PhD Computer Science | Qualifier Exam Policy

Exam Offerings

The PhD qualifier exam, as outlined in the Graduate Handbook, must be cleared within 18 months of the student’s admission into the PhD programme. Each student is allowed a maximum of two attempts to pass the exam, with the first attempt occurring within the first calendar year after admission. The exam is conducted twice per academic year, once at the end of the Spring semester (in May) and once at the end of the Fall semester (in December).

Registering for the Exam

Students are responsible for registering for the exam. This process includes completing the registration form and submitting it with their PhD advisor’s signature. The form must be submitted to the Computer Science Department coordinator by March 15 for the May exam and by October 15 for the December exam.

Qualifier Subjects

The student must appear in three of the following eight courses, which roughly correspond to advanced undergraduate and introductory graduate-level courses. The PhD advisor may initiate a request for one course replacement for the qualifier exam. The advisor should provide a brief explanation for the replacement, and the replacement course should be of a fundamental nature.

 

Exemption

The student may be exempted from the written exam for any core subject within the selected qualifier area, provided that the course was passed within the last 5 years at LUMS during MS or BS (not PhD), and the student secured an A- or higher in that course. The exemption request must be filed by the PhD student and endorsed by the PhD advisor for approval by the Graduate Programme Committee.

Note that the exemption is applicable only for written exams. Even if the written exam is exempted, the student will still have to appear in the oral examination. 

Qualifying Exam Result

The result of the qualifier will be communicated to the student after due deliberation by the examination committee. Based on student performance, any of the following results is possible:

  • Pass: The student passes the exam and the milestone of passing the qualifier is considered to be cleared.
  • Fail: The student is not able to pass the exam. The student will have to reappear in the failed subjects in the next offering of the qualifier. If the second qualifier attempt is failed, then the student will be separated from the programme.
  • Conditional Pass: The examination committee passes the student subject to fulfilment of a specified condition in a given timeframe. Such a condition may require the student to enroll in a course and pass with a certain grade. If the condition is not met in the given timeframe, then the student is automatically deemed to have failed the qualifier. The student may reappear in the next offering of the qualifier. If both attempts for the qualifier are already exhausted, then the student will be separated from the programme.