Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Boise State University DOCTORAL PROGRAM ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 1
I. Ph.D. Program Areas of Study The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University provides opportunities for advanced study and research leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The Ph.D. degree is awarded to candidates who have displayed an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and demonstrated the ability to make a significant contribution to knowledge in their field of specialty. II. Program Administration The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) resides within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State University. Doctoral Program Committee. The ECE doctoral program is administered by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Doctoral Program Committee. This committee is composed of the ECE Doctoral Program Coordinator, the program coordinators for the ECE Masters Programs, and the Associate Chair of the Department. The duties of the Doctoral Program Committee include development of recommendations for admission of prospective graduate students, decision on transfer credits and required background courses, appointment of Supervisory Committees for graduate students, and administration of the comprehensive examination. Doctoral Program Coordinator. The ECE Doctoral Program Coordinator is appointed by the Department Chair. The Coordinator will handle routine administrative duties, maintain records, and represent the Department in most matters relating to Ph.D. graduate students. Questions about degree requirements and academic policies are directed to the Coordinator. Supervisory Committee. The Supervisory Committee is charged with general guidance of the doctoral student, including design and approval of the program of study, administration of the oral dissertation proposal defense, supervision of the dissertation research, and participation in the dissertation defense. The Supervisory Committee consists of a principal advisor from the student s chosen area of major emphasis who acts as chair, one member from the student s chosen area of minor emphasis, and at least two additional members, all of whom must be members of the University regular or research faculty and must also be members of the Graduate Faculty. One or more additional members may be appointed when such appointments enhance the function of the Committee. In all cases, regular or research faculty members of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering must constitute a majority of the Supervisory Committee. III. Admission Requirements The minimum requirements for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering degree program are as follows: a. An applicant must satisfy the minimum admission requirements for the Graduate College. Applicants are required to have a Bachelor s or Master s degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering from an ABET-accredited program or a baccalaureate or 2
Master s degree in a closely related field from an accredited college or university, and must follow the application procedures specified below. Admission is competitive and the achievement of minimum requirements does not guarantee admission into the program. b. Normally, a student will hold a Master's degree before being granted admission to the program. Some exceptionally talented students may enter the Doctor of Philosophy program directly upon receiving a bachelor's degree with the special approval of the Doctoral Program Committee. c. Applicants without a Master's degree must have a GPA of 3.5 or better in the last 40 hours of undergraduate course work. d. Applicants with a Master's degree must have a GPA of 3.3 or better in their Master's degree program. Applicants with a Master's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering or in a related field may apply a maximum of 24 hours of previously earned graduate credit toward their doctoral degree. Each student's transcript will be evaluated by the Doctoral Program Committee, and credit will be designated on a course-by-course basis to satisfy the formal course work requirements of the degree. e. A prospective student may apply at any time and should follow the general graduate application procedure for degree-seeking students (see Applying as a Degree-Seeking student in the Boise State University graduate catalog). Admission to the program will be based on: 1) transcripts, 2) professional references, preferably three, 3) scores on the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), and 4) a two-page statement of teaching and research interests. Students whose native language is not English must submit a TOEFL score of 587 or higher for the written examination and 240 or higher for the computer-based examination. Test scores must be submitted directly to Boise State University (code R4018). Once the applicant s file is complete, it will be evaluated by the ECE Doctoral Program Committee and an admission recommendation (regular, provisional, or denial) will be forwarded to the Dean of the Graduate College. In order to ensure proper mentoring of all graduate students, a recommendation for admission will not be forwarded unless a faculty member in ECE is available to serve as the major advisor. The graduate dean will make the final admission decision and notify the applicant and the ECE Doctoral Program Committee. A complete application includes: the application form; official transcripts; letters of recommendation; GRE Exam scores; a statement of research experience, interests, and goals; and the TOEFL score for those applicants whose native language is not English. Fellowships All full-time students who apply are automatically considered for a doctoral student fellowship. A fellowship comes with a stipend ranging between $18,000 and $24,000 for twelve months. Each fellowship is renewable on a yearly basis. To qualify for this fellowship, a student must be in good standing in the doctoral program (maintain a 3.0 GPA), and must be enrolled in a minimum of 8 hours in the Fall Semester, 8 hours in the Spring Semester, and 3 hours in the summer semester. Students receiving funding through this fellowship will also receive tuition and fees to cover 3
