Graduate Info
Doctoral Comprehensive Examination
Procedures
Before admission to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, a student must pass the Comprehensive Examination, comprising written examinations in the major and minor subjects, followed by a joint oral examination. The Comprehensive Examination is intended to test the student's general knowledge of fundamentals in both the major and minor areas. The student is required to display a broad knowledge of the chosen field of study, and to evince sufficient depth of understanding in specialized areas to pursue original research.
The Doctoral Committee
A student seeking candidacy and the student's Research Director or Major Advisor propose a committee of at least five faculty members who have agreed, after consultation, to serve on the student's Doctoral Committee. The members must hold the rank of Assistant Professor or above in the University of Arizona faculty. (Exceptions, such as visiting faculty from other universities, require prior approval by the Dean of the Graduate College.) At the time the oral part of the examination is scheduled, these same Doctoral Committee members will be proposed by the Department to the Dean of the Graduate College for appointment as oral examiners.
At least three members, including the Research Director or Major Advisor, are from the major department, and at least two members are from the minor department. The Research Director acts as Chair of the Doctoral Committee.
The Written Comprehensive Examination in the Major
Whenever the student, in consultation with the Research Director or Major Advisor, is sufficiently prepared to proceed with the Comprehensive Examination, the written portion is prepared and administered by the Doctoral Committee. The student should meet with the major members of the Doctoral Committee to request preparation and scheduling of the written examination. At this meeting, the student seeks Committee members' expectations concerning the breadth of subject and depth of knowledge expected in the written examination. The exact form and content of the written major examination is determined by the major members of the Doctoral Committee. The examination may consist of multiple parts held over several days, or may consist of a paper or papers prepared by the student. The Committee informs the student ahead of time of the examination format and schedule, along with directions for any preliminary reading or written work necessary. The Research Director coordinates the writing and administration of the examination, presides over the evaluation of the results, and informs the student of the outcome. After Committee evaluation, a copy of the written examination, including evaluation comments by the Committee, is given to the student, and a copy is retained in the Department files. The student is permitted to advance to the oral part of the examination if the major members of the Doctoral Committee deem that the overall written performance is satisfactory enough to warrant a searching oral examination.
The Written Comprehensive Examination in the Minor
The minor written part of the Comprehensive Examination should be taken when essentially all minor course work has been completed. At the University of Arizona, the format, scheduling and administration of the written Comprehensive examination in the minor area is entirely within the purview of the minor department. Some departments schedule regular periodic administrations of a common minor written examination. In other departments, the minor members of the student's Doctoral Committee write and set the written minor examination after consultation with the student. The student should meet with the appropriate graduate officer or advisor in the minor department regarding examination procedures. After administering the minor written comprehensive exam, the minor department informs the student of the outcome, and provides evaluation of the minor written examination.A satisfactory outcome of both major and minor written examinations will allow the student to proceed to the oral examination.
The Oral Comprehensive Examination
The oral portion of the Comprehensive Examination must take place within two semesters (not counting summer semesters) of completion of the major and minor written examinations. The student and/or Research Director arranges a mutually agreeable examination time with both major and minor Doctoral Committee members. All Doctoral Committee members must agree to be present prior to the start time of the examination, and to be present during the entire examination a period of at least two hours but no more than three.
To schedule the oral, the student applies to the Graduate Degree Certification Office at least three weeks before the proposed date; the application indicates the time and place, and lists all members of the proposed examining committee after obtaining their final agreement. Upon application approval, the examiners are officially appointed by the Dean of the Graduate College. The Graduate College assigns a Committee on Graduate Studies (CGS) Representative, who will preside at the oral examination, and notifies all participants of the time and place of examination.
The oral examination is held in private, with only the examinee, Committee and CGS Representative present. The student is briefly dismissed while the CGS Representative and Committee members discuss the examination procedure. The CGS Representative is a non-voting presiding officer for the examination. He or she assures that conduct of the examination is consistent with Graduate College policies, administers the ballot, and reports the result to the Graduate College. By Department custom, the student's Research Director or Advisor acts as Chair of the oral examination during questioning of the student. The Chair will inform the Committee members and presiding officer of the rota of questioning, scheduling of any recesses, and any other procedural matters affecting the conduct of questioning. All members of the Committee must agree to these matters before the examinee is invited to begin.
After being summoned, the student begins with a short presentation of his or her current work. This presentation should not exceed 30 minutes, excluding time for questioning during or after the presentation. Questioning by Committee members occurs both during and after the student presentation. After the presentation, the Chair provides an opportunity for each Committee member to pursue a line of questioning. There may be more than one such questioning round, and one or more short recesses, at the discretion of the examining Committee. Time spent in recess from the examination is not counted as part of the examination time.
At the conclusion of the questioning, the examinee is asked to leave the room during Committee deliberation. A full discussion of the student's performance ensues. Both major and minor members participate in evaluating student performance. Performance evaluation must be based upon the student's work on both the major and minor written examinations, and upon the student's responses during oral questioning. The final determination of the Comprehensive Examination outcome "Pass"; or "Fail" is based on all parts of the examination, and is based on the student's performance on the whole examination, not simply in one area of specialization.
The outcome of the examination is determined by secret ballot, administered by the CGS Representative. Trial or "straw" ballots are permitted during the period of discussion and evaluation; however, there is only one official ballot that is marked upon the ballot forms designated by the CGS Representative. During the official balloting, all Committee members must vote "Pass" or "Fail" (an attempted abstention must be recorded as a vote of "Fail"). The CGS Representative does not cast a vote. All votes count equally. Two votes of "Fail" will result in failure of the Comprehensive Examination.
The "Pass" or "Fail" result is reported to the Graduate College by the CGS Representative, over the signature of all Committee members.
Should the student fail, the Committee must also make a recommendation to the Graduate Council concerning re-examination of the student. The Committee may recommend that there be no second exam, which eliminates the possibility of candidacy for the degree. They may recommend re-examination on both the written and oral parts of the exam. Or they may recommend re-examination on only the oral part of the exam. A period of at least four months must elapse before any re-examination.
The student is either passed or failed unconditionally. For either outcome,
the Committee may recommend other measures, such as further study or attention
to weak areas, that the Committee deems appropriate.