Engineer Degree

ECE Written PhD Screening Program

1. Students planning to take the written Ph.D. screening exams must give notice to the chairman of the ECE Departmental Ph.D. Committee at least three weeks  before the  quarter in which the exams are to be offered. Generally exams are conducted in the Winter and Summer quarters.
   
   
2. Before a student takes the written screening exam, students are asked to submit a copy of the transcript of his/her grades from NPS and to submit a one-page biographical sketch starting with his/her undergraduate education and stating what area of research he/she is interested in pursuing.
   
   
3. Students are required to select any three of the six technical areas on which to be examined. The exams begin on a Monday (usually in the second week of the Winter and Summer quarters) and continue on successive days. A specific schedule of exams is made available in the quarter when the exams are given. Each exam is approximately 90 minutes long. The exam is conducted closed book. No sheets of paper,  books, or tables are allowed. It will be announced if students may use calculators on a particular exam. No notes or programmable calculators are allowed, however.
   
   
   • Whenever possible, a blind evaluation procedure is used during grading and pass/fail decisions.
   • Each exam will be administered (but not necessarily written) by the member of the ECE Departmental Ph.D. Committee responsible for that technical area. The identity of faculty members writing the exam will be kept anonymous prior to the exam.
   • Graded exams will not be returned to students; they will be destroyed after six months from the date of the exam.
     
     
4. The ECE Departmental Ph.D. Committee adheres to the following requirements to determine a candidate's eligibility to take the exam:
   
   
   • Generally, the candidate taking the exam is a student currently enrolled at the Naval Postgraduate School. Exceptions to this rule may be granted by the ECE Chairman.
   • A minimum total QPR of 3.50 is required, at the time of taking the exam.
     
     
5. Students are encouraged to take the exam at the completion of their undergraduate courses (2000 level), preferably four quarters prior to their graduation. 
   
   
6. A pass in the ECE written Ph.D. screening exam requires passing of all three areas in which the student is being tested. There is no partial pass and the written exam may not be retaken if failed.
   
   
7. A pass on the written screening exam is valid for 5 years from the date of passing the exam. Candidates leaving and reentering the Ph.D. program within this period are not required to be reexamined.