Cognitive Neuroscience Handbook

Second Doctoral Exam

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The Second Doctoral Exam is taken after the student completes all course work. It consists of three parts, each of which must be related to the student’s intended dissertation topic. At least two of these are to be intense reviews of specified areas. The third one may be a research proposal. The two review areas must provide a strong background for the intended dissertation. A research proposal can then integrate the two areas while specifying a research program that could include the dissertation proposal. But such a proposal should be more extensive than the dissertation proposal. Alternatively, a third review area can help focus on additional background material for the dissertation.

The student must prepare a Preliminary Second Doctoral Exam Proposal for the Executive Committee to review. This should include: an overview of the expected academic gains from the exam, reading lists for at least two areas, a set of focused questions for each reading list, and an examination committee.

The Second Doctoral Examination Committee (SDEC) shall consist of three or more persons The Chair and at least one additional Committee member shall be a full or adjunct faculty member in the EC Subprogram, and a third must be a member of the doctoral faculty with a primary appointments at a university or medical school. The proposed committee is selected on the recommendation of the student’s advisor, who is normally the Chair of the Committee. The proposal must be approved first by the Committee Chair, then the remainder of the Committee. Finally, the proposed Committee membership and proposals for the three topic areas must be approved by the EC Executive Committee. In special cases where one of the Committee examiners is selected because of special expertise but has limited experience supervising graduate students, at least one CUNY faculty member of the Committee shall join that examiner for the examination and vote on that part of the examination. The Chair of the Examining Committee and shall report the conclusions of the examination to the Subprogram Head. It is not necessary that the second docs committee becomes the dissertation committee, nor that the second docs area becomes the dissertation area, although obviously efficiency is served if there carryover.

The focus questions that the student has submitted with each reading list will constitute a potential theme around which to organize an integrative paper. It is anticipated that students will work actively with their Committee members in preparing the reading lists and papers. The committee will select one or more questions from each list for the paper. If the Committee judges that the questions are unacceptable, it may ask the student to submit additional questions. The final set of three areas, reading lists and questions or proposals, and the names of the examining committee members, constitutes the SDEC proposal. The proposal must be approved unanimously by the SDEC and by majority vote of the Executive Committee faculty, and be signed by the respective chairs.

Prior to the oral examination, the student must submit to the SDEC a review paper on the readings, answering the selected question(s) in each exam area. Either separately for each area, or jointly for all reading areas, the student will then take the oral exam on each paper. Successful passing of the papers and exams completes the second docs. From the time of acceptance of the second docs proposal by the Executive Committee, the student will have no more than one year to complete all three parts of the examination.

A grant proposal must consist of 15-20 single-space pages and will normally include five experiments (see NSF or NIH bulletins for suggested formats). The proposal will be reviewed by the SDEC members and criticized, as well as given a grade of P or F.

Checklist for Second Doctoral Examination Proposal

1.First obtain the approval of your Advisor, then your Examination Committee and only then the Executive Committee of the program. In collaboration with your Advisor, define the three areas for your Exam and the Examiners for each. Note the May 1997 revision regarding who may be a member of your committee.
2. In collaboration with each examiner, work out the scope of the exam and compile a list of references appropriate to each area.
3. Complete the form: Second Doctoral Examination Topic Proposal, and have it signed by all parties.
4. Submit the form and the proposal for each part to all members, including the student members, of the Executive Committee, each with the cover sheet: “Vote For Second Doctoral Examination Proposal.”

Action of the Executive Committee:
If all of the members check the Pass box, the Proposal is approved and may be signed by the Program Head without going to an Executive Committee meeting. If one or more parties checks, Discuss or Fail, the Proposal goes before the next scheduled Executive Committee meeting. Proposals must be in the box of each Committee member at least one week before the scheduled meeting. If not approved, return to step 1.

John Antrobus
Professor & Program Head.
May 20, 1997

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