Mar 18, 2024  
2014-2015 Graduate Catalog 
    
2014-2015 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Comprehensive Examinations


Comprehensive Exam Dates, Fall 2014:
Application Deadline (in Graduate School): July 15, 2014
Exams: October 28-November 1, 2013

Comprehensive Exam Dates, Spring 2015:
Application Deadline (in Graduate School): November 15, 2014
Exams: March 24-28, 2014


Who is Required to Take Comprehensive Examinations?

A written comprehensive examination will be required of all candidates for master’s degrees except candidates for the Master of Business Administration, the Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Occupational Therapy, and the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and Master of Education in Educational Leadership. Regulations governing comprehensive examinations for doctoral programs are detailed within program descriptions for individual doctoral programs of study.

What is Covered in the Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination will cover the major area and minor or related areas. The candidate must pass both areas. To be eligible, a student must file an application to take the comprehensive examination with the Graduate School according to the above semester deadlines. The student must have completed all courses shown on the approved degree plan or be currently enrolled in them. All I grades, excluding graduate recital, graduate research, thesis, field study, or dissertation must be completed at the time the candidate takes the written comprehensive examination. The written and oral comprehensive examinations should be scheduled within the testing dates given in the university calendar. These dates do not apply to the oral examination given as the field study, thesis, or dissertation defense. The director of the Graduate School must be notified in writing of any requested exceptions.

The Written Examination

The written comprehensive examination for all candidates will be constructed and administered by the candidate’s graduate advisory committee or the program or school committee as determined by individual programs and schools. After all examinations have been scored and recorded, the questions and answers are to remain in the academic unit office. The major professor will report the candidate’s performance on the comprehensive examination as satisfactory or unsatisfactory to the director of the Graduate school. This report will be made in writing and must contain the specific parts of the examination covered, e.g., major only, minor or related areas only, major and minor, and whether an oral examination was also given. The major professor will notify the candidate of the results of the comprehensive examination as soon as possible. At the conclusion of each semester, the respective department or school may forward to the University Library copies of the student’s examination for deposit in the reference section, or house the copies within the department for 10 years. A candidate majoring in education whose minor area is in related fields will have the comprehensive examination assembled from appropriate sources, constructed, and administered by the appropriate program or school. When nine or more hours in the minor or related areas are from a single college or school, the graduate coordinator in that college or school is responsible for coordinating that portion of the examination and reporting the results to the graduate coordinator of the School of Education and the director of the Graduate School.

When the candidate is majoring in a subject matter field and minoring in education, it is the responsibility of the graduate coordinator of the school representing the major field to coordinate that portion of the examination and report the results to the graduate coordinator in the School of Education and the director of the Graduate School.

The candidate must pass both the major and the minor or related areas of the written comprehensive examination. If the candidate passes one portion and fails the other, only that portion which was failed must be repeated. No one will be permitted to take any portion of the comprehensive examination more than three times without revisions to their degree plan. Before a third examination can be administered, the candidate must complete a revised degree plan outlined by the graduate advisory committee and approved by the director of the Graduate School.

The Oral Examination

An oral examination will be required of all candidates for advanced degrees who submit a field study, thesis, or dissertation. An oral examination may be required of other candidates for advanced degrees as determined by each department or school. The oral examination will be taken only after the candidate has satisfactorily completed the written comprehensive examination. Copies of the field study, thesis, or dissertation must be submitted to the candidate’s graduate advisory committee at least five days before the oral examination. The oral examination is the responsibility of the candidate’s graduate advisory committee and the examining committee, who may invite other faculty members and administrators to participate in an ex officio capacity. The candidate’s major professor will report the candidate’s performance on the oral examination as satisfactory or unsatisfactory to the director of the Graduate School. This report must be made in writing. When the oral examination is the thesis, field study, or dissertation defense, this reporting requirement will be satisfied by the graduate advisory committee’s approval of the field study, thesis, or dissertation.

Retaking Comprehensive Examinations

If the candidate’s performance on the major area, minor or related areas, or oral examination is deemed unsatisfactory by the major professor, the candidate must wait until the next comprehensive examination period to apply to retake any or all of the comprehensive examination.

The candidate is advised to confer with the graduate advisory committee and the appropriate graduate coordinator for their program regarding procedures and structure of the comprehensive examination.