Written Comprehensive Examinations
Timelines
The comprehensives are usually sat by the end of the second year of the program. Both written and oral portions must be completed at least six months before the final oral examination of the thesis. The written comprehensive examinations may be taken over a period not to exceed eight weeks.
Fields
A PhD student in History writes three comprehensive examinations, one in each of three fields chosen in consultation with his/her supervisor and committee. The fields should be decided as early as possible, and must be submitted to the Graduate Committee for approval no later than the end of the student’s first year in the program. The student should begin to prepare for the comprehensive examinations from the start of his/her program. The three comprehensive fields are as follows:
- General field in the history of the geographical area covered by the thesis research, normally in a roughly 200-year period, depending on the generally accepted periodizations of that field.
- Special field encompassing the thesis topic (this field should be more broadly defined than the thesis itself).
- Thematic, theoretical, methodological, and/or comparative field. This field should include material from both the geographical area identified in the “general field” and other geographical areas. It may also examine theoretical, methodological, or comparative issues more generally.
Examiners
The written examination in each field is set and assessed by at least two members of the Department (except in cases when it is necessary to draw upon someone in another department). Those who set and assess the written comprehensive examinations are usually members of the supervisory committee, to which other faculty members are added when appropriate.
Reading Lists
Each field will have a reading list of 50-60 books or the equivalent in articles. This list is to be created by the two committee members who will set and assess the examination, working in conjunction with the student and the committee as a whole. Overlapping readings are strongly discouraged except where this is clearly demanded.
Format
There are two formats permissible for the written comprehensives: take-home examinations and on-campus examinations. The student and supervisory committee members should discuss the format to be chosen for each field. In the event of a disagreement, the format of the special field is decided by the supervisor, and the format for the other two fields by those who will set and assess the examinations, with the supervisor casting the deciding vote if necessary. In the case of disagreement between co-supervisors, the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) casts the deciding vote. At least one of the examinations must be in the on-campus format. These decisions should be communicated to the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) at least three weeks prior to the sitting of the first written comprehensive examination, and preferably much earlier.
Take-home examination - In a take-home examination, the student answers from one to three broad questions, the exact number to be determined beforehand by the same procedures as the decision about the general format. The student picks these questions from a list that will contain at least one more question than the number to be answered. The student has seven consecutive days in which to submit the examination answers to the Graduate Secretary, who will make copies for all the members of the examining committee and place the originals in the student’s file. Take-home examination answers for each field may not exceed thirty double-spaced pages (10,000 words).
On-campus examination - An on-campus examination is written over a period of three hours and is closed book. The rules about the number of questions are the same as those for the take-home examination. After completing the examination, the student submits it to the Graduate Secretary, who will make copies for all members of the examining committee and place the originals in the student’s file.
Criteria for evaluation
In order to pass the written comprehensive examinations, students must demonstrate: (1) breadth of knowledge in each field; (2) knowledge of the scholarly literature on all questions asked; and (3) the ability to integrate knowledge acquired through course work and extensive independent reading.
Assessment
The two assessors of each written examination will make one of three assessments: (1) pass, (2) reserve judgement to the oral examination, or (3) fail. The results are to be communicated to the student in writing.
Process in case of failure - If the results include an assessment of failure by both assessors in a single field, the oral comprehensive examination will be cancelled. In this event, the examining committee will either require the student to withdraw from the program or permit a second attempt. If a second attempt is permitted, the normal procedure is that after an interval of at least five months the student will write a second examination containing new questions in the failed field(s). If both assessors of a given field fail the examination a second time, the candidate will be required to withdraw from the program.