coursework during the fall, spring and summer semesters. Students supported with stipends will be required to fulfill academic duties, such as being a teaching assistant or lab assistant, and conducting seminars. For doctoral students, financial assistance is contingent on making satisfactory progress towards requirements in this handbook and the Doctoral Degree Regulations in the Graduate Catalog. To obtain an exception to these requirements, a student must submit a written petition to the Doctoral Program Coordinator with any appropriate supporting documentation. The petition will be considered by the Doctoral Program Committee. Exceptions will be granted only under extraordinary circumstances. Other Financial Assistance Teaching and research assistantships are also available. 4
IV. Degree Requirements and Program of Study The program of study for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Electrical and Computer Engineering will require at least 66 credits beyond the Bachelor s Degree or 42 credits beyond a Master s Degree, and adhere to all policies and procedures of the Graduate College. Courses applied to meet the 66-credit minimum requirement must be taken for a letter grade (A-F), except for ECE 600 Assessment which is graded P (Pass) or F (Fail), and ECE 693 Dissertation which is initially graded IP (In Progress) and later graded P or F depending on the outcome of the dissertation defense. Credit for coursework must be distributed as shown in the degree requirements table. For those entering the program with a Master s Degree, no more than 24 credits of previous graduate coursework can be applied as course credit. For a student entering with a Bachelor s degree, a maximum of 9 credits of post graduate coursework can be applied towards the Ph.D. program. All programs of study must be approved by the student s Supervisory Committee. Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering Course Number and Title Core Sequence ENGR 500 Research Methods....................................... 1 At least 3 courses from the following ECE 500 Applied Electromagnetic Theory........................... 3 ECE 510 Digital Integrated Circuit Design........................... 3 ECE 520 Advanced Device Design and Simulation..................... 3 ECE 530 Digital Hardware Design................................. 3 ECE 650 Stochastic Signals and Systems............................. 3 ECE 660 Linear Systems......................................... 3 Credits 10 Major Area of Concentration 15 Emphasis (Minor) Area 9 Electives (with supervisory committee approval) 6 Comprehensive Examination ECE 691 Assessment Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam (Pass/Fail)...........1 Dissertation Proposal ECE 689 Assessment Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Defense (Pass/Fail).... 1 Culminating Activity ECE 693 Dissertation (Pass/Fail)................................... 24 26 TOTAL 66 Area of Concentration and Emphasis. At least 15 credits of coursework are required in a Major Area of Concentration. These credits are to be from 5xx and 6xx courses selected from one area chosen from the six ECE Areas: Computer Engineering, Circuits and Devices, Power and Control, Electromagnetics and Optics, Semiconductor Processes and Devices, or Signals and Systems. An additional 9 credits of coursework is required beyond the core sequence in an Emphasis or Minor Area also at the 5xx or 6xx level. This should be in one of the five remaining ECE Areas. The Areas are defined as follows: Computer Engineering (all ECE courses with a middle digit of 3), 5
Circuits and Devices (all ECE courses with a middle digit of 1, 2,), Power and Control (All ECE courses with a middle digit 6 or 7), Electromagnetics and Optics (All ECE courses with a middle digit 0 or 8), Semiconductor Processes and Devices (All ECE courses with a middle digit 2 or 4), and Signals and Systems (all ECE courses with a middle digit of 5, 6). Of these 24 credits, 12 must be at the 600-level. The 600-level courses may be selected from core courses, major-area courses, minor-area courses or approved electives. The student can satisfy one-third (1/3) of the 66-credit requirement (i.e. 22 credits) using coursework completed prior to admission to the doctoral program. For example, 22 credits of graduate coursework from a master s degree can be counted towards doctoral requirements. Students will typically take at least 18 additional credits of coursework for the PhD, including: 2 credits of assessment (comprehensive exam, PhD proposal) 1 credit of Research Methods (ENGR 500). At least 24 credits of dissertation (ECE 693) Ph.D. Examinations and Dissertation Requirements. Students admitted to the Ph.D. program will be required to pass a comprehensive exam and an oral dissertation proposal defense. As a culminating activity, the student will be required to present, and successfully defend, a doctoral research dissertation presenting significant research augmenting existing