In many instances, if you fail the exam you are booted from the Ph.D. program and given a "terminal" master's degree.
In many others, if you fail the exam (or exams - in my case they just rolled this into the quals) you are booted from the program _without_ a masters degree.
I once spent a month teaching someone topology from scratch so that he could pass a qual he needed to get a PhD in combinatorics.
In many others, if you fail the exam (or exams - in my case they just rolled this into the quals) you are booted from the program _without_ a masters degree.
I once spent a month teaching someone topology from scratch so that he could pass a qual he needed to get a PhD in combinatorics.