the preliminary exam and proposal by the end of the 8th semester in the biomedical engineering program (summers are included). Failure to meet the required deadlines will result in the student being placed on probation.
Ph.D. students entering fall 2022 and after: are required to complete the preliminary exam and proposal by the end of the 7th semester in the biomedical engineering program (summers are included). Failure to meet the required deadlines will result in the student being placed on probation.
Expected Timeline: Graduate and Professional School preliminary exam approvals, once received in that office, can take several weeks for full approval.
Submit research proposal approval form
Submitted after the successful completion of the preliminary exam
- Form to be completed via ARCS.
- Must attach full .pdf of the proposal.
- Must include a timeline for all aims, publishing, defending and graduating. The department requires that the student use NSF/NIH guidelines for formatting. Information on these formatting requirements can be found at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide/format-and-write/format-attachments.htm.
- For more details, the student should speak to their faculty advisor before writing the proposal. Must be approved by the graduate academic advisor, all members of the student’s committee, the director of Graduate Programs and the Graduate and Professional School.
Ph.D. students are required to complete the proposal by the end of the 7th or 8th semester, depending on the term that the student entered the biomedical engineering program (summers are included). Failure to meet the required deadlines will result in the student being placed on probation.
Expected Timeline: Graduate and Professional School research proposal approvals, once received in that office, can take several weeks for full approval.
Additional information
Preliminary Examination and Proposal submission must be completed before the end of the student’s 7th or 8th semester, depending on the term that the student entered the biomedical engineering program (summers are included, please see note above).
The preliminary exam is the oral defense of the proposal.
The requirements listed above are for BME and in some cases, are stricter than the university minimum guidelines. Failure to meet any of the above requirements could result in being placed on probation or dismissal from the program.
After completion of the preliminary exam, students must be continuously registered every fall and spring semester until all degree requirements have been met.
All documents (e.g. proposal, dissertation) must be submitted to your advisory committee at least two weeks prior to milestone completion.
The results of the Preliminary Exam must be received by the Graduate and Professional School within ten days of the oral examination date.
All degree requirements must be completed within a four-year time period following the preliminary exam or the preliminary exam is voided and must be repeated.
Common pitfalls
Below are a list of common pitfalls for students. All students are encouraged to meet with the graduate academic advisor prior to scheduling the preliminary examination:
- Having an inaccurate degree plan on file that makes you ineligible to take the preliminary exam. All students are encouraged to maintain an accurate and updated degree plan with the university, including the most updated courses and committee membership. Changes can be made by using DPSS and submitting a long form petition.
- Failing to submit the preliminary exam checklist via ARCS at least two weeks before the student’s exam date.
- Not arranging a meeting with the graduate academic advisor to discuss options.
- Applying to take the preliminary exam too soon in a student’s program.
- Failing to include a timeline in the student’s research proposal.
- Failing to calculate summers in the 8-semester calculation to determine when to take the preliminary exam and submit the research proposal to avoid departmental probation.