Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination  

All Ph.D. candidates must pass a Comprehensive Examination and a Thesis Proposal Examination. The Comprehensive Examination occurs in three parts: 1) preparation of one written essay, prepared by the student; 2) an oral presentation of the essay to the committee; and 3) oral questioning linked to the student’s essay by the examination committee.  

The purpose of the Comprehensive Examination is to ascertain that the candidate has sufficient mastery of those subdisciplines appropriate to their research area, and to relate the specialization of their research to the larger context of these subdisciplines. For detailed information on the departmental procedures, requirements, and evaluation criteria, please refer to the Comprehensive Examination Guidelines. 

For detailed information regarding the general regulations for graduate students, please visit section 4.8 in the Graduate Studies section of the University Calendar.