General

The Qualifying Examination is an exam given under the authority and responsibility of the Steering Committee for the Ph.D. in Medical Informatics. The purpose of the examination is to establish the student's readiness to undertake advanced (doctoral level) work in his/her area of study. Students must pass the qualifying exam prior to acquiring 24 credits in the program at UWM. The completed and transferred credits must include the core courses.

Procedure

The Qualifying Examination is prepared, administered, and evaluated by an examination committee appointed by the steering committee. The examination committee will consist of five faculty members with one expert from each area of core course content. The examination committee will have the responsibility and oversight for:

• Preparation of reading list;
• Preparation of the examination with input from faculty teaching core courses;
• Administration of the exam;
• Evaluation of the examination.

  Examination

  • The examination is a closed-book, written examination. Total time allowed is 4 hours.
  • The examination will cover four core areas: medical informatics, databases, patho-physiology and ethics. Multiple questions may cover each of the areas.
  • The examination is offered twice a year; once in January and again in August.

  Evaluation

  • All questions must be evaluated on a scale of 0 to10. A passing grade is 7 points or higher. A fail grade is less than 7 points.
  • Students must successfully pass all four areas. Students may repeat a failed exami-nation once. If students fail in one area, they need only repeat an exam in that one area. If students fail in more than one area, they will repeat the full examination.
  • The examination committee will submit their recommendations and scores to the Ph.D. in Medical Informatics Steering Committee.

All recommendations and scores will be considered for approval by the Steering Committee.

Confidentiality

Members of the examination committee and the Steering Committee are to treat all details of the examination with the strictest confidence. Student notification on the results of the examination and all discussions regarding grading or review of examinations are to be conducted only through the UWM Co-Director of the Ph.D. in Medical Informatics Program office.

Reading List

For a copy of the latest reading material for the qualifying examination, students must consult their advisor or send a note to medinfphd@uwm.edu.