The GBO Exam

You will face a committee of five professors who will evaluate your readiness to do PhD research. This Graduate Board Oral (GBO) Examination is a university exam required of all doctoral students at JHU. (The Graduate Board is the committee that oversees all graduate programs at Hopkins.) You should aim to complete the GBO requirement by the end of your third year as a PhD student. Coursework requirements and one qualifying project must be completed prior to scheduling your exam.

GBO Preliminary Research Proposal

In our department’s tradition, the core of the GBO Exam is a Preliminary Research Proposal that you write and present. This does not have to be a fully developed thesis proposal (although it could be, if you have progressed quickly). It should at least motivate some interesting research problem in the context of previous work and sketch your possible approaches to solving it. Preliminary results are helpful but not required.

Writing the proposal should be useful for you; it will typically develop into your thesis topic. However, it is not a commitment to a topic. Its purpose is simply to focus the GBO Exam. You must distribute it to all GBO examiners at least 2 weeks before your GBO. A length of 8–10 pages is sufficient.

GBO Format

The GBO is a closed-door exam two hours in length. You will begin by presenting your Preliminary Research Proposal. Then the examiners are free to ask any questions they wish. The department prefers that examiners focus on your readiness to do original research in the area of your Preliminary Research Proposal. We hope that their questions will focus on the technical substance of the proposal; your ability to discuss the broad area with clarity, flexibility and maturity; and your knowledge of subjects that are likely to come up in your work. However, the examiners are not bound by our requests and may assess you in any way they choose. You are therefore advised to discuss expectations with them before the exam, if they are willing. Further GBO policies and guidelines can be found here.

GBO Examiners

The sitting GBO committee will consist of 5 examiners. You may select 2 from inside the department and 2 from outside the department, plus a fifth member either inside or outside the department. You must also name 1 additional inside alternate and 1 additional outside alternate in the unlikely event of a last-minute cancellation. Your advisor always counts as an inside examiner and so do all faculty with primary appointments in Computer Science, including Bloomberg Distinguished Professors.  Faculty holding primary appointments outside of Computer Science who have a department affiliation are considered outside examiners. Outside examiners are intended to contribute valuable perspectives and also ensure that the department doesn’t let its standards slip. At least one of the outside examiners must be an associate, full, or emeritus professor at JHU, and there must be another such-ranked outside professor proposed to sit on your GBO committee or as an alternate. The most senior outside examiner will serve as committee chair; an alternate for that role is also required. You may contact your faculty examiners prior to your GBO to inquire about their expectations. Please keep in mind that an examiner is not required to discuss expectations—if they choose to do so, it is as a courtesy to you.

Most commonly, examiners are tenure-track JHU faculty. However, the Graduate Board can approve scholars from outside JHU or research faculty within JHU. The department must petition the Graduate Board 4 weeks in advance to authorize such persons. See below for details on this process.

GBO Outcomes

Possible exam outcomes are located on the Graduate Board website. The most common ones are “Unconditional Pass” and “Conditional Pass.” In a Conditional Pass, the committee will require you to remedy some weakness in your preparation (e.g., by earning an A- or better in a particular course).

Scheduling the GBO

It is the department’s job to schedule your GBO.  At least a month before you are to take the exam, you or your advisor should inform the CS Academic Program Manager.  The hardest part of the GBO is finding an appropriate committee of 5 faculty examiners plus 2 alternates who are all free at the same time as you are. Fortunately, this is not your responsibility. It is handled by the department, namely the Academic Program Manager and the Director of Graduate Studies.

The Academic Program Manager will suggest that you and your advisor supply the names of appropriate potential examiners; in particular, you and your advisor should predict who will be on your thesis committee so that those faculty can be included on your GBO committee, if possible. It is helpful if you approach your chosen committee members in advance to remind them who you are and to inquire if they are generally available and willing to serve as a GBO committee member. Further GBO guidance can be found here.

In consultation with your advisor, you should send the Academic Program Manager:

• The name, rank, department affiliation, and email address of 7 potential GBO committee members. Please indicate which 2 potential committee members (1 inside and 1 outside) you wish to designate as alternates in case someone cancels or fails to show up.
  • Depending on how you wish to shape your committee (see the “GBO Examiners” section above for more detail), 3–4 of your potential members will be inside the department. Your advisor will serve as an inside member, regardless of their primary department affiliation.
  • Depending on how you wish to shape your committee, 3–4 of your potential members will be outside the department. At least 2 of these potential outside members must be associate, full, or emeritus professors so that someone can serve as chair and you have a back-up chair, if needed. The GBO chair is appointed by the Graduate Board and is typically the most senior outside associate professor or above.
• If any of the above is not a tenure-track JHU faculty member, then your advisor should also send the Academic Program Manager:
  • That person’s full CV;
  • A one-page summary of your research; and
  • An explanation of why that person’s expertise is needed at your GBO or on your thesis committee.

The department will combine these into a letter petitioning the Graduate Board for approval. Note that approval takes 4 weeks. Of course, this is unnecessary if the examiner is already approved; special authorization to serve on a GBO committee lasts for 5 years.

The Academic Program Manager will ask for your and your advisor’s availability so that they can begin scheduling the exam. The department will then nominate a panel. The Academic Program Manager will complete a form and send it to the Graduate Board for its approval 3 weeks before the exam.

Once the exam is scheduled, the Academic Program Manager will tell you who your examiners are so that you can send them your Preliminary Research Proposal at least 2 weeks in advance of your exam.