Comprehensive Exam and DissertationComprehensive examination. The comprehensive examination covers two different areas of linguistics (normally corresponding to your primary and secondary areas of concentration) and consists of written and oral components. The written comprehensive may consist of two research papers, two closed-book or take-home exams, or some combination of these. At least one of the two papers or exams should deal with a core area of linguistic theory. The format of the written examination will be determined by your Advisory Committee on the basis of your areas of concentration. When you pass the written examination, you should proceed to the oral portion of the comprehensive within two weeks. While the written exam format will involve a separate exam for each of the two areas (see below), students following the research paper format may write papers that reflect a combination of their areas of concentration (e.g., sociolinguistics and phonetics, historical linguistics and syntactic theory, etc.). However, the two papers should still indicate breadth of knowledge as well as depth, which could be shown by the use of different research methodologies or by focusing on different languages, for example. Details specific to the different formats of the exam are given below. A. Written comprehensive exam1. research paper format, first paper.
Second Paper
2. Take-home exam format
3. Closed-book exam format
B. Oral comprehensive examThe Doctoral Oral Comprehensive Exam must be announced with the Graduate School, as it is technically a public event. You must contact the Graduate Coordinator's Assistant to announce your Oral Comprehensive Exam two weeks prior to the scheduled event. The oral comprehensive exam lasts for 90 minutes. It will begin with an oral defense of your second research paper (or both the first and second papers if the separate "mini-defense" of the first paper is waived by your committee) or a consideration of your performance on the written exams, but after this, questions may range over any material on the exam reading lists and/or your program of study. Written and oral exams will be graded on the scale High Pass/Pass/Fail. Two passing votes are required to pass each portion of the exam. If you should fail any portion of the exam, you may retake it once, no sooner than two weeks after the first attempt but within one additional semester. If you should fail this portion of the exam a second time, you will be dismissed from the program. Dissertation ProspectusWithin one semester after passing the comprehensive examination, you should submit a dissertation prospectus to your Advisory Committee for approval. The prospectus should propose a problem for a doctoral dissertation, ascertain the originality of the idea with reference to available literature, and demonstrate the availability of means and materials required to solve the problem. The prospectus need not be lengthy, and should not exceed 5,000 words (excluding references). When you, your Major Professor, and your Advisory Committee agree that the prospectus is complete, a copy must be filed with the Department Head. The Head will publish a list of dissertation topics currently in progress in the department for the faculty and students at least once per year, along with the names of the students and their Advisory Committees. Click here for instructions regarding the dissertation prospectus Dissertation and Oral DefenseUpon approval of the prospectus by the Advisory Committee, you will prepare a dissertation. The dissertation is based on original research which makes a significant contribution to knowledge in some area of theoretical and/or applied linguistics. Previous dissertations by students in the department are available for your consideration. You must present a bound copy of the completed dissertation to the department. Theses and dissertations will be otherwise submitted electronically to the Graduate School. Consult the UGA Graduate School Policies and Procedures regarding electronic theses and dissertations. You must contact the Graduate Coordinator Assistant to announce your Oral Comprehensive Exam two weeks prior to the date of the defense. The oral defense of a dissertation must be announced with the Graduate School, as it is technically a public event. When you and you Major Professor agree that the dissertation is complete, it must be circulated to the other members of the Advisory Committee at least three weeks before the date of the defense. The defense itself must be scheduled for at least one week prior to the deadline for submission of the completed thesis to the Graduate School prior to graduation.You will defend your dissertation in an oral examination of approximately 90-120 minutes. Updated: 8/8/2023 Questions?Graduate Coordinators [email protected] Ms. Amy Smoler Graduate Coordinator Assistant [email protected] Support Linguistics at UGAYour donations to the Department of Linguistics will support research and travel opportunities for students and faculty and other initiatives to enhance students' education in linguistics. Please consider joining other friends and alumni who have shown their support by making a gift to our fund . We greatly appreciate your contributions to the success of our programs! EVERY DOLLAR CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEPARTMENT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS AND FACULTY. The Comprehensive ExaminationCandidates for the Ph.D. take the Comprehensive Examination at the end of their third year of study and no later than October 15 of the fourth year of graduate study. Students who enter the Program with a related M.A. degree are expected to take the Comprehensive Examination no later than the end of the third year. Purpose of the Comprehensive Examination The Comprehensive Examination, based on three topics (see the definition of a topic below), serves to determine the candidate's competence in a primary concentration and one or more secondary concentrations, as well as in critical, theoretical, or philosophical methods relevant to and bibliographic skills in Comparative Literature and the candidate's areas of specialization. Comprehensive Examination Topics The student develops topics in close consultation with the chair and members of the Comprehensive Examination Committee. A topic is a conceptual issue of considerable breadth that touches on or has implications for study in more than one linguistic and cultural tradition. The purpose of the individual topic is to permit the exploration of a critical problem within a broad spectrum of literary, disciplinary and historical expressions. More than one critical approach to individual literary texts should be reflected among the three topics; the