knowledge in the field of electrical and computer engineering. Comprehensive Examination. The comprehensive examination is given yearly in January. Generally, students entering the program with a Bachelor s degree take the comprehensive examination after the third semester of study. Students entering with a Master s degree take the comprehensive examination, generally, the first time it is offered after their admission. The exam will be written and/or oral. This examination will test depth and breadth of knowledge over 3 of the 6 core courses: ECE 500 (electromagnetics), 510 (circuits), 520 (devices), 530 (digital), 650 (signals), and 660 (linear systems). The results of the comprehensive examination can lead to two possible outcomes: 1) pass, or 2) failure. If the student fails the comprehensive examination he or she may, with the approval of the Supervisory Committee, be allowed to take the examination again the following year. Failure a second time will result in administrative withdrawal from the doctoral program. This exam is held before the start of the Fall and Spring terms each year. Students must fill out the ECE PhD Comprehensive Exam Intent form by August 1 preceding the Fall Term or by December 1 preceding the Spring term to inform the department of their intent to take the exam and of the three courses for their examination. Dissertation Proposal. The dissertation proposal and oral defense is designed to assess the suitability of a Ph.D. student for research in a specific area and will focus on advanced coursework and research in the student s dissertation area. Satisfactory completion is required for the student to become a Ph.D. candidate. The dissertation proposal should be presented before, or at the beginning of, the student s Ph.D. research and within one year of satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination. To initiate the dissertation proposal, the student must submit a research proposal for his or her doctoral dissertation to his or her Supervisory Committee. After the Supervisory Committee reviews the proposal they can give their approval to proceed with scheduling the dissertation proposal defense or they can ask the student to make changes to the 6
proposal and to resubmit it. The dissertation proposal defense consists of the student presenting his or her proposed doctoral research and answering questions about the proposal, related background material and the material covered in all courses listed in the student s program of study. If a student fails the oral presentation, he or she may be allowed to reinitiate the dissertation proposal once with the approval of the Supervisory Committee. Students who fail a second time or do not receive approval to resubmit the proposal will be administratively withdrawn from the program. Dissertation Proposal Defense. The dissertation proposal defense must be taken within one year after passing the comprehensive exam. No more than two attempts to pass the proposal defense are permitted. The student s first step should be to consider research topics for a dissertation and to become involved in research. The student should find a Supervising Professor early in this process by meeting with various faculty members. The Supervising Professor must be a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Faculty of Boise State University. After finding a faculty member who consents to be Supervising Professor, the student should submit a request for appointment of his/her Supervising Professor to the Doctoral Program Committee. When the student's dissertation research becomes clear, a Supervisory Committee (described later in this section) should be assembled and a dissertation proposal should be written under the supervision of the Supervising Professor. A four member Supervisory Committee, chaired by the student s Supervising Professor, conducts the oral exam. The three remaining members are selected by the student and Supervising Professor and approved by the Doctoral Program Committee. Presumably this four-person committee will eventually become part of the student s Defense Committee. A written dissertation proposal should be submitted to the student's Supervisory Committee at least two weeks before the oral defense. The dissertation proposal should explain the basic idea of the dissertation topic, present an overview of the background and related work in the field, describe why that topic is original, challenging, and important, state what kind of results are expected, and present preliminary results, if any, and make a plausible argument that these results are obtainable within a reasonable amount of time. The student should write the dissertation proposal as soon as he/she can address the issues described above. The dissertation proposal should be approximately 20 double spaced pages. The format of the proposal defense consists of a public presentation of the student's dissertation proposal, followed by a closed-door period of questioning by the Committee. The oral presentation should be an approximately 40-minute long talk, followed by a question-and-answer session. Following the public presentation, the Supervisory Committee will conduct a closed-door oral examination based on the proposal and on relevant background from the student's program of study. Only the committee members may attend the closed-door session. After the examination, the student will be asked to leave, and the committee will discuss and vote on the student's performance in the oral examination. Majority approval of the Supervisory Committee is required 7
