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Ph.D. Qualifiers (Before 2020)

All Ph.D. students in IEOR (joined on or after June 2008) are required to clear their Qualifying Examination, as part of their degree requirements.  The schemes for PhD students joining in July 2017 and thereafter are listed below. The older scheme is available on the 'old qualifiers scheme' page.

1 Scheme for TA/RA/TAP/RAP students admitted to PhD programme

  1. Students have to clear qualifying exam on four topics: Optimization Techniques (OT), Stochastic Models (SM), and two elective topics approved by the department. (as per existing rules)

  2. The first attempt for clearing OT and SM are students’ performance in courses IE 601 and IE 611. A student clears these subjects if s/he gets a grade point average of 7.5 or more in IE 601 and IE 611 combined. To clear OT and SM in the first attempt, students are to take IE 601 and IE 611 in the Autumn (Jul–Nov) semester immediately after them joining the programme; otherwise, the student will lose their first attempt.

  3. If a student does not clear OT and SM in their first attempt (as described above), they will have to take a written exam covering OT and SM at the beginning of the Spring (Jan–Apr) semester of the same academic year. If a student does not clear this written exam, they are disqualified from the PhD programme.

  4. All students who clear OT and SM will take their oral exam as part of their first Annual Progress Seminar (APS). The oral exam will test the student on all four topics: OT, SM, and the two electives. The oral exam panel will consist of four faculty members nominated by IEOR IDPC. Once a student clears the oral exam, they have cleared their qualifying exam.

  5. Students who do not clear the oral exam in the first attempt will have to repeat and clear the oral exam within three months. If the student does not pass in the second attempt, they are disqualified from the PhD programme. (as per existing rules)

  6. Any exceptions and cases not covered by the above will be dealt with by the IEOR IDPC.

2 Scheme for MSc-PhD Dual-Degree Students

The format will be the same as described in §1 for PhD students, with the following changes:

  1. The first attempt in clearing OT and SM (IE 601 and IE 611) will be in their third semester. IE 601 and IE 611 are core courses for MScPhD students in their third semester.

  2. APS of MScPhD students will now be held in January instead of August, i.e., the first APS will be at the beginning of Semester 6 (and one every subsequent January).

3 Scheme for Other Students

  1. QIP Candidates: There will be no qualifying exam for QIP PhD students. (as per existing rules)

  2. M.Tech to PhD Conversion: The scheme described in §1 will apply.

  3. IITB-Monash Academy Students: The scheme described in §1 will apply.

  4. EX Category students: All four subjects will be tested in a single oral exam along with the first APS, as described in §1, items 4 and 5. (as per existing rules)

  5. Any other cases: Any exceptions and cases not covered by the above will be dealt with by IEOR IDPC.

4 Some Illustrative Timelines for Various Categories of PhD Students

In the timelines (batch years are only for the purpose of illustration) below, red arrows indicate the case when a student fails an exam, and green arrows indicate the case when a student passes an exam.

examples