three topics can also be interdisciplinary and should include among them at least three literary, cultural, or linguistic traditions as well as at least two distinct historical periods. Students intending to teach in national literature departments should ensure that among them the topics cover that national literature. The purpose of each individual topic is to permit the exploration of a critical problem with a literary-historical, interdisciplinary, and/or theoretical focus, using appropriate primary and secondary sources from more than one linguistic or cultural tradition. Critical problems might include translation and interpreting, gender, film and media, word and image, music or other arts, postcolonialism, migration, folklore, and transnational and world literature. Candidates are encouraged to relate theoretical issues to close textual analysis, but the overall examination should not be devoted to developing a single critical approach. Candidates should formulate topics that will inform future publications, teaching, and potentially the dissertation with a concern for their potential as conference papers, a dissertation area, and course syllabi. The three topics as a whole should reflect a broad historical range and engage materials in three language areas. Texts read as primary material for a topic must also be read in the original languages. For each topic, the student submits for the committee’s approval a bibliography of approximately 20-25 primary texts and an additional list with an appropriate range of secondary texts. Selection of the Comprehensive Examination Committee By the end of the second year of study, the student selects (from among the faculty of the Program in Comparative Literature) the chairperson of his or her Comprehensive Examination Committee, who then becomes the student's primary advisor. With the approval of the Graduate Program Director, a co-chair may be appointed from among the Associated Faculty of the Program. By the beginning of the spring semester of the G3 year, the committee chair and student select the rest of the committee, which consists of at least four members of the graduate faculty: at least two from the Program of Comparative Literature and at least one from another program. The fourth member may come from either inside or outside the Program. It is the responsibility of the student to stay in close and regular contact with committee members while preparing to take the Comprehensive Examination. You are expected to meet periodically with your four examiners; ideally, you should plan to have at least one meeting every two or three weeks with one or another committee member. Some faculty members prefer to meet regularly with students (e.g., every other week), while others may prefer to meet with you only two or three times before the exam. If you find that you need to meet more frequently than a particular faculty member has proposed, you should be certain to request more meetings. Be bold; different students have different backgrounds and thus different needs, and faculty members might not always be aware of your circumstances. Should you experience any difficulties meeting with your examiners, please be in touch with the GPD as soon as possible. Topic Rationales The student submits a rationale for each of their three topics. Each rationale should be no more than 800-1200 words and should explain the scope and aims of the topic, as well as how it fits into the student’s wider program of study and career goals. Topic rationales and bibliographies must be approved by the committee. It may be helpful for students to think of these rationales as having the scope and breadth of a course syllabus on the topic. Sample rationales can be consulted; please contact the GPD and your advisor. Approval of the Topics by the Comprehensive Examination Committee When the student has selected the three topics, drafted the rationales and bibliographies, and secured the approval of individual committee members, the student arranges an informal meeting of the Comprehensive Examination Committee. This meeting is best understood as an opportunity for dialogue between the student and their committee members where additional comments or recommendations for primary or secondary texts may be offered before the examination. The final versions of the bibliographies and secondary source lists and any topic proposals approved by the committee are to be submitted to the Graduate Program Director no fewer than 30 days before the Examination. These become part of the student’s permanent file. Examination All three topics are evaluated by both written and oral examination. Successful completion of this examination allows the candidate to proceed to the dissertation. The Written Examination is a take-home exam. Students write three essays, one on each topic (2500-3300 words each), within a seven-day period agreed upon by the committee. Questions are released to the student at 9 AM on day 1 by the Committee Chair and the essays are returned by the student to the whole committee via email by 5 PM on day 7. Note that late exam submissions will not be accepted and will result in a failing grade. Should an emergency arise, the student should contact the Chair and GPD immediately. The Oral Examination is a two-hour examination that takes place not more than one week after the written exam. The Comprehensive Exams Committee examines the student for approximately two hours on the candidate’s three topics. The oral examination also includes a review of the candidate’s achievement in critical, theoretical, or philosophical methods as well as bibliographic skills in Comparative Literature and related disciplines in the candidate’s area of specialization. At the conclusion of the oral examination, the Committee meets behind closed doors and takes a vote to determine whether the candidate has passed or failed. The Committee Chair makes known to the candidate the decision immediately after the examiners have conferred at the conclusion of the oral exam. The Committee Chair, at that time, provides the candidate with an explanation of the Committee’s decision. In the event of a negative decision by the examiners, the student’s committee consults with the Graduate Program Director during the week following the examination. The Graduate Program Director thereupon informs the student either that permission to take the examination a second and final time has been granted, or that termination of graduate studies is advised. The M.A. en Passant Upon passing the Comprehensive examination, Ph.D. candidates who did not enter the Ph.D. program with an M.A. degree are granted an M.A. on request. The student must initiate the request for this degree. Students entering with a related M.A. may request the M.A. en passant only if they have transferred fewer than six credits (two courses) toward their M.A. requirements. Book Navigation Links
