Student Guide: The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination
Introduction
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 the broad familiarity and expertise with the field that is the mark of a doctoral education. It is the checkpoint that confirms that you are ready to pass from being a student to a scholar. The process of preparing for the comprehensive exam should help you organize and reflect on the variety of things you have learned over the past few years. While to this point, each of your seminars has been a distinct learning experience, you now can think about how your interdisciplinary work in international studies fits together. Preparation for the comprehensive exam should help you become better able to integrate and utilize the knowledge you have gained in your graduate study. It is also critically important for embarking on the dissertation. The best dissertations are effectively connected to the central questions and literature of the field. Unless you have developed an integrated overview of the field you will not have the necessary foundation for dissertation work.
Tips
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS
This examination will be conducted in a BAL Computer lab. In an emergency, you must inform the proctor immediately.
- You may take short breaks (5-10 minutes) as needed
- You are not permitted to leave the building under any circumstance
- Food and beverages should be consumed during the exam
- Save your work often on the flash drive provided
- If any problems occur, notify the proctor immediately
- The examination is closed book and no notes or other aids including cell phone are allowed
- You will be given a blue book, pen, and pencil for writing notes
- Once the exam begins the computer browsers will be locked down
- You must sign and return the honor pledge provided
The ODU Honor Pledge will be strictly enforced, and you will be asked to sign off on this pledge on the date of the exam:
I pledge to support the Honor System of Old Dominion University. I will refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member of the academic community it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violations of the Honor Code. I will report to a hearing if summoned.
~Honor Pledge
On the day of the exam arrive 5-10 minutes early to log into the computer and be ready to start promptly at 8:30 a.m. when the exam questions are distributed.
You will receive the exam questions, a flash drive, a blue book for notes and the honor pledge to sign and return to the proctor. Use the flash drive to save your work and give to the proctor at the end of the exam.
The examination consists of two parts.
Part 1 - questions will be on your MAJOR concentration
Part 2 - questions will be on your MINOR concentration
On both days you must answer TWO out of five questions. The questions are written broadly, but your essays must remain explicitly responsive to what is asked; simply referencing texts is not sufficient. Time is ample and running out of time is not an option. Ending early is also not advised. The examination will conclude at 4:30 p.m. and all answers must be saved on the flash drive and turned in.
Guidelines to Answering Questions
(These are the instructions that come with the exam)
- There will be five questions. You must answer two.
- The exam lasts a total of eight hours. Allocate your time accordingly and make sure that each question has a concluding section.
- Also make sure that you:
- answer the questions as they are raised and not as you wish they had been raised
b. illustrate your answer with appropriate empirical examples
c. cite relevant sources
d. make proper references to important interpretative debates, when appropriate
- answer the questions as they are raised and not as you wish they had been raised
- Your answers will be reviewed in terms of:
- how effectively you address each of the questions
b. how well you know and manage your facts
c. how soundly you handle and cite the literature
d. how well you have developed and organized your argument
e. the quality of your writing
- how effectively you address each of the questions
- Failure to pass the exam may include, but is not limited to, the following shortcomings:
- errors of fact
b. misattribution of arguments in text and/or citation
c. spurious citation of literature
d. presentation of answer in bullet point format
e. failure to develop coherent argument
- errors of fact