Ph.D. Qualifying Exam
DATES AND TIMES OF PH.D. QUALIFYING EXAM
The Ph.D. Qualifying Exam is typically offered the two days prior to the beginning of the semester, each semester, provided there are a sufficient number of students who sign up for the exam. The format is two half days of written exams. For Spring 2008, see here.
QUALIFYING EXAM GUIDELINES
Day 1: Examination of breadth at the undergraduate level
- Students will answer a total of eight questions with no more than two from any one of the eight areas (shown below). Although the number of questions may vary between specializations, there will be a minimum of three questions per area from which the student is allowed to select.
- Exam questions are based upon the undergraduate courses and topics listed below. Their difficulty is commensurate with typical homework, quiz, and/or examination problems given in the associated class.
Day 2: Examination of readiness for research at the graduate level
- Students will answer a total of six questions with two coming from each of the three areas of specialization. The areas of specialization are selected by the student when registering for the exam. Although the number of questions may vary between specializations, there will be a minimum of three questions per area from which the student is allowed to select. "
- Exam questions are based upon the graduate courses and topics listed below. Their difficulty is commensurate with typical homework, quiz, and/or examination problems given in the associated class.
Additional Information
- The examination will be closed-book, closed-notes, except for a hand-held calculator and a CRC Handbook (Standard Mathematical Tables). The allowed calculators are those on the list approved by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying which is available at http://www.ncees.org/exams/calculators/index.php#approved .
- Students must sign up and declare three areas of graduate specialization at the same time.
- Signing up is a commitment to take the examination if offered. No deletions or changes are allowed. For students who sign up but neglect to take the examination it will be considered a failed attempt.
- Students who have failed the Klipsch School PhD Qualifying Examination twice must petition the Graduate Studies Committee to be eligible for an additional attempt. The petition must be accompanied by a letter of support from the student's advisor.
OLD QUALIFYING EXAM QUESTIONS
Three recent Ph.D. Qualifying Exams are posted. Please note that only questions are available, not solutions.- January 2007 Part 1
- January 2007 Part 2
- January 2006 Part 1
- January 2006 Part 2
- January 2005 Part 1 (856 KByte)
- January 2005 Part 2 (534 KByte)
- August 2004 Part 1 (568 KByte)
- August 2004 Part 2 (588 KByte)
- January 2004 Part 1 (3348 KByte)
- January 2004 Part 2 (2617 KByte)
UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE COURSES THAT FORM THE BASIS OF THE QUALIFYING EXAM
The list of graduate courses corresponds to the graduate core courses required for the MSEE.
| SPECIALIZATION | UNDERGRADUATE | GRADUATE |
| Microelectronics/VLSI | EE324 Introduction to VLSI | EE523 Analog VLSI Circuit Design |
| Communications |
EE496/497 Intro to Communications Systems I and II (topics listed below) |
EE571 Random Signal
Analysis |
| Computer Engineering |
EE361 Digital Logic
Design |
EE563 Computer Performance Analysis I |
| Control Systems |
EE475/525 Control
Systems II |
EE551 Control Systems
Synthesis I |
| Digital Signal Processing |
EE395 Introduction to
Digital Signal Processing (topics listed below) |
EE545 Digital Signal Processing(topics listed below) |
| Electric Energy Systems | EE431 Power Systems II | EE543 Power Systems III |
| Electromagnetics | EE315 Applied Electromagnetics | EE515 Electromagnetic Theory I |
| Electro-optics |
EE370 Geometrical Optics |
EE528 Optical Sources, Detectors, & Radiometry EE577 Fourier Methods in Electro-Optics |