to pass the defense. After the student passes both the written and oral portions of the dissertation proposal, he or she is admitted to candidacy. After Admission to Candidacy the student should work on his or her proposed research. Major deviation from the proposed research requires majority approval of the Supervisory Committee. Master s Degree Option A doctoral student who has failed the dissertation proposal defense, or under special circumstances, may petition to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Doctoral Program Committee for approval to transfer to the M.Engr. program in Electrical or Computer Engineering. 8
Dissertation Requirements The dissertation must be the result of independent and original research by the student and must constitute a significant contribution to electrical and computer engineering knowledge equivalent to multiple peer-reviewed publications. The style and format of the dissertation are to conform to the standards of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Graduate College. Final Oral Examination A public defense of the dissertation is scheduled after the Supervisory Committee has reviewed a draft that is considered to be nearly a final version. The date of the defense is determined jointly by the Supervisory Committee and the student and must be consistent with any guidelines provided by the Graduate College. A Defense Committee is formed that consists of the following voting members: an appointed chair, the chair and members of the Supervisory Committee, and an external examiner. The chair of the Defense Committee is appointed by the Dean of the Graduate College and must be a member of the Graduate Faculty, but must not be the chair or a member of the Supervisory Committee. The external examiner is a recognized expert in the field of the dissertation research and is appointed to the Defense Committee by the Dean of the Graduate College 1. Attendance at the defense by the external examiner is not required, but a written evaluation of the dissertation and a pass or fail vote must be submitted by the external examiner to the chair of the Defense Committee at least 3 weeks prior to the defense. The written evaluation provided by the external examiner is distributed to the other members of the Defense Committee at least 2 weeks before the defense. The chair of the Defense Committee conducts the defense according to the procedure established by the Doctoral Program Committee. A student who fails the defense may be permitted to try again, but failure a second time will result in dismissal from the program. Final Approval of the Dissertation If the defense is completed with a result of pass, the Supervisory Committee prepares a statement describing the final requirements such as additions or modifications to the dissertation and any additional requirements such as archival of data. When these requirements have been met to the satisfaction of the Supervisory Committee, the approval page of the dissertation is signed by the members of the Committee. Graduate College Requirements The general requirements of the Boise State University Graduate College also govern the Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering degree program. Recommended Sequence of Events The following sequence summarizes some of the landmarks of progress that should be followed as closely as possible. Year One: 1. Meet with the Doctoral Program Coordinator and attend Ph.D. Program Orientation 1 A request for the appointment of an external examiner must be made to the Graduate College four months before the defense. The form to do this is available on the Graduate College webpage under the heading Forms. 9
2. Prepare and submit a preliminary Program of Study to the Doctoral Program Coordinator, which may contain any graduate level classes to be transferred. This will be brought to the Doctoral Program Committee for review and preliminary approval 3. Complete requirements for regular status admission, if applicable Year Two: 4. Complete the majority of course work 5. Take and pass the Comprehensive Examination 6. Select Dissertation Supervising Professor 7. Form Supervisory Committee Year Three: 8. Prepare dissertation proposal 9. Successfully defend the Dissertation Proposal 10. Be recommended for Advancement to Candidacy by the Doctoral Program Committee Year Four/Year Five: 11. Conduct research and prepare dissertation 12. Take and pass the Final Oral Examination 13. Submit final approved dissertation All students are expected to make reasonable progress toward the degree. Once a student has been admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D., the Doctoral Program Committee will convene annually to review progress made by the student. If the student has not completed the dissertation within three years of admission to candidacy, then the Doctoral Program Committee decides if any action is needed and submits its recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate College. V. General Academic Rules concerning registration, late registration, adding classes, dropping classes, and auditing classes are all found in the Graduate Catalog or in the schedule of classes. Academic standing, cancellation of enrollment, withdrawal procedures, reinstatement in the University and student classification are also addressed in the Graduate Catalog. VI. Guidelines for Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D. Degree All students seeking a doctoral degree at Boise State University must be admitted to candidacy. One of the requirements for admission to candidacy is passing a doctoral comprehensive examination. Students should consult the University s Doctoral Degree Regulations for the other requirements. The comprehensive examination will be written, oral or a combination of both. The chronology of events is: a. The comprehensive exam is a written/oral exam which will test the student s knowledge of electrical and computer engineering over 3 of 6 core courses: ECE 500, 510, 520, 530, 550, and 560. Questions will be designed to test the student s ability to apply what they learned 10
