Doctoral Exams

The Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE) Qualifying Examination is offered twice a year in August and January on the Friday prior to the first day of instruction for the fall and spring semesters. The exam is administered by the NPRE Qualifying Exam Committee, which is made up of three faculty appointed from the general NPRE faculty body on a rotating basis. A letter is delivered outlining steps to register for the NPRE qualifying examination 2-3 weeks prior to the end of the semester for the corresponding NPRE Qual Exam.

SCHEDULING TIMEFRAME

Scheduling Timeframe: It is important for both the Department and the student that an early decision is made on admission to the doctoral program. The timeframe below allows the student the opportunity to take coursework to adequately prepare for the exam, while sitting for it as early as possible.

1. Students entering with a BS in Nuclear Engineering will take the exam no later than just after three (3) semesters or no later than the beginning of the fourth semester in residence, i.e. a student entering in Fall 2024 with a BS in Nuclear Engineering will sit for the exam no later than January 2026.
2. Students entering with a BS in a non-nuclear field of study will take the exam no later than just after four (4) semesters or no later than the beginning of the fifth semester in residence, i.e. a student entering in Fall 2024 with a BS in a non-nuclear field of study will sit for the exam no later than August 2026.
3. Students entering with an MS degree in Nuclear Engineering will take the exam no later than just after two (2) semesters or no later than the beginning of the third semester in residence, i.e. a student entering in Fall 2024 with an MS in Nuclear Engineering will sit for the exam no later than August 2025.
4. Students entering with an MS degree in a non-nuclear field of study will take the exam no later than just after three (3) semesters or no later than the beginning of the fourth semester in residence, i.e. a student entering in Fall 2024 with an MS in a non-nuclear field of study will sit for the exam no later than January 2026.

Early attempts: Students may elect to take the exam earlier than normally scheduled in cases where they are sufficiently prepared. Students are encouraged to discuss their specific situation with their faculty adviser.

Failure to sit for the exam per schedule: A failing grade will be recorded if the exam is not taken by a student in accordance with the scheduled first take. Exemption from the schedule may be requested by petition on the basis of reasonable grounds, such as situations beyond the student’s control, and require approval of the student’s adviser before being submitted to the Qualifying Examination Committee.

FORMAT

Written Examination: Question 1 and Question 2 will be administered separately and an allotment of 2 hours to complete each question is permitted. Question 1 will be offered from 8-10am, Question 2 from 10:30-12:30, and Question 3 from 1:30-3:30.

Question 1: Heat and mass transfer (NPRE 501 material)
Question 2: Radiation interactions with matter (NPRE 445 and 521 material)
Question 3: Research technical area (see Table 1)

Research Oral Examination: A technical paper is assessed by the student during a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation to the oral exam committee. Technical paper assignments for the research oral will be provided four weeks prior to the date of the written exam.  Students will receive their assigned paper, a grading rubric, and instructions either via email or physical copies may be obtained from the graduate student services office. Research oral presentations will be conducted in the week following the written exam, typically the first week of classes, pending faculty availability. (The grading rubric for the research oral examination has been amended to better communicate expectations and improve consistency in evaluations. Students are advised to carefully consider this rubric when preparing for the Research Oral.) 

The technical paper is selected by the QE committee on a specific topic related to the research interest of the student. This topic must be the same as that chosen for Question 3 above. 

Instructions:

1. The technical paper requires you to present a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation to the oral exam committee.  The presentation must be printed out (two slides per page) in three copies for the oral exam committee members.
2. The oral student presentation has two components: i) an assessment of the paper, and ii) an extension of this foundation.
3. The student is given latitude to perform the extension of the paper with the goal of demonstrating original thought and development related to the research topic.
4. Do not discuss your paper or any relevant information regarding the same during preparation of your presentation. All materials prepared for the research oral should be the sole product of the student. Reliance on generative AI is strongly discouraged. The research oral is meant to be a reflection of your effort, thoughts, and ideas, discussions of the paper with third parties is strictly prohibited.
5. A copy of the rubric used to assess your performance is attached.  Use this rubric as a guide to help you prepare your presentation.
6. Plagiarism or any unethical behavior during preparation of the presentation will be unacceptable and result in automatic failure of the oral research exam component of the NPRE QE. Slides should be presented in a professional format, including citations and references.
7. The research oral exam is graded either as a Pass or Fail and independent of the written-exam component.

