Member-only story
The oral examination in the big picture
As part of my Ph.D. program in mathematics, I am required to take an oral specialty examination. The basic idea is that I’ve made a decent amount of progress on my research, and I need to present what I’ve done so far to a committee to make sure I’m on the right track and have an understanding of the foundational material. Much of this material came not from the classes I took, but the research I had already done and the numerous meetings with my two co-advisors.
I’m happy to say that as of Friday, November 19, 2021, I passed my oral examination in what I thought was an impressive display, granting myself the title of “Ph.D. candidate.” This is the last official milestone I had to pass before I begin working my way towards the Ph.D. thesis defense.
This might be a check mark on the checklist towards getting my degree, but I am deliberately trying to downplay the accomplishment to an extent. Sure, it’s exciting, and it took quite a bit of work to prepare for (see my earlier post about how I prepared for the examination). That being said, it’s only been a little over a year since I passed my written examinations, and I still have two and a half years or so before I’ll have enough content in my thesis to graduate and be ready for my next career steps, all the while moving faster and faster to push out papers and conference/seminar talks. In fact, I made…