Skip To Main Content

The purpose of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) qualifying examination is to ensure that our doctoral candidates in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering can demonstrate proficiency in the primary areas of petroleum engineering (drilling, production, and reservoir) and that these candidates have the potential to perform innovative and high-quality research, consistent with the standards of Texas A&M University.

All doctoral students admitted to our department in the prior fall semester and spring semester will take the exam the following August.

The committee determines if the students pass or fail based on the score.

Format and Timing

The qualifying examination consists of three written exams, each covering a specific area: reservoir engineering, production engineering, and drilling engineering.

The exam is scheduled on two consecutive days for the three subjects, and each subject exam is two hours.

The written exams are closed book (i.e., no materials are permitted in the examination).

The exam is offered only once a year, in August.

Exam Preparation

The suggested books to study to prepare for the qualifying examination are:

  • Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering by L.P. Dake, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co. Developments in Petroleum Science 8;
  • Petroleum Production Systems. by M. J. Economides, A. D. Hill, C. Ehlig-Economides, and D. Zhu, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall publication;
  • Fundamentals of Drilling Engineering, edited by Robert F. Mitchell and Stefan Z. Miska, SPE Textbook Series No. 12

Students are encouraged to take the courses PETE 661 for drilling, PETE 662 for production and PETE 665 for reservoir. However, taking these courses and completing them successfully are neither required nor a guarantee for passing the written exams.

Exam Administration

All new Ph.D. students will be assigned a qualified examination (QE) number.

The candidates will use the QE number throughout the exam.

The candidates must not write their name on any exam-related papers.

The next examination schedule:

  • Day, date, time and subjects to come - please check back.

Exam Results

The results of the qualifying examination will be reported back from the examination committee to the graduate advisor and announced before the beginning of the following semester.

The student’s continuation in the program will be based on the following rules:

Pass

Students receiving a pass in all three subjects may continue in the doctoral program.  If the student is serving as a GAR or GAT, they may have their stipend increased to the PhD level with approval of their supervisor.

Conditional Pass

Students receiving a conditional pass in any of the subjects must take a course in the subject area during the following fall semester and receive a grade of A or B.

  • Students receiving a grade of A or B for the course will be issued a pass for that subject area of the qualifying exam. 
  • Students receiving a grade of C or below will fail that subject area of the qualifying exam and be removed from the doctoral program.

NOTE: any course used for the qualifying exam pass may not be used for graduate degree plan credit. 

Failure

Students failing the qualifying examination will be allowed a second attempt in the failed subject area(s) when the next qualifying examination is offered.

  • Students who fail any area in the second attempt will be dismissed from the doctoral program. 
  • Students must pass ALL sections of the qualifying exam to continue in the doctoral program. 

Not showing up for the qualifying examination is treated as a failure.