from their prior coursework. The student must submit his/her request to take the examination and identify the 3 courses over which to be examined in writing to the Doctoral Program Coordinator by December 1 preceding the scheduled January examination. The Doctoral Program Committee will review the student s graduate record and make a decision by majority vote to recommend, or not to recommend, that the student is prepared to take the comprehensive exam. b. If the student fails the first attempt at the comprehensive exam, he/she is allowed to make a second attempt on the next exam. No more than two attempts to pass the exam are permitted. The exam will be set by a comprehensive exam committee organized by the Doctoral Program Committee. c. The student, in consultation with his or her Supervising Professor, contacts members of the Supervisory Committee to obtain their agreement to serve and then submits the names to the Doctoral Program Coordinator for approval by the Doctoral Program Committee. The Supervisory Committee will be chaired by the Supervising Professor. Presumably this fourperson committee will eventually become part of the student s Defense Committee, unless a change is granted by the Doctoral Program Committee. d. The student writes (with his/her supervising professor) an abstract (maximum of 50 words) and an outline (maximum of two pages) of the proposal and distributes copies to the Supervisory Committee members. The Committee members should inform the chair of the committee within three days of any significant reservations about the proposal. The student should consult with the chair of the committee after the third day. e. The student writes the full proposal (approximately 20 pages) taking into consideration any of the initial concerns of the Supervisory Committee members. The full proposal must be completed within 8 weeks of the approval of the proposal abstract and outline. f. The student distributes the full proposal to the Supervisory Committee members. Within seven days after receipt of the proposal the Committee members inform the chair of the committee whether or not the proposal is acceptable for the purpose of the oral examination. The student consults with the chair for this information. If the proposal is not acceptable, the student rewrites the proposal based on recommendations from each of the Committee members. g. When the Supervisory Committee unanimously agrees that the proposal is acceptable for defense, the committee members will sign the cover sheet and the student will forward the signed proposal along with a defense date to the Doctoral Program Committee to officially schedule the oral examination. The Committee is entitled to a two-week period between the approval of the written proposal and the oral examination. The student may discuss with the committee members area of knowledge for which he/she will be held responsible during the examination. h. Members of the Supervisory Committee will be presented with a completed form of the proposal two (2) weeks prior to the scheduled oral exam. During the oral examination, the 11
Committee examines the student on the written proposal and related areas to assess the breadth of knowledge he/she possesses as a doctoral student. A majority passing vote by the Supervisory Committee is needed. The Supervisory Committee may also suggest remediation steps to be taken by the doctoral student to correct deficiencies perceived during the oral portion of the exam. These will be put into written form and progress will be overseen by the Supervising Professor and the Doctoral Program Committee with a final report being sent to the Doctoral Program Committee upon completion. If the student does not pass, the student may be allowed to retake the exam. The student also may pass conditionally, in which case the student may be required to take additional coursework or satisfy other requirements. i. Advancement to candidacy also requires approval of the Supervising Professor who substantiates the student s potential for independent and productive research. In case the student fails the dissertation proposal defense, he/she will be allowed to repeat the examination. The chair of the Supervisory Committee will give the student a written explanation for the basis of the failure and provide guidelines to prepare for the reexamination. Unless there are unusual circumstances, the re-examination must be completed within three months of the first examination. If the student fails the second exam, he/she will be dismissed from the Ph.D. program. j. Upon completion of the dissertation proposal defense and receipt of the signed Approval/Disapproval statement from the examination committee and supervising professor, the Doctoral Program Committee will make a decision by majority vote to recommend, or not to recommend, that the student be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree. With the approval of the Doctoral Program Committee, the chairperson will notify the student of his/her admission of candidacy. If an unfavorable recommendation is made, the student will be notified by the Doctoral Program Committee within two days that the student may make a written appeal within two weeks of the Doctoral Program Committee s recommendation. Responsibilities of the Student a. Request that the Doctoral Program Committee review his/her graduate record for approval to take the comprehensive examination. b. Discuss your ideas about a proposal and potential faculty members for a dissertation/examination committee with your supervising professor. c. Contact potential members of the examination/dissertation committee to determine if they are willing to serve. d. Write an abstract and outline of a proposal for initial approval by the Supervisory Committee. e. Write a complete, original proposal that is approved by the Supervisory Committee in terms of its acceptability for an oral examination. 12
