How will failing a PhD qualifying exam affect admission to other PhD programs in the future? My son, 25, just got notified that he didn't pass his qualifier the second time around so he's been dropped from his PhD program.  

As a parent, I only want my child to be successfully happy, both in his personal and social life.  It's disheartening and heartbreaking to know that all his hard work and countless hours of studying and burying deep in papers can all fall apart just like that because a committee wills him not good enough for them.  He wasn't even pursuing a PhD.  He was working on his MS in EE and one of his professors saw potential in him so she encouraged him to pursue a PhD with full funding.  He will leave the program with a terminal MS (which he had already earned before entering the PhD program).  

On the exterior, he says he's fine with the outcome and can't wait to get into the real workforce.  However, internally, I can sense he is battling with disappointment and alienation from his advisors and department, preferably the people he works with.  I can only advise him to rethink his future 5 years from now where he'll be an accomplished Engineer with loads of work experience under his belt or a recent PhD graduate looking for a job.  On the phone, I assured him, "you didn't fail, they failed you."  

My son will remain with his department until the end of the academic school year.  However, how will being dropped from his program affect his transcripts if he should want to reapply at another university?
Just because your son failed a qualifying exam for university X doesn't mean he's not qualified to get a PhD at all. 

The chances of this affecting future PhD admissions are slim as they would only consider the current qualification and skill-set of the candidate.  


  ...you didn't fail, they failed you.


This reminds me about Thomas Edison Mother's Letter. You said the right thing to your son! Because, more than anything else, he shouldn't lose his self-confidence. 

You believe in your son and so does his MS advisor. However, whether he has the potential or not, talk to him and find out whether he has the passion for research. PhD requires more of perseverance than skill. 

If he still got the interest, then by all means encourage him to apply again to another university. 

My best wishes!