Qualifying Exam... Check!

The day finally came - the culmination of this term's work and lectures - our qualifying exam for the MSc in Neuroscience. Technically if we didn't pass this we wouldn't be able to continue for the rest of the MSc where they let us loose in labs and write long essays. But I think it has been six years since someone failed and had to resit in January. While I don't want to tempt fate (it's not been marked yet!) I think something pretty bad would have had to happen for me not to pass the exam today. So really my efforts were so that (a) I felt a little more comfortable in the exam (preparation only has so much of an effect really!), and (b) so that if I did very well it would be good for the sake of the reference that my course lecturer will be writing this month.

Anyway, I'm sure whoever is reading this doesn't really care about the nitty gritty of the exam. But I'm sure you would be interested in the traditions that come along with taking an exam at the University of Oxford! First, the set of clothing known as sub fusc or "of a sober hue" are required. This is the same as what was required for Matriculation, when students are formally admitted to the University. In more explicit terms it means to wear a dark suit, white shirt, white bow tie, gown, and mortarboard (not worn indoors but must be carried!). For most of the students in the group this is only the second time they have had to wear their gown, but thanks to choir I have worn it weekly over the last term.

Second, a tradition began in the 1980s to wear a carnation for each exam. The exam period would begin with you wearing a white carnation, pink carnations for each exam in the middle and a red carnation for your final exam of the session. The tradition is also that someone else needs to buy it for you. As I have only two exams for my MSc I decided that this would be the white exam (even though it's hopefully my last ever written exam) and that my viva voce exam next September would by my red exam. A friend from the college choir who is near the end of his DPhil bought mine for me, which was very nice of him. It's the first time I've had something exciting in my "pidge" (pigeon hole at the College). The rest of the group decided that as this is our only and last ever written exam that they would wear a red carnation, and a number of them met up at the florist this morning to buy flowers for each other!

The third interesting thing about exams at Oxford is the location. Students are members of Colleges and as such the College puts students forward to the University to take their exams. So rather than University exams taking place in Colleges or departments, they take place in a wonderful building called the Examination Schools, on the High Street. The building is beautiful and has a number of rooms where exams take place, with large corridors and grand staircases to take you to them. Ours was in a fairly plain room about as far as you could walk from the entrance along the corridors, but we had actually been there before for a less formal exam a couple of weeks earlier so it was familiar. As term finished last Friday ours was the only exam on today - they didn't even bother to turn on the computer information screens to say where our exam was - a simple piece of paper pinned up would suffice!! And the usual request to "please remain quiet as you return to the entrance hall because there are other students still taking their exams" was rather redundant!

So, having fully explained the Oxford traditions, here's a picture of me (1) in my sub fusc, (2) with my white carnation and (3) infront of the entrance to the Examination Schools. Thankfully this will never be repeated!