EE Prelim Q&A
Laurent El Ghaoui
Chair, EE Graduate Study/Prelim Committee
Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences
University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
E-mail: elghaoui@berkeley.edu
Fall 2012 EE Prelim Orientation
August 14, 2012
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
The Prelim Oral Exam
Statement of Purpose:
• An advisory role in a student’s graduate studies program
• Students must be able to demonstrate an integrated
grasp of the exam area's body of knowledge in an
unstructured framework
Timing:
• Offered the first week of every semester
• Admits with B.S. must take by 3rd semester or earlier
• Admits with M.S. must take by 2nd semester or earlier
Format:
• 60-min. oral exam w/ a committee of 3 faculty examiners
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
EE Prelim Oral Exam Areas
Communications (Comm)
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
Electromagnetics(EM)
Integrated Circuits (IC)
Linear Systems (LS)
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
Optoelectronics and Photonics (Opto)
Semiconductor Devices (SD)
Semiconductor Processing (SP)
• For syllabi and old exam questions, go to:
http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/GradAffairs/EE/Prelims/
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
GPA Distribution As of Fall 2011
• For students in the Ph.D. program, GPA must be >3.5 to take
prelims
80
# of Students
70
60
EECS
Threshold (3.5)
50
40
30
Campus
Threshold (3.0)
20
10
0
2.9
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
GPA
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4
The Prelim Decision Process
Attempt #1
Exam Comm
Score
 6.0
Attempt #2
Exam Comm
Research
Advisor Input
Score
 6.0
Prelim Breadth
Requirement
Score
 6.0
Score
 6.0
Ph.D.
Program
Attempt 1 + Attempt 2
Pass Rates
~ 90 - 95%
for the last 20 years
Prelim
Committee
Not Pass
$$$
BMW
……..
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
Department Goal
(100-  )%
Tips to Ease Prelim Anxiety
Before the Exam:
• Get plenty of white board Q/A practice, especially with old
exam questions
• If you do not know an examiner at all, ask for a 10 min.
appointment to introduce yourself before the exam
• If you need clarification with the syllabus, contact the
exam group chair
During the Exam:
• Browse over the exam questions before you start
answering
• It is ok to ask for clarification and hints during the exam
the examiner may streamline the question for you
• Your answers don’t have to be perfect to get a pass
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
Feedback Is Important
• In the unfortunate event of not passing the first attempt,
take it as a wakeup call
the world doesn’t end
read the exam report in your student file
take steps to improve your understanding of the
material, your ability to answer questions on a white
board, your English skills, …
• Inform EEGSA reps your exam feedback and complaints
faculty do listen to your suggestions
• For petitions, start with the EE Graduate Office, 205 Cory
Hall, (510) 643-8347
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
Appendix
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
Prelim Pass/Fail Stats Overall
TOTALS
PROCESSING
DEVICES
OPTO (begin Sp'06)
QE (thru F'05)
TOTAL # PASS
MEMS (begin F'10)
TOTAL # STUDENTS
LIN SYS
IC
EMR
DSP
COMM
CAD
0
200
400
600
800
1000
• More students taking prelims in the fall
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
1200
Prelim Pass/Fail Stats Per Semester
Pass
35
Fail
Conditional
No. of Students
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Spring 2012
Fall 2011
Spring 2011
• More students taking prelims in the fall
L. El Ghaoui, “EE Prelim Q&A,” EE Prelim Orientation Day, 8/14/12
Fall 2010
Spring 2010