All students who are enrolled in the Physics PhD program are required to pass the PhD Qualifying Examination (QE) as part of the requirements for the PhD degree.

QE: written report and an oral examination, maximum TWO attempts are allowed

Time Line:

• For those without an MPhil : make their first attempt prior to the end of the 4th regular term of study, and they must pass the QE before the start of the 5th regular term.
• For those with an MPhil: make their first attempt prior to the end of the 2nd regular term of study, and they must pass the QE before the start of the 3rd regular term of study.

QE Registration Procedure:

Send email to Physics Department at phweb@ust.hk to request “Registration for the PhD Qualifying Examination” form, at least 4 weeks in advance of the proposed examination date.

Appointment of PhD Qualifying Examination Committee

The Examination Committee shall be comprised of three academic faculties. 


1. The Chairman must be a Physics faculty member other than student’s primary 
research supervisor and shall be nominated by the Examination Coordinator. 

2. The supervisor shall be one of the Examination Committee members. 

3. The third member of the Examination Committee shall be nominated by the Exam Coordinator and may be from a different academic Department/Division within the University. 


Written Report 


At least 2 weeks prior to the proposed examination date, the student should submit a written report (about 30 pages following the University guidelines on thesis written format) to each of the Examination Committee members and to the Physics Postgraduate Program Secretariat. This report should include: 


1. A clear statement of the central questions of the thesis research, 

2. A justification for choosing these questions as worthy of study (e.g., how past 
research has set the stage, general significance of anticipated results), and 

3. An outline of work completed up to date and future plan of her/his PhD thesis research. 
 

Oral Examination:

• The student is required to make an oral presentation that should take about 30 minutes and shall not exceed 1 hour. 

• The presentation is followed by a question-and-answer session.

Second Attempt for the PhD Qualifying Examination: 


• In case the candidate fails the first attempt of the QE, she/he is required to make the second attempt before the deadline stated above. 

• The members of PhD Qualifying Examination Committee for the second attempt shall normally be the same as those of the first attempt. 

• The student should arrange the examination date and time and submit the “Registration for Second Attempt of the PhD Qualifying Examination” form to the Physics Postgraduate Program Secretariat at least 4 weeks in advance of the proposed examination date. 


Contact Prof. Kam Sing Wong (email: phkswong@ust.hk, room 4453) if you have questions concerning the PhD Qualifying Examination.