The Robotics Ph.D. qualifying exam has two parts:
- Course-based GPA requirement
- Comprehensive Oral Examination
The students must complete the GPA requirement by the end of the 8th semester (which includes summer semesters) after starting in the Robotics Ph.D. program.
Course-Based GPA Requirement:
The first part of the new qualifying exam replaces the current course-based written exam. To pass the first part, the students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher in 4 courses taken at Georgia Tech from exactly 2 distinct core areas as described in the attached document. There are currently a total of 5 core areas: AI, Controls, HRI, Mechanics, and Perception. The students who enter the program in Fall 2020 or later must complete the four courses for the GPA requirement by the end of the 6th semester (which includes summer semesters) of starting the Robotics Ph.D. program. Those students who are already enrolled but who have not passed the old exam will receive a one-year ‘grace period’ before the GPA requirement time limit is enforced.
Comprehensive Oral Examination:
The goals of the oral exam are to
- Determine student’s ability to understand and apply fundamental concepts in the general area of Robotics
- Determine the student’s ability to conduct independent research and review, synthesize, and evaluate previous work from the literature
- Identify areas of weakness that the student may need to improve upon.
The student will prepare for the examination based on a specific research topic assigned by the exam committee in consultation with the student three weeks in advance.
The first attempt for the comprehensive oral exam must be made before the end of the student’s 5th semester (which includes summer semesters) in the program. For instance, the students who matriculate into the Ph.D. program in Fall 2020 will be required to attempt the oral exam in Spring 2022.
The oral exam committee consists of at least three (3) and at most five (5) Robotics faculty members assembled in consultation with the student and his/her advisor. The committee must include the student’s advisor and will exceed three (3) robotics faculty members only in the event when a student has more than one advisor and NOT OTHERWISE. It is the advisor’s responsibility to recommend a list of 4-6 non-advising faculty members with a brief justification for each recommended member to the Program Director within the first four weeks of the Fall Semester of the academic year during which the student wishes to take the oral exam.
Chair of the Exam Committee
The Chair of the committee shall be one of the non-advisors faculty members appointed by the Robotics Ph.D. committee based on the advisor’s recommendations and faculty workload. Only three members of the Committee will be allowed to vote. In the event the Committee exceeds three members, only the primary advisor will be allowed to vote and the remaining co-advisor(s) will be non-voting members in the Committee and will NOT participate in the deliberation process of the oral exam outcome with the other non-advisors on the committee. The primary advisor and co-advisor(s) can deliberate among themselves but only the primary advisor will be allowed to cast a vote. It is the responsibility of the Chair of the Committee to identify the voting members of the Committee PRIOR to the start of the oral exam AND inform the student of this decision.
Exam Research Topic
Three (3) weeks prior to the scheduled oral exam date, the Chair of the examination Committee, in consultation with the student, will assign the student’s oral exam topic and scope. The topic should be one that is relevant to the student’s future doctoral work, and may be based on the student’s work in the Multidisciplinary Robotics Research (8750/51) courses, M.S. dissertation, or an influential research article. The Chair of the exam Committee shall communicate the exam topic, schedule, and provide the
supporting materials to the student, as well as to the other oral exam Committee members with copies to the Robotics Ph.D. committee.
Exam Research Expectation
The student is expected to investigate the assigned topic and submit up to two pages of written summary report including figures, (list of references is not part of the two-page limit), at the latest by noon on the day before the
oral exam (the two-page written summary report along with the references list can be emailed to the exam committee members). The summary report must include:
- paragraph reviewing the pertinent literature,
- identifying a research problem in that topic area, and
- possible solution approach/approaches to the identified problem related
to the topic that the student deems worthy of research.
Exam Day Presentation and Discussion
The oral exam begins with a 15-20 minute presentation by the student based on the oral exam topic and leading to further questions related to the goals of the oral exam. In addition to exploring the original topic, the exam
Committee members may ask questions on fundamentals relevant to the original topic, OR the areas that the student opened up by implying that it was part of his/her research approach to the topic OR obvious omissions by the student, i.e., things the student should have considered but missed in the written response, initial presentation, or subsequent discussion that followed. The total length of the oral exam is limited to one (1) hour.