RULES FOR THE QUALIFYING EXAM

Qualifying Examination

The Qualifying Examination is required for students in the Master’s, Doctoral, and Direct Doctoral programs.

It’s the student’s responsibility to register for the qualifying examination within the maximum deadline established by the program, as per the current regulations.

The exam must be completed within a maximum of 90 days after registration. A graduate student who fails to take the qualifying examination within the period specified for their course will be dismissed from the program, in accordance with the USP Graduate Studies Regulations.

A student who fails the qualifying examination may register to retake it only once. The new registration must be completed within 30 days after the first exam. The second exam must be taken within 90 days of the second registration.

If the student fails again, they will be dismissed from the program and will receive a certificate for the courses they completed.

Organizing Committee

The qualifying examination board, for both Master’s and PhD programs, must consist of three examiners with a minimum degree of a doctorate. One of these examiners must be a full advisor of the Program.

Master's degree

A master’s student must register for the qualifying examination within a maximum period of 15 (fifteen) months after their first enrollment in the course and have completed at least 10 (ten) credits in disciplines. The objective of the qualifying examination for a master’s degree is to assess the knowledge acquired in disciplines and on the topic of their project, as well as the student’s ability to execute their research project. The Master’s student must present a report with a literature review on the topic of their Dissertation and preliminary results to be evaluated by an examining committee. The examining committee must be composed of 3 (three) members designated by the CCP, with a minimum doctoral degree and expertise in the theme of the monograph developed by the student. At least one member must be a full advisor of the Program. The Examining Committee should evaluate the report presented by the student according to its scientific basis, the adequacy of the design and methods used in relation to the objectives and hypotheses, the relevance of the results obtained and their social impact, and the articulation of ideas in the discussion. The currency and relevance of the bibliographic references and the publication potential will also be evaluated. The oral presentation, in a public session, will have a minimum duration of twenty and a maximum of thirty minutes, followed by an oral examination by the Examining Committee. The maximum duration of the examination will be 3 hours.

Doctorate

A doctoral student must register for the qualifying examination within a maximum period of 21 (twenty-one) months from the beginning of the course and have completed at least 10 (ten) credits in coursework. The objective of the qualifying examination in the Doctorate program is to evaluate the candidate’s ability to independently develop their thesis project within their research area.

Examination Process

For the Doctorate program, the submission of a complete original research article is required. This article may or may not be related to the thesis but must be different from any publication appendix of the thesis. It must have been written while the student was enrolled in the course, with both the student and the advisor listed as authors.

The student must submit a copy of the complete article, along with proof of submission, a letter of acceptance, or a copy of the final version published in a journal indexed, at a minimum, in PubMed.

The work will be evaluated by an examining committee consisting of 3 (three) members appointed by the CCP. These members must hold a minimum of a doctorate degree and have expertise in the topic of the work developed by the student. At least one member must be a full advisor of the Program. One article can qualify only one student.

Alternatively, the student may choose to present a report with a literature review on their thesis topic and preliminary results to be evaluated by an examining committee. This committee must also consist of 3 (three) members appointed by the CCP, with a minimum of a doctorate degree and expertise in the subject of the student’s monograph. At least one member must be a full advisor of the Program.

Evaluation Criteria

The Examining Committee will evaluate the report presented by the student based on the following criteria:

  • Scientific foundation

  • Adequacy of the design and methods used in relation to the objectives and hypotheses

  • Relevance of the results obtained and their social impact

  • Articulation of ideas in the discussion

  • Timeliness and relevance of bibliographic references

  • Publication potential

The oral presentation, held in a public session, will have a minimum duration of twenty and a maximum of thirty minutes, followed by a questioning session by the Examining Committee. The maximum duration of the exam will be 3 hours.

Direct Doctorate

The Direct Doctorate student must register for the qualifying examination within a maximum period of 24 (twenty-four) months from the start of the course and have completed at least 20 (twenty) credits in courses.

The objective of the qualifying examination in the Direct Doctorate is the same as for the Doctorate. The examination will be conducted according to the Doctorate’s rules.

RULES FOR DELIVERING THE THESIS PAPER

In the Ph.D. and Direct Ph.D. programs in Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology, and Head and Neck Surgery, along with the thesis submission, students are required to deliver an article based on the thesis content, in which the student and their advisor are prominent authors.

If the article is already published, submit a copy of the publication. If it has been accepted, provide a copy of the article and the journal’s acceptance letter. If it has only been submitted, send a copy of the article and the journal’s acknowledgment of receipt. If it has not yet been submitted, provide a formatted article proforma ready for submission.