Department of Computer Science Unversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Spring 2004 Database and Information Systems Qualifying Exam Format

Spring '04 is the first time that DAIS will offer its own separate qualifying exam.  In the long run, we plan to have written qual exams for DAIS.  Since the transition to having a separate DAIS qual comes at short notice, in Spring '04 the DAIS qual will still be oral, and will have the following characteristics:

1) Paper Assignment: At the beginning of the spring semester, each student will be assigned a single research paper from the DAIS qual reading list.

2) Qual Format: The qualifying exam will last 1.5-2 hours. The student will begin by giving a 30-minute presentation. The presentation should survey the general research topic implied by the problem addressed in the assigned paper, and analyze the assigned paper.

The exam committee will consist of faculty members from DAIS and possibly related areas, excluding the academic advisor of the student. The committee will listen to the presentation, and ask questions that are related to the assigned paper and surveyed topic, *and* the other papers in the reading list.

3) Expectations: The student will be judged primarily based on (a) the question answering session with the qual committee, (b) the understanding of the paper and the topic surveyed, and (c) the clarity of the explanation of the papers, concepts, and the surveyed topic.  The student is also expected to demonstrate good presentation skills and speaking ability (for example, by having clear and well-designed slides).

The student is expected to understand the assigned paper and the surveyed topic in depth, and to have read and understood the papers in the reading list thoroughly.

4) Notification of Qual Result: The academic office will notify the student of the qual result after all quals have been completed.

DAIS - Database and Information Systems Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 201 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA.  Fax: 217-265-6494, Phone: 217-244-6241.