The student is expected to pass the Research Report Exam within 3 years of admittance. This exam cannot be taken until all coursework has been completed at both campuses. This examination shall consist of a term research project supervised by a faculty mentor. The student will be required to prepare a written report of the research work performed and its results and offer an oral presentation before the members of the Doctoral Committee. The student must submit to a peer review journal, a paper based on their research report, before giving an oral presentation to the Doctoral Committee. The student will use the form entitled “Nomination of the Doctoral Committee for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy” (JDP 2) from San Diego State University to nominate the Research Examination Committee. Should a student fail the research report exam, one retake will be allowed at the discretion of the doctoral committee. After successful completion of the Research Exam, the next step is the Dissertation Proposal. After successful completion of the Research Report Exam, the student is to complete the “Report of the Research Report Examination for the Degree of Doctoral of Philosophy” form (JDP3) at SDSU. The original form will be kept on file at UCI with a copy being kept on file at SDSU.
Please see the Notes on Committee Composition section for information on requirements for the examination.

Research Report Examination (Comp 897):

1. What is the purpose of the Research Report Examination?
   • To demonstrate that the student has experience performing supervised research and is ready to conduct independent research. The student is expected to pass the Research Report Examination by the end of their third year in the program. This exam cannot be taken until all coursework has been completed at both campuses.
2. What is the format of this examination?
   • This examination shall consist of a research project supervised by a faculty mentor. The student will be required to prepare a written report of research work performed and its results, and offer an oral presentation before the members of the Doctoral Committee. The student must submit a journal paper manuscript based on their research exam report before giving the oral presentation to the Doctoral Committee.
3. Who should be present at the presentation?
   • The oral presentation is presented to the JDP Committee consisting of five (5) members: the primary Doctoral Advisor (from either UCI or SDSU), a Co-advisor (from the campus where the primary advisor is not a faculty member), 2 other faculty members affiliated with the program (1 from the campus where the primary advisor is a faculty member and 1 from the other campus). A fifth faculty member from UCI but not affiliated with the program will be appointed, to serve on a five-person Doctoral Committee
4. What other requirements are there for this examination?
   • The written report must be received by each member of the JDP Committee and the Computational Science Program Directors at least two weeks before the scheduled exam.
   • The student must have his/her research project and results written up in a paper submitted for publication at the time of the Research Report Examination. If a peer-reviewed published or submitted paper is used as part of this report it must be supplemented with a complete description of the work that was performed by the student (rather than coauthors or advisors).
   • The appropriate form entitled “Report of the Research Report Examination for the Degree of Doctoral of Philosophy” (JDP3) must be completed and submitted to SDSU Graduate and Research Affairs and to UCI Graduate Division.
   • The JDP3 form must be approved by both universities at least one (1) term prior to the Dissertation Proposal/Advancement to Candidacy.