The A B C s of earning a PhD

I arrived back in Ithaca this morning and was greeted by 50+ degree weather and the face of my good friend Sunny- definitely a positive start to my month back at Cornell! It's probably not going to be all sunshine and smiles in the weeks to come. I will spend the next 4 weeks preparing for and taking my "A exam" on Thursday, March 27.

The A exam is a major Cornell PhD milestone. In my department, the exam involves preparing an extensive research proposal and then "defending" the proposal during an oral examination led by my 4 thesis committee members. They can ask about any technical questions related to the proposal or the coursework I took during my first two years at Cornell. Theoretically, the A exam happens after after you finish course work and before you start your research. In my case I've already done some formative research down in Haiti to help understand the context I'm working and to get things organized for the intervention we will be starting in May.

A year or two down the road will come the B exam - the defense of my final completed dissertation.

And the C? The rest of my career!