f. Present a copy of the proposal with a signed cover page to the Doctoral Program Committee when the committee has approved the proposal for defense. g. Successfully defend the proposal in an oral examination by the Supervisory Committee. h. Make sufficient progress in research to warrant a positive recommendation from your Supervising Professor. Responsibilities of the Supervising Professor a. Provide your student general guidance in preparation of his/her dissertation proposal. b. Serve as the chairperson of your student s oral dissertation proposal committee. c. Participate in the evaluation of your student for Advancement to Candidacy by substantiating, or not substantiating, the student s potential for independent and productive research. Responsibilities of the Supervisory Committee a. A four member Supervisory Committee, chaired by the student s Supervising Professor, conducts the oral exam. The three remaining members are selected by the student and Supervising Professor and approved by the Doctoral Program Committee. b. The committee determines the initial feasibility of the proposal based on the student s abstract and outline. The chair informs the student of the committee s decision within three days after receipt of the abstract and outline by the committee members. c. The committee determines the acceptability of the complete written proposal for the oral examination. The chair informs the student of the committee s decision within seven days after receipt of the written proposal by the committee members. If the committee decides the proposal is not acceptable, the student must re-write the proposal based on the recommendations from each member of the committee. d. The committee selects questions and examines the student on the written proposal and related areas. The chair of the committee acts as moderator for the examination. e. Upon completion of the examination, the committee evaluates the performance of the student and decides whether or not the student passed the examination. Passage of the exam requires a positive vote from a majority of the committee members. f. The chair of the committee will inform that student of the committee s decision immediately after the committee s deliberations. g. The chair of the committee will inform the chairperson of the Doctoral Program Committee of the committee s decision and give him/her the signed Approval/Disapproval statement. 13
The Student s Written Proposal The student s written research proposal will be in the same area as his/her dissertation studies. The student may give an original interpretation or re-interpretation of literature data; propose a series of experiments to test a hypothesis; or present a new experimental or theoretical approach to a problem. The proposal should have a cover page with a title and names of the student, supervising professor, and supervisory committee members. When the committee has agreed that the proposal is acceptable for oral examination, the student should give a copy of the proposal with the cover page containing the signatures of the committee members to the doctoral program coordinator along with the date scheduled for the oral examination. In the proposal, the cover page should be followed by an abstract, statement of hypothesis to be tested, specific aims, background information from the literature, preliminary studies (if applicable), research design and methods to test the hypothesis, and a discussion of potential experimental outcomes of significance to the hypothesis. A bibliography should be included. Only background information and references most relevant to the proposal should be included. The complete written proposal should be approximately 20 double-spaced, typewritten pages excluding the cover page and bibliography. The bibliography should include titles and inclusive page numbers, and it may be typed single-spaced. The faculty strongly emphasizes that the responsibility for the quality of the proposal in terms of originality, approach to solving the problem or testing the hypothesis, and significance rests completely with the student. The student prepares the written proposal entirely by him or herself. The student may ask the Supervising Professor to read the proposal prior to submission to the examination committee. The Supervising Professor may suggest changes with respect to general organization of the document, English (grammar, spelling, etc.) and general aspects of the science. It is the responsibility of the examination committee to evaluate the specific merits of the proposal. Dissertation Proposal Defense The examination begins with a forty-minute presentation by the student in which he/she summarizes the proposal. The summary presentation is followed by questions from the committee members until they decide they can evaluate the student s performance. The written proposal and related scientific areas will be the basis for the committee s questions. A three-hour period should be scheduled for the examination. 14