IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PH.D. STUDENTS ABOUT THE MAJOR FIELD EXAM


Who this notice is for:

    If you are a Ph.D. student and you have not yet taken the
    Major Field Exam (MFE), but you have already completed most
    of your coursework (and are ready now to proceed on research
    toward your dissertation), this message is for you.

    If you have just arrived at UCLA, or do not know about the
    Major Field Exam (MFE), you will probably take the new exam
    (the WQE) -- see below.

    If you have already signed up for the MFE, or have already
    completed the MFE, you can ignore this notice.


The CS dept. is phasing out the MFE:

    This year the Computer Science Department plans to phase out the MFE,
    and replace it by a new written examination (the WQE).

    The MFE will be offered only two more times:

         1.   Fall   2000   (November 17, 2000)
         2.   Spring 2001   (probably May 18, 2001)

    If you have been intending to take the MFE, you must now complete it
    by Spring 2001.  There are no plans to offer it after this.


If you want to take the MFE, you need to sign up for it now:

    If you want to take the MFE this Fall, you must sign up for it now.
    Please put your name on the MFE sheet in the CS Graduate Office
    (4403 Boelter Hall), and make sure your Fields of Study form is filed.
    
    Signing up for the Fall MFE should occur before next Wednesday, November 8,
    if at all possible, to give faculty enough notice to prepare the exams.
    
    After Friday, November 10, signing up for the Fall MFE will not be possible.

    If you intend to take the MFE in the Spring 2001, you MUST bring
    in your Fields of Study Proposal this quarter and be aware that the
    Spring will be the last chance to take the MFE.  Any student who fails
    the MFE in the Spring for the first time will have to take the WQE.

    Students who fail the MFE once, and then switch to the WQE,
    will be allowed to take the WQE only 2 times.
 
    If you do not sign up for the MFE this quarter, and had not signed up
    for it earlier, you will not be able to sign up for the MFE in the future.
    In other words, this is the last opportunity to opt for the MFE.


All students can take the new "Written Qualifying Exam" instead of the MFE:

    The MFE is being replaced by the new Written Qualifying Examination
    (WQE), which will cover less advanced material than the MFE but will
    be offered earlier in a graduate student's career here.

    The WQE will be offered for the first time in Spring 2001.

    The current description and syllabus for the WQE is available in:
    
       http://www.cs.ucla.edu/classes/exams/WQEdescription.html
       /u/class/exams/WQEdescription.txt
    
       http://www.cs.ucla.edu/classes/exams/WQEsyllabus.html
       /u/class/exams/WQEsyllabus.txt

    These online descriptions should give a good picture of the WQE.
    All details of the exam will be finalized before Winter 2001.

    If you are in doubt about whether to take the MFE or the WQE,
    the natural default is to take the WQE.