The comprehensive exam is an oral exam taken after students have satisfactorily completed all course work requirements in their approved plan of study. To initiate the exam process, the student meets with the advisor to prepare a memorandum, which has to be approved by the entire supervisory committee, to be forwarded to the associate dean for research and graduate studies requesting the comprehensive exam and the appointment of an exam committee. The exam committee consists of the doctoral supervisory committee plus any outside examiners considered appropriate. The requesting memorandum should contain a list of all courses taken by the student that form the plan of study for the PhD, a one-page description of the intended area of research, and a reading list on which the student will be examined. The reading list should include articles or books that cover the fundamentals, state-of-the-art knowledge, and tools needed to perform research in the intended area. This exam is to be taken at a designated place on campus.

The objective of the comprehensive exam is to allow the exam committee to assess the student’s readiness to complete doctoral research in an area of concentration. The result of the comprehensive exam is a grade of pass or fail with recommendations for removing any deficiencies. Students must pass the comprehensive exam before being advanced to candidacy, i.e., passing the dissertation proposal exam. The comprehensive exam must be attempted for the first time no later than one year after completing all course work requirements.

Students who fail the comprehensive exam may request reexamination within 60 days of receiving notice of the exam result. The request should be made in writing to the associate dean. A student may request a new exam in a different format if the intended area of research has changed, but the request must comply with the rules specified above. If the student fails again or does not request reexamination within 60 days, the student will be dismissed from the program. Appeals on any of the two attempts must be submitted in writing to the associate dean within 15 days of the date the decision was communicated to the student.