Texas Tech University

Doctor of Philosophy Qualifying Exam

Guidelines for Doctoral Students Sitting for the Qualifying Exam

  1. The qualifying exam will be made up of four sections consisting of reservoir engineering, production engineering, drilling engineering, and formation evaluation. Typically, the qualifying exam will be given over two days with each of the aforementioned sections lasting four hours each.
  2. A Ph.D. applicant who joins the graduate program in the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in petroleum engineering is required to take the qualifying exam within three long semesters, but no earlier than two long semesters.
  3. A Ph.D. applicant who joins the graduate program in the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas Tech University with an Master of Science in petroleum engineering is required to take the qualifying exam within two long semesters, but no earlier than one long semester.
  4. A Ph.D. applicant who fails any section(s) of the qualifying exam must sit for the qualifying exam during the very next session offered in the department.  The Ph.D. applicant will be given the chance to retake the section(s) he or she failed up to a maximum of two sections. Failing more than two sections will result in the student taking all the sections of the qualifying exam in the following session.
  5. Ph.D. applicants are given the chance to take the qualifying exam only two times. An applicant who fails any section twice will be removed from the doctoral program.
  6. A Ph.D. applicant who successfully passes at least three sections will be allowed temporarily to register for the 7000 courses. The student will not be admitted officially in the doctoral program in the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas Tech University until he or she passes ll four of the qualifying exams.
  7. Exception to any of the items above must be unanimously approved by the graduate committee.

Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering

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