English competency

The English competency of all students entering the PhD program during or after the Fall 1992 semester must be evaluated by the Genetics Program. The Graduate School requires the program to formally attest to a student's English competency before the comprehensive exam can be scheduled. In order to meet this objective, graduate programs are expected to have mechanisms to evaluate and improve the English competency of both international and domestic students.

As an initial evaluation for international students at University Park from non-English speaking countries, these students will take the test of English oral proficiency administered by the Center for English as a Second Language. Arrangements to take this exam can be made by the student through the Instructional Development Program, 1 Sparks Building. Based on the results from this exam, students may be required to complete one or more special English classes (SPCOM 114G, 115G, 116G).

All students (domestic and international) will be evaluated for their writing competence as part of their Candidacy Exam. The written portion of this exam is taken in advance of the oral portion of the exam. The appropriate use of English will be evaluated by the student's advisor and one other member of the Candidacy Committee. If the performance is not acceptable, the student will be directed to additional English Composition courses (i.e. ENGL XXXG, University Park or ENGL 105, Hershey [PSU Harrisburg Campus] ). In this case, the student will be reevaluated by his or her formal Doctoral Committee.

To evaluate speaking competence, all students will be evaluated in formal-prepared situations based on their presentations in Colloquium 590. The seminar chair will provide the student's advisor a written evaluation of the student's performance, strengths, and weaknesses based partly on audience evaluation and on the evaluation of Genetics faculty. A second evaluation will be made by Candidacy Committee during the oral portion of the Candidacy exam. If the student and advisor feel that the evaluation of oral competence during the candidacy will be unduly stressful, a separate portion of the exam can be designated for oral evaluation. If the student does not demonstrate acceptable competence based on the above evaluations, the student's major professor will be responsible for providing mechanisms for improving these skills. Possible scenarios include: frequent verbal critiques of assigned professional papers, presentations in laboratory meetings and additional presentations in Colloquium 590. Members of the student's Doctoral Committee are asked to help evaluate and attest to progress of the student. Students at the Hershey Medical Center can enroll in SPCOM 100 at the Penn State Harrisburg Campus.

The student's advisor will notify the Program Chair in writing when the student has met the English Competency requirement. The Program Chair will then notify the Graduate School.