The Bloomberg School of Public Health requires satisfactory completion of a preliminary oral examination, usually taken at the beginning of the third year and before significant thesis research is underway. (Biostatistics students are strongly encouraged to take the examination by the end of first term of the third year.) The examination committee consists of both internal and external faculty members and as such, provides students the opportunity to strengthen their skills as statistical educators and communicators. Students are to refine their research papers from the departmental exam to: 1) make it more accessible to non-statistical readers; and 2) expand their discussion of opportunities to statistical research on their topic and its significance to non-statisticians. While the oral exam can cover a broad range of statistical and public health topics, the student is usually given the opportunity to present his/her research interests and describe them in an essay that is then a starting place for the examiners. The primary purpose of this examination is to test the depth and breadth of general knowledge in public health and biostatistics. For specific information about the rules governing the preliminary oral examination, please consult the appropriate Policies and Procedure Memorandum from the School of Public Health.

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