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Comprehensive Exam RequirementsTo be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree and begin work on a dissertation, students must first pass comprehensive exams in (1) Theory in Criminology and Criminal Justice and (2) Research Methods and Statistics. To take a comprehensive exam, students must first obtain the written or e-mailed approval of their major professor, certifying that they are prepared. The professor’s approval must be submitted to the graduate coordinator at least two weeks before the exam. Both comprehensive exams must be passed within four years of admission to the Ph.D program. A doctoral student must be registered for the preliminary exam during the semester in which they complete the attempt (up to two attempts possible for each exam). Each exam attempt will be graded and noted on the student’s transcript as a Pass (P) or Fail (F). If a student fails the preliminary examination before being admitted to candidacy, a re-examination may be offered by the student’s supervisory committee or other relevant decision making body within each department or unit, per that department or unit’s doctoral student handbook. The Academic Dean’s office should be notified of the outcome of any preliminary exam attempt. Students can take the preliminary examination for admission to candidacy only two times. A second failure on the preliminary exam makes the student ineligible to continue in the degree program. The second attempt at the preliminary exam shall occur no sooner than six full class weeks after the results of the first attempt are shared with the student. For the purpose of this policy, a “full class week” is defined as a week with five days during which classes are held at FSU. Students must be registered separately for their first and second attempt, if necessary within the same semester, and must receive either a “pass” or a “fail” grade for each attempt. An exception request regarding the timing of the re-examination can be submitted for consideration to the Academic Dean’s Office by either the student or the supervisory committee. Students who allege that academic regulations and/or procedures were improperly applied for the re-examination of their preliminary exam may have their grievances addressed through the general academic appeals process. Students must also take and pass a dissertation Prospectus Development course under the supervision of their major professor. This is a Directed Individual Study course (CCJ 5981r) titled Prospectus Development , graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Students are admitted to candidacy upon passing both the Theory and Methods comprehensive exams, and they may take dissertation hours at the same time as the Prospectus Development course. Exam Administration and GradingThe exams will each be created and graded by a faculty committee. The Theory and Methods Exams will each be graded by a standing College exam committee, the Comprehensive Exam in Theory Committee and the Comprehensive Exam in Methods and Statistics Committee, respectively. These committees will typically be composed of five College faculty members, appointed annually by the dean. The Theory and Methods Exam will be offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. They are generally scheduled in early November and in late March to early April. The exam dates vary depending on dates for national professional conferences. There is generally about a two-week turn-around time between exam completion and the results announcement. The results will ordinarily be communicated orally to the student by the major professor and later in writing from the dean. The chair of each exam committee will certify the exam results in a letter or e-mail to the dean, with a copy to the graduate coordinator. Exam results are reported to the Office of the Registrar for the student’s permanent record. Theory and Methods Exam ConditionsEach student will take exams at the FSU testing center. Students may not bring books, notes, computers, computer files, or any other study aids into the exam room. Exams last eight hours. Although it is expected that most students will type their answers on a computer using word processing software, accommodations can be made for those who find this difficult. Accommodations for physical or learning disabilities that have been certified by the FSU Student Disability Resource Center will also be made if the accommodations are approved in advance by the relevant exam committee. When a student takes possession of the exam at the start of the exam period, the student is considered to have made an attempt at taking the exam, regardless of whether he or she completes the exam, hands in any answers, or remains for the full exam period. At that point, the exam can have one of only two outcomes for the student: Pass or Fail. However, should extraordinary circumstances beyond the student’s control arise during the exam period, the relevant exam committee may take these circumstances into account, and decide that the student’s efforts did not constitute an attempt that would count against the student. Related Downloads
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The comprehensive exam consists of the preparation and presentation of a dissertation research proposal. When should I take my comprehensive exam? You must schedule your exam within six months of successful completion of the preliminary exam and at least three semesters prior to the dissertation defense.
The comprehensive examination and the dissertation are the final projects in your doctoral journey. These projects allow learners to demonstrate their skills as independent scholars and researchers. In a real sense, the entire range of academic preparation up to this point has been preparation for this. Between the conclusion of Track 3 of the ...
Student Guide: Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. The comprehensive examination is a critical part of the GPIS PhD program. You should not view it simply as a bureaucratic hurdle to pass over on your way to the dissertation. Instead, before embarking on narrowly focused dissertation work, the comprehensive examination establishes that you have ...
Unlike Comprehensive Exams 1 and 2, Comprehensive Exam 3's written portion is not in response to provided questions. Comprehensive Exam 3 explicitly prepares The Student to write a dissertation. It consists of a 20-25-page dissertation proposal, including detailed prospectus, primary texts, and critical sources, followed by an oral defense of ...
