• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

banner logo

University of California, Berkeley Mechanical Engineering

MENUMENU
  • Prospective Students
  • Industry
  • Contact us
  • Give Now
  • About
    • From the Chair
    • Honors and Rankings
    • Visitor Information
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • 150 Years of Women in ME
    • Make a Gift
    • Contact us
  • People
    • Faculty
      • Faculty by Research Area
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Faculty Books
    • Staff
      • Administrative
      • Facilities
      • Financial
      • Information Technology
      • Student Services
      • Student Machine Shops
    • Community Spotlight
    • External Advisory Board
    • Open Positions
      • Lecturer Positions
    • Visiting Scholars
  • Undergraduate
    • Degree Requirements
    • Curriculum Flowchart
    • ME + Business
    • ME/MSE Joint Major
    • ME/NE Joint Major
    • Aerospace Engineering Minor
    • ME Minor
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
    • Simultaneous Degrees
    • Advising
      • Semesterly Advising
      • Faculty Adviser Assignments
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Forms
      • Career Planning Maps
    • Admissions
      • Applying to Engineering
      • The Application
      • Junior Transfers
      • Credit from Exams
      • Financial Resources
      • Drake Scholarship
      • Visit Us
    • ME Courses
      • Technical Electives
      • Design Electives
        • Design Course Transition
      • Tentative ME Course Schedule
      • Quantitative Science
      • Humanities & Social Sciences Courses
      • Undergrad Course Syllabi
      • ME DeCal Courses
    • Undergraduate Research
      • Credit for Research
      • Research Samples
    • Awards and Scholarships
      • Past Prize Winners
    • Student Academic Resources
      • Student Life Resources
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Program Objectives and Outcomes (ABET)
  • Graduate Programs
    • Ph.D. & D.Eng.
    • Master of Science
    • Master of Engineering
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
      • Degree Requirements
      • 5th Year Masters Program Handbook
    • Special Programs
    • Admissions
      • M.S., Ph.D., D.Eng. & CWO Application
      • MEng Application
      • 5th Year Masters Admissions
      • Application Tips
      • Fees and Financial Support
      • Readmission / Change of Major
    • Graduate Resources
      • Graduate Handbook
      • Graduate Forms
      • Prelim Exams
      • Research Areas and Major Fields
      • Major Field Advisors
      • Grant Writing
      • Grad Division Resources
      • MEGSCo
      • COE Graduate Guide
    • GSI/Reader Information
      • GSI/Reader Forms
    • Course Information
      • Tentative ME course schedule
    • Graduate Course Syllabi
  • Research
    • Research Areas and Major Fields
    • Faculty by Research Area
    • Laboratories
    • Research Centers
  • Resources
    • Student Academic Resources
    • Graduate Resources
    • Student Life Resources
      • ME Student Groups
    • Virtual Career Panel Series
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Room Reservations
    • Key Requests
    • Mail & Office Administration
    • Financial Services
    • IT Services
    • Safety Information
    • Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Prevention
    • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • ME Shops
    • Shop Training
    • Services Provided
    • Shop Equipment
    • Student Electronics Shop
    • Shop Safety
  • Coronavirus Resources
  • News
    • Alumni Newsletter
    • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
    • Events
    • Videos
MENUMENU
  • About
    • From the Chair
    • Honors and Rankings
    • Visitor Information
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • 150 Years of Women in ME
    • Make a Gift
    • Contact us
  • People
    • Faculty
      • Faculty by Research Area
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Faculty Books
    • Staff
      • Administrative
      • Facilities
      • Financial
      • Information Technology
      • Student Services
      • Student Machine Shops
    • Community Spotlight
    • External Advisory Board
    • Open Positions
      • Lecturer Positions
    • Visiting Scholars
  • Undergraduate
    • Degree Requirements
    • Curriculum Flowchart
    • ME + Business
    • ME/MSE Joint Major
    • ME/NE Joint Major
    • Aerospace Engineering Minor
    • ME Minor
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
    • Simultaneous Degrees
    • Advising
      • Semesterly Advising
      • Faculty Adviser Assignments
      • Faculty Office Hours
      • Forms
      • Career Planning Maps
    • Admissions
      • Applying to Engineering
      • The Application
      • Junior Transfers
      • Credit from Exams
      • Financial Resources
      • Drake Scholarship
      • Visit Us
    • ME Courses
      • Technical Electives
      • Design Electives
        • Design Course Transition
      • Tentative ME Course Schedule
      • Quantitative Science
      • Humanities & Social Sciences Courses
      • Undergrad Course Syllabi
      • ME DeCal Courses
    • Undergraduate Research
      • Credit for Research
      • Research Samples
    • Awards and Scholarships
      • Past Prize Winners
    • Student Academic Resources
      • Student Life Resources
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Program Objectives and Outcomes (ABET)
  • Graduate Programs
    • Ph.D. & D.Eng.
    • Master of Science
    • Master of Engineering
    • Fifth Year B.S./M.S. Program
      • Degree Requirements
      • 5th Year Masters Program Handbook
    • Special Programs
    • Admissions
      • M.S., Ph.D., D.Eng. & CWO Application
      • MEng Application
      • 5th Year Masters Admissions
      • Application Tips
      • Fees and Financial Support
      • Readmission / Change of Major
    • Graduate Resources
      • Graduate Handbook
      • Graduate Forms
      • Prelim Exams
      • Research Areas and Major Fields
      • Major Field Advisors
      • Grant Writing
      • Grad Division Resources
      • MEGSCo
      • COE Graduate Guide
    • GSI/Reader Information
      • GSI/Reader Forms
    • Course Information
      • Tentative ME course schedule
    • Graduate Course Syllabi
  • Research
    • Research Areas and Major Fields
    • Faculty by Research Area
    • Laboratories
    • Research Centers
  • Resources
    • Student Academic Resources
    • Graduate Resources
    • Student Life Resources
      • ME Student Groups
    • Virtual Career Panel Series
    • Equity and Inclusion
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Room Reservations
    • Key Requests
    • Mail & Office Administration
    • Financial Services
    • IT Services
    • Safety Information
    • Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment Prevention
    • Faculty & Staff Resources
  • ME Shops
    • Shop Training
    • Services Provided
    • Shop Equipment
    • Student Electronics Shop
    • Shop Safety
  • Coronavirus Resources
  • News
    • Alumni Newsletter
    • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
    • Events
    • Videos
ME banner

