Preliminary Qualifying Exam
Purpose of PQE
PQEs are an opportunity for our second-year students to put together ideas and potential plans related to their thesis research, prepare a succinct document on these ideas and plans to a faculty committee, and then meet with their committee to present their PQE proposal and answer questions about it. It is the expectation of the SSQB Program and Harvard that the students demonstrate depth and breadth regarding the subject matter of their proposal. Recognizing there is some subjectivity in what constitutes depth and breadth, it is fair and reasonable for students to be asked questions about methods and concepts adjacent to the specific topics of the proposal. Based on their overall performance, the committee will assess whether to grant an unconditional pass, a conditional pass, or a fail. They will also receive some feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of their PQE proposal and responses to questions. The overall goal of the PQE experience is meant to assess that the student is on track to progress to the dissertation phase of their PhD.
Timing and scheduling of PQE
The PQE should be completed by June 15 of the second year unless approval is granted for an extension. The Chair of your PQE will be assigned by the Program Co-directors and in general will be an experienced Harvard Chemical Biology faculty member. We know it is challenging to schedule PQE meetings and that is why the student should start the scheduling at least three months prior to the desired meeting date (ca March 15). The Program will try to send reminders to you, but you and your Chair should take responsibility to make sure these meetings happen on time. PQEs should be scheduled to allow for 2 hours and preferably should occur in person.
Composition of PQE committees:
The PQE should include three Harvard faculty members, including the chair, selected in part for their experience related to the proposal topic. The student should consult with the chair of the committee to select faculty members for the PQE. The committee should not include the thesis advisor(s).
Expectations for PQE proposals
The PQE proposal should normally be about 6-9 pages (including figures but not references) and should include specific aims, background, preliminary data, and future plans. It is recommended that the student share/discuss the specific aims with the chair either in person or by email at least 4 weeks before the PQE to get feedback/advice. The PQE proposal should be written independently, without consultation with the thesis advisor although it is ok to receive advice from other trainees in the lab or the program. The PQE proposals should be shared with the committee at least 7 days before the PQE meeting.
Expectations for PQE
At least 24 hours prior to the PQE, the PhD advisor should send a paragraph (100-200 words) to the committee about how the student has been doing, strengths and weaknesses, and any concerns the advisor has. At the beginning of the PQE meeting, the student should step out for ca. 5 minutes so that the committee can discuss the advisor’s feedback, the proposal and how they may approach asking questions. The student should have a ca. 30-40 minute presentation of their proposal that includes specific aims, background, preliminary data and future plans. It is recommended that the student be given about 10 minutes of uninterrupted time to start to get comfortable and then the committee members can initiate questions in an interactive way. Ideally the exam should end no later than 1 h 45 min to allow for 15 min for committee deliberations after the student steps out again. There is an online PQE form which will be automatically generated for the chair to complete. Before the PQE, the students will enter their committee and PQE details in my.harvard which will prompt the chair to complete the evaluation. This form indicates the decision on Pass, Conditional Pass, or Fail and provides feedback on the proposal and the student presentation and question-answer performance.
Results
• Pass: The student becomes a candidate for a PhD.
• Conditional Pass: The committee re-examines the student before the end of the fall term of the G3 year. The committee decides the re-examination format, which may involve a written report to address specific concerns of the committee or re-assembled committee.
• Fail: The student withdraws from the program at the end of the term.
