Qualifying Exam (QE) Steps

Step 1: Identifying the QE Committee and Chair

The student should identify the members of the Qualifying Examination Committee and select a Committee Chair. The standard committee consists of four members and must include:

• A Committee Chair who is a Rhetoric faculty member with voting privileges in the department; 
• At least one additional Rhetoric faculty member with voting privileges in the department; and
• One member designated as the Academic Senate Representative (ASR).

At least 50 percent of the committee must consist of Rhetoric faculty with voting privileges in the department. The ASR must be a member of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate and may not serve as the Committee Chair. There are no co-chairs for QE committees.

Students should consult the Rhetoric PhD Guidelines and Best Practices for Students and Examiners and contact the GSAO with questions about committee composition or requests for exceptions.

The student should confer with the chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee when prepared to set the date of the examination. The student should begin this consultation well in advance of the planned exam date to ensure the availability of the examination committee and approval of the examination application by the Graduate Division. The student will be responsible for coordinating with the QE committee to schedule time and place.

When the student and Committee Chair agree that the student is ready to schedule the oral Qualifying Examination, the student should coordinate a date and time with the full committee. Students should begin this process well in advance to ensure committee availability and sufficient time for Graduate Division approval.

The student must contact the GSAO at least one month before the proposed oral examination date to reserve 7415 Dwinelle, subject to availability, or request another on-campus room. The student is also responsible for sending a bCal invitation to the full committee that includes the date, time, location, and Zoom link, if applicable.

An examination scheduled during summer or winter break requires the approval of the full QE committee.

After confirming the committee and examination date, the student must submit the Application for the Qualifying Exam eForm through CalCentral. The eForm must be submitted no later than three weeks before the examination date to allow time for departmental and Graduate Division review and approval.

The Preliminary (Written) Examination consists of two Field Statements and one Research Statement. Each examiner must approve the final version of the statement(s) they supervise before the materials are circulated to the full committee. The approved statements must be circulated to the full committee at least three weeks before the oral Qualifying Examination.

Once the statements have been approved by the relevant examiners, the student must submit each statement to the GSAO in both PDF and Word (.docx) formats. The GSAO will distribute a shared link to the full committee. Submission to the GSAO does not satisfy the deadline unless the statements have first received the required examiner approval. 

The Preliminary Examination statements circulated at the three-week deadline are generally understood to be final. In limited cases, minor revisions may be requested after circulation at the discretion of individual examiners, provided that any such changes are shared with and acknowledged by the full committee prior to the examination. Substantive revisions after circulation are not permitted.

Step 5: Results Reported to the GSAO by Committee and Chair 

On the morning of the examination, the GSAO will send the committee a DocuSign form for reporting the results. After the examination, each committee member must record the appropriate result and provide their signature. The QE Chair is responsible for ensuring that all committee members complete the DocuSign on the day of the examination. After all signatures have been received, the GSAO will submit the examination results through CalCentral. After the examination, the QE Chair should meet with the student to review the committee’s feedback, discuss next steps, and address any remaining questions.

Optional: Archive Preliminary Examination Materials

After passing the oral Qualifying Examination, students who wish to contribute their Preliminary (Written) Examination statements and reading lists to the department archive must complete the department's permissions form.