Make-up Oral Examination Eligibility: Under certain conditions, a student who fails one or more written exam questions may be eligible for a make-up oral examination.  A failed written exam will be assigned a letter grade of ‘Fail’ or ‘Marginal Fail.’  Students must obtain a 'Marginal Fail' to be eligible for a make-up oral exam. In the student’s first attempt, a makeup oral exam is only offered if the student has at most the score of ‘Marginal Fail’ in only one question. Students appearing in their second attempt will be eligible for make-up oral exam(s) for those sections that are scored as ‘Marginal Fail’  only if they have no FAIL letter grade in any section. Performance in the written exam and make-up oral are evaluated holistically to determine the final grade in that section of the written exam.   

OUTCOMES

The overall outcome of the QE will have two results, each corresponding to the written exam and research oral exam.  Students must pass all three sections of the written exam to pass the qualifying written examination. The written-exam component and research oral exam component are both graded separately. A student must pass both components to obtain an overall pass of the QE. 

RE-TESTING

When a student does not pass both the written exam and the research oral exam in their first attempt, they will have the opportunity to pass the components failed in the first attempt at the next offering of the QE.  This is designated as the ‘second attempt.’ For the written portion of the exam, students will be re-tested only on those components that were failed. Likewise, students failing the research oral portion of the QE will be re-tested at the next QE offering. All components of the NPRE Qual Exam must be passed for PhD qualification after taking the QE for the second time. 

Table 1. Suggested topics available for Question 3 of the written examination and the research oral examination

Table 2. Suggested textbooks to supplement preparation for written-exam Question 3.

Table 3. Suggested topics (partial list) to guide preparation for written-exam Question 3.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Past exam questions: A set of representative past exam questions will be provided by the department. These questions are available to the students registered for the exam and can be given access by contacting the graduate student services office.

Calculators: No calculators will be allowed (unless the test question explicitly mentions that a calculator is needed to answer the question, in which case the department will provide students with a calculator).

Food: No food will be allowed during the exam without medical reason and the approval of the qualifying exam committee. Water is permitted. 

In the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as questions or clarifications, students are directed to first reach out to their faculty advisors. Alternatively, students can always bring issues, questions, and concerns to the qualifying exam committee, DGS, or department head.

Additionally, students petitioning the qualifying exam committee should focus their petition on detailing any extenuating circumstances that may have contributed to their need for  a petition.  This should include describing their research progress since joining the program and providing a detailed discussion of their PhD plans. 

PURPOSE

The preliminary exam tests the readiness of the candidate to undertake specific dissertation research.  Consequently, the exam should be scheduled before a significant amount of research is completed.  At the exam, the student should demonstrate a clear understanding of the fundamentals of the engineering and science disciplines relevant to both their fields and their specific dissertation topic.

PREPARATION

Students are required to submit a preliminary exam request through the Graduate College.  Find more information on Doctoral Committees below.

FORMAT

During the exam, the student will give a presentation of their proposed research area, followed by questions by the committee.  Total exam times typically last 1-1.5 hours, with student presentations being 30-40 minutes and the remainder of the time for questions.  A written proposal of around 30 pages, approved by your research advisor, should be distributed to the committee members at least ten days prior to the exam.

At the conclusion of the exam, the committee may recommend additional work, if needed. 

REGISTRATION

Registration Requirement: The Graduate College requires that doctoral students be registered for the semester in which their exam takes place.  Registration in 0 hours of NPRE 599 will fulfill this requirement.

