The Qualifying Exam is a major milestone in the career of any Ph.D. student, and as such it can inspire anxiety and concern. The Galois Group therefore holds a Workshop once per academic term to assist graduate students in preparing for the exam and help disseminate general information about the exam.

This Workshop should be of interest to anyone who has not yet passed their Qualifying Exam. First year students are especially encouraged to attend.

Please see Resources for Taking your Mathematics Ph.D. Qualifying Exam webpage.

The following is a list of responsibilities for the organizers of the Qualifying Exam Preparation Workshop. It should be updated each academic term as appropriate.

• Decide upon scheduling details, including time, date, and location. The suggested timing is to hold the Workshop each academic term: near the end of Fall Quarter, near the middle of Winter Quarter, and near the beginning of Spring Quarter.
• Decide upon the exact format of the Workshop. The suggested format is to allow 35 minutes for the organizers to review basic information, 15 minutes for a Department staff person to discuss the role of staff support, and then 30 minutes for faculty perspectives and questions.
• Talk with the appropriate Mathematics Department staff person to reserve a room for the Workshop.
• Ask the current Qualifying Support staff person to attend in order to explain their part in the process.
• Ask two or more current faculty members to attend in order to given their perspective and to answer student questions. Faculty who have served on many Qualifying Exam Committees are preferred, and if might be advisable to give the faculty the List of Frequently Asked Questions about the Qualifying Exam file for use in their preparations.
• Ask a staff person from Student Services to send out an announcement email for the Workshop several times before the actual event, including the morning of. A model email has been prepared.
• Ask the Galois Group for snack money, and purchase snacks appropriate to the expected turn out.
• Update (as needed) the “Qualifying Exam Template” available via the Resources for Taking your Mathematics Ph.D. Qualifying Exam webpage.
• Update (as needed) the Binder of Past Qualifying Exam Proposals. As of this writing, it is being kept in the Graduate Computer Lab (MSB 3114).