All students are required to pass the candidacy examination ideally before the official start of the second year or at the latestby the second week of the second academic year (i.e. only in case of faculty schedule conflicts).  This oral exam is administered by the candidacy committee and consists of two parts:

a. Presentation by the student based on the contents of a research progress report.

b. Background questions broadlyrelated to the research problem presented.

The research progress report must be submitted to the candidacy committee members and the ChE Option Representative by August 31stof the first year in residence. The report should expound on the research pursued by the student and is expected to exhibit originality and a professional quality of exposition.  It should outline the research problem, proposed approach, the expected contributions in the general problem area, and the progress of the student at the time of writing.  It should also provide clear evidence of the student's understanding of the research topic the underlying science and technology related to that research, and the student’s mastering of the relevant techniques and methodology necessary to pursue the proposed research.

      The candidacy committee should consist of no fewer than four votingmembers of the Caltech faculty, with at least three being Chemical Engineering faculty.  To ensure the impartiality of the committee, the Chair of the committee and at least one more of the committee members must have no direct advisory relationship with the candidate.  The choice of the committee will be made by the student and his/her research advisor. A list with the committee member names must be submitted to the ChE Option Representative for approval, indicating the proposed Chair (cannot be the advisor). It is the responsibility of the student to obtain approval from each proposed committee member for the date and time of the oral exam.  The list of the recommended committee members must be submitted to the Option Representative at the same time as the research progress report.