Candidacy Exam
The purpose of the PhD Candidacy Exam is to evaluate the student’s breadth and depth of knowledge in the field of rehabilitation science. Preparation for the exam will encourage the student to develop the foundational knowledge in rehabilitation science that is the context of their chosen thesis work. Students who have completed the MSc to PhD Transfer Exam are exempted from completing the Candidacy Exam.
For more info, please download and review the full Candidacy Examination Policy found under the Student Forms section of the website.
The exam will be conducted by the Examination Committee struck specifically for each student. The exam comprises two elements:
- A written submission, and
- An Oral Exam
All students who entered their PhD program in Fall 2021, will complete their candidacy exam following the policy and procedures outlines. Students who entered their program prior to Fall 2021 will have one additional option for a written submission. Specifically, their written submission can also be in a form of a review/synthesis paper (e.g., systematic or narrative review).If the review paper is directly related to the student`s PhD, it can be included in the thesis as a fourth paper.
For the grant proposal option, the proposal must be written in a format similar to a grant proposal. Please refer to Thesis Proposal Writing Guidelines.
Ordinarily, the candidacy exam will be conducted after all required course work is completed. It is recommended that the preparation for the exam is started during the first year in the program; students must successfully complete both the written and oral components of the comps within 30 months of registration in order to continue in the doctoral program.