The exact content varies by graduate program and by degree: master's and doctoral comprehensive exams have similarities but differ in detail, depth, and expectations. Depending on the graduate program and degree, comps could test course knowledge, knowledge of your proposed research area, and general knowledge in the field.
As you work on revising your Comprehensive Exam, the reviewers recommend the following in addition to the feedback provided on the rubric: Reference Pan (2017) Exemplar #5 and look at examples of literature reviews (chapter 2) in dissertations from your field.; Pay attention to writing at the paragraph level and ensure that topic sentences are clear. . Ensure that all sentences are on top
The comprehensive examination is administered by the Philosophy Department. The purpose of the comprehensive exam is to help students develop breadth and depth in areas relevant to their chosen areas of research. The historical and systematic reading lists contain resources that can aid students in developing a dissertation prospectus.
dissertation. Students comprehensive exam committee members in the Sue & ill Gross School of Nursing will review and evaluate the quality and acceptability of the exam. The comprehensive exam consists of two questions that will be developed by each students PhD supervisor(s) in collaboration with the students comprehensive exam committee members.
Here are 14 steps to prepare: 1. Start Early. The best way to prepare for just about anything in life is to start early. When it comes to comprehensive exams, this is especially important since graduate programs require you to have a committee and a set date, as well as no shortage of paperwork to be dealt with. 2.
Comprehensive PhD Examination. 1. General information: Your comprehensive exam will test your knowledge in areas of specialization appropriate for your anticipated dissertation topic. The exam will take place in the second or third year, depending on whether you are entering with a BA or MA and, if the latter, how many coursework credits have been applied from the MA.
The comprehensive oral examination is distinguished from the oral defense of the dissertation proposal. The oral exam must take place within 4 weeks of the completion of the comprehensive examinations. This exam will be scheduled for two hours and will take the form of a rigorous discussion between the student and the student's oral ...
writing stage of a field-based dissertation (i.e., Program Evaluation or Decision Analysis) or traditional dissertation. II. Prerequisites to the Comprehensive Examination: 1. Candidates may take the Comprehensive Examination only after they have passed the Portfolio Evaluation and completed most of their coursework. 2.
The comprehensive exam should therefore bear a concrete relation to the dissertation and the work—that is, the research methods and practices—that will be required to complete it. ADVERTISEMENT
The PhD Comprehensive Examination and Dissertation Handbook is intended to describe the policies and procedures regarding the Comprehensive Examination and Dissertation that all PhD students at the Jefferson College of Population Health (JCPH) complete. It is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change from
The comprehensive exam has both a written and oral component and is usually taken after two years of coursework is completed. The written and oral exam evaluates students' mastery of their specialization and the counselor education and supervision core curricular areas. The exam can include but is not limited to, content from core doctoral ...
Comprehensive Exams. Students enrolled in a graduate program may be tested by a comprehensive examination to determine the student's knowledge and skills in a general subject area or a concentration. The comprehensive examination date will be announced by the departmental graduate committee chairperson at the beginning of the semester.
ve Exam FormatThe Comprehensive Exam format changed in 2017. The following section and link provides a detailed des. ription of the new guidelines and expectations for the exams:The c. sive exam is a take home exam consisting of two parts.Pa. t IMethods analysis of an article (5-7 pages double spaced). The focus of the methods analysis.
B. Oral comprehensive exam. The Doctoral Oral Comprehensive Exam must be announced with the Graduate School, as it is technically a public event. You must contact the Graduate Coordinator's Assistant to announce your Oral Comprehensive Exam two weeks prior to the scheduled event. The oral comprehensive exam lasts for 90 minutes.
Examination. All three topics are evaluated by both written and oral examination. Successful completion of this examination allows the candidate to proceed to the dissertation. The Written Examination is a take-home exam. Students write three essays, one on each topic (2500-3300 words each), within a seven-day period agreed upon by the committee.
The May Exam is strongly recommended as it allows students to begin developing their dissertation proposals during the summer before they begin teaching. Format The PhD Comprehensive Exam consists of two components: A revised course essay; A two-hour oral exam covering one major field and two minor fields; Exam Committee
writing stage of a field-based dissertation (i.e., Program Evaluation or Decision Analysis) or traditional dissertation. II. Prerequisites to the Comprehensive Examination: 1. Candidates may take the Comprehensive Examination only after they have passed the Portfolio Evaluation and completed most of their coursework. 2.
Comprehensive Exam Requirements. To be admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree and begin work on a dissertation, students must first pass comprehensive exams in (1) Theory in Criminology and Criminal Justice and (2) Research Methods and Statistics. To take a comprehensive exam, students must first obtain the written or e-mailed approval ...