Superficial Intelligence

I have reached my first big milestone in my PhD studies. I took the WPE (Written Preliminary Examination). The WPE is made up of three tests, two in class and one take home, on various subjects that I get to choose from a list.

I took the in class exams in Artificial Intelligence and HCI. That was four hours of writing almost nonstop. But at least it was on subjects I enjoyed. The take-home was in Data Mining and thanks to it I spent my last "vacation" days reading research papers and writing.

But finally, I am done with all that trouble. That is, unless I don't pass some of the tests. If I fail any of the tests, I can retake the ones I failed again in January, but hopefully this is the last time I have to worry about the WPE.

After this, the next big step is the preliminary oral exam. And after the oral exam, the thesis! I still have a few years to go, but just getting past this WPE makes me feel like I am so much closer to my goal!

I'll write again about this when I get my results. Let's hope I pass!