Download a copy of the Qualifying Exam requirements
The Industrial & Systems Engineering Ph.D. Qualifying Exam is offered once per year, in spring quarter. The Qualifying Exam must be taken no later than the second time it is offered while in residence. A Ph.D. student is allowed to take the qualifying exam at most twice. Students planning on taking the Qualifying Exam must register with the ISE student advising office in February. The Qualifying Exam is administered as a take-home test over several days in spring quarter, followed by an oral examination. Specific details will be announced through the ISE student advising office. The exam is open book and notes.
Course requirements
- Complete four core courses (508, 513, 524, 549) and three seminar courses (591, 592, 593)
- Complete two non-core courses from a selection list (GPC and graduate committee will discuss the list and maintain the list) Current list: 535 (Engineering Simulation), 599 (Integer Programming), 521 (Quality Control in Manufacturing), 526 (Reliability in Product Design and Testing), 546 (Inferential Data Analysis), 519 (Healthcare Modeling and Decision Making), 548 (Human Performance Modeling).
Exam format
The qualifying exam will include a one-week take-home written examination followed by an oral exam. The oral exam is administered by an ISE faculty sub-committee. The written test is open book, notes, and other reference materials. Students will be allowed to refer only to their solutions to the written exam during the oral exam. On the written exam, students will be required to answer one question each from Sections A, B, and C below.
Section A
Section B
Section C