Every Ph.D. student is required to take the Research Proficiency Exam (RPE). This will satisfy the University’s comprehensive exam requirement, which measures a Ph.D. student's knowledge within their domain of research.
- The RPE must normally be taken by the end of the student’s second year at PSU, counting from the term in which the student enters the Ph.D. program.
- Extensions to the two-year period may be granted by a Ph.D. student's advisory committee in consultation with the CS director of graduate studies.
- Part-time students may routinely obtain an extension to three years. Note, the university limit is 5 years if entering with a MS degree and 7 years otherwise.
- Students must be registered for a minimum of 1 graduate credit in each term they are taking or working on the RPE.
The RPE exam consists of a written research paper and an oral presentation:
- Each Ph.D. student is assigned a 3-person RPE committee (not the same thing as the student’s Advisory Committee). Committee members are invited to serve by the student’s advisor. Each committee member must formally agree to serve, after being informed of the topic of the RPE. The committee must be approved by the CS Director of Graduate Studies.
- Committee members will normally be CS faculty members who hold a Ph.D. and are knowledgeable in the research area. Other suitably qualified persons (e.g. faculty from adjacent fields, other departments or institutions, or industry experts) may serve, with the approval of the CS Director of Graduate Studies.
- The Ph.D. student conducts research on a problem and writes a paper that is in a form appropriate for publication at a conference or workshop in that research area. Standard formatting can be used as appropriate for that area.
- The student schedules the RPE presentation with the RPE committee.
Presentations can take place at any time during the academic year, and do not need to be coordinated with each other. - The presentation is open to all. An announcement of the presentation and a copy (or pointer to) the paper must be circulated to the full faculty a week before the presentation.
- The presentation is 45 minutes for the talk followed by 15 minutes for questions. The format is that of a typical technical talk that first motivates the problem, then describes related work, followed by the research contributions.
The RPE committee assesses the two components of the exam (paper and oral presentation) independently. For each component, the committee chooses one of the following outcomes:
- Pass. This outcome requires unanimous agreement by the RPE committee.
- Retake. The student needs to address the committee's feedback and retake this component of the exam within six months. Only one retake of each component is allowed.
- Fail, without the possibility of a further retake.
Relevant Documents
- RPE Checklist - To be filled out at the time of applying to take the RPE.
- RPE Result Report - Used by an RPE committee to report the result of the exam.