4.5 Oral Exam

You are here: Home / Five Year Handbook / 4.5 Oral Exam

You must arrange for your Comprehensive Oral Examination when you Advance to Candidacy for the MS Degree during the beginning of your second semester. On the form, please list the date, time, and location of the Comprehensive Examination (top right).

At least one of the members of your Examination Committee has to be from the Mechanical Engineering Department and both have to be members of the Academic Senate (see Who Can Test).  Please note that both members of your Oral Exam Committee must be present at the time of the exam.

The Oral Comprehensive Examination must be scheduled at least 45 days before the end of your second semester. The examination is scheduled for 30 minutes. At the conclusion of your examination, the Committee Members will complete your Report on the BS/MS 5 Year Completion Examination Form and you will need to submit it to MechE Student Services.

Should you not pass the examination, you are eligible to retake the exam with the same committee members. Retakes should take place within 2 weeks of your first examination.

When

The Oral Comprehensive Examination must be scheduled at least 45 (!) days before the end of your second semester (graduation degree list semester) but it is a good idea to start the scheduling process no later than the beginning of February as faculty’s schedules start becoming quite congested. It behooves you to begin thinking about who will be testing you in your *first semester* and this definitely should be taken into account when choosing your first semester courses.

What can I be tested on?

Questions will be drawn from upper division 100 and 200 level courses taken during the first semester of your MS program.  By exception, second semester courses can be used for the exam, but generally speaking, exceptions should be requested no later than February 10th, and tests should take place a bit later in the semester so you have enough material on which to be tested.

Who can test & choosing courses

Your Examination Committee consists of 2 professors who are members of the Berkeley Academic Senate. Generally speaking, this applies to full faculty (a/an “Assistant/Associate/Full” Professor). It behooves you to begin thinking about who will be testing you in your first semester and this definitely should be taken into account when choosing your first semester courses.

Booking a room

Students can request a testing room through MechE Student Services or may ask their faculty members (in some cases they may have access to testing spaces outside of MechE).  When in doubt, ask us.

Completion Form

Once you have completed your Oral Exam, you will need to get signatures from your examiners and bring it to MechE Student Services. The form can be found here and can be signed right after the examination.

Previous Post: « 4.4 Graduate Division Policies
Next Post: 5 Forms & Deadlines »

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Alumni Newsletter
  • Mechanical Engineering Seminars
  • Events Calendar
  • Videos

Upcoming Events

    No events listed.

  • Contact
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Nondiscrimination
  • UC Berkeley
  • Berkeley Engineering
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 UC Berkeley Mechanical Engineering · All Rights Reserved ·