Students in the Genes and Development Program who wish to advance to Ph.D. candidacy are first required to pass the Ph.D. candidacy exam. This exam consists of two components;

1. A written breadth exam in which the student answers 5 short essay questions covering a broad selection of topics, selected from a set of 12 given to the student on the day of the exam.
2. An oral depth exam during which the student defends in depth a written research proposal on a topic of their choosing. 

The oral exam is taken within five weeks of the written exam and must be completed by the end of the student’s third year. However, it is strongly recommended that students take the exam during the first semester of their third year.

The written exam will be given on two dates each year.

2007-2008 Written Exam Dates: October 23, 2007 and February 12, 2008

Exam Forms

“Intent to Take G&D Candidacy Exam” Form: G&D_candidacy_intent_form_07-08.doc

Faculty Critique Guidelines for G&D Oral Exam: G&D_proposal_critique_guidelines.pdf

GSBS Candidacy Forms: Commonly Used Forms Web Page

Oral Exam Proposal Writing Resources on the G&D Intranet Site Only 

Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://inside.mdanderson.org/departments/genes-and-development-graduate-program/candidacy-exam.html

• Writing Effective Grant Proposals (from M. D. Anderson Scientific Publications)
• NIH Annotated RO1 Grant Application and Summary Statement 
• Example of Successful NIH Grant from a G&D Faculty Member

Last updated 08/07/2007