ELIGIBILITY

• The first stage of the PhD degree program, passing the Qualifying Examination, must have been completed. 
• The Preliminary Examination may be taken no earlier than the semester in which the candidate completes the 24th hour of coursework required in the second stage of the PhD program.
• The Preliminary Examination must be taken between no later than six months before the Final Examination.  

Please review additional information about examination time limits on the Graduate College website. 

CONCLUSION

The feedback you receive from your committee following the Preliminary Exam will inform you of any necessary revisions in your research plan and give you guidance for what needs to be completed prior to your final exam.  For example, you may be asked to submit a plan for completion.

You should work closely with your advisor to ensure a successful path prior to the final exam and dissertation deposit. 

Additional information about preparing for doctoral exams can be found on the Graduate College website.

PURPOSE

The final exam is the final step of a Ph.D. degree where the student summarizes and defends their thesis work.

PREPARATION

Students are required to submit a final exam request through the Graduate College.  Find more information on Doctoral Committees below.

FORMAT

Final examinations are oral and public.  During the exam, the student will give a final presentation of their research, followed by questions by the committee.  Total exam times typically last  2-3 hours, with student presentations being 40 minutes to one hour and the remainder of the time for questions.  The written dissertation, approved by your research advisor, should be distributed to the committee members at least ten days prior to the exam.

REGISTRATION

Registration Requirement: The Graduate College requires that doctoral students be registered for the semester in which their exam takes place.  Registration in 0 hours of NPRE 599 will fulfill this requirement.  For the purpose of taking the doctoral preliminary or final examination, the academic term in which a student is registered extends through the day before the first day of instruction for the following term (Graduate College Handbook, Chapter 6). 

ELIGIBILITY

• The Final Examination must be taken between six months and five years after the Preliminary Examination.

DEADLINES

Upcoming deadlines related to thesis deposit, including the one for the doctoral final examination, are listed on the Graduate College Thesis and Dissertation Calendar.

Additional information about preparing for doctoral exams can be found on the Graduate College website.

Students are responsible for starting the process to appoint a preliminary or final exam committee by submitting a request through the Graduate College Student Portal. The request will be sent to the department for review and submission to the Graduate College.  Students must submit their committee appointment request at least three weeks before the date of the intended exam. This is essential so that the committee can be reviewed and approved by all relevant units before the exam. 

Please review: Committee Roles and Committee Membership Requirements.

Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering Doctoral Committee Requirements

Number of Members. Committees must include at least 4 voting members.

• At least three and no less than half must be members of Illinois Graduate Faculty
• At least two members must be tenured faculty at the University of Illinois
• At least two members must be full-time core NPRE faculty (no affiliates)
• At least three members must be members of NPRE (affiliates could satisfy*)
• One member must be from outside NPRE (affiliates could satisfy*)
• If there are more than four members, the majority vote needs to favor the NPRE faculty

*Affiliates cannot count as both outside member and NPRE member

Determine both membership as a Graduate Faculty member and tenure status here. 

Faculty who have retired can serve, but must have Extended Membership status.

NOTES ABOUT OUTSIDE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Committee members outside of NPRE provide some independent view of our department's Ph.D. requirements and increase our Ph.D. students'  visibility.  Inclusion of outside members requires the candidate to explain and justify their work to a non-expert; but someone who works in a related field.  

• Students are strongly encouraged to consider faculty members outside of NPRE at UIUC, including affiliates (as long as not counted as NPRE faculty)
• Faculty or lab scientists with a PhD from outside UIUC may be included  
• Students are strongly encouraged to have members outside UIUC serve as non-voting members
• If outside UIUC, the outside member’s CV, or a link to it, must be uploaded as part of prelim or final exam committee request form in the Graduate Portal
• Justification for inclusion of the outside member must be submitted by the student’s advisor to npre-grad-advising@illinois.edu prior to  approval of committee 

Additional information can be found on the Graduate College Website.