Lifelong Education Administration and Policy

Adult Education

Graduate Handbook

Guide to Doctoral Comprehensive Examinations

Purpose: It is a long-standing tradition in universities that, before embarking on dissertation research, doctoral students demonstrate their academic preparedness by taking comprehensive examinations. In the Adult Education program, the comprehensive examination consists of a take-home written examination followed by an oral defense of the written work. Students must pass both the written and oral portions of the comprehensive examination in order to continue with their doctoral studies. The topics addressed in the comprehensive examination are usually congruent with the student's planned dissertation research. The examination itself is constructed by the student's major professor with questions provided by members of the student's Doctoral Advisory Committee. The student is actively involved in crafting the examination questions.

Major Steps:

Step 1. With the major professor, the student selects the dissertation topic which, of course, can affect the program of study.

Step 2. With the major professor, the student selects the Doctoral Advisory Committee. The student then invites the participation of the selected faculty members.

Step 3. With the major professor, the student selects the topic areas for the comprehensive examination. Normally, there are four examination questions: One dealing with adult education foundations, one with theoretical issues, one with practical issues, and the other with methodological issues. Each of the areas should advance the dissertation. For each area, one or more members of the committee are selected to draft a question.

Step 4. The major professor notifies each member of the committee about the up-coming comprehensive examination and asks each of those selected to submit a draft question to the major professor, usually within two weeks' time. Normally, the student meets with individual committee members to discuss possible questions and arranges a date for the oral defense. After such meetings, committee members prepare draft questions and submit them directly to the major professor. The student does not receive copies of the draft questions at this time.

Step 5. The major professor prepares the examination questions, modifying the draft questions if necessary.

Step 6. The major professor delivers the examination questions to the student, who is given 30 days to write the responses.

Step 7. The student delivers copies of the completed examination document directly to individual committee members by 5pm on the exam due date. Alternately, if so directed by the major professor, five copies of the examination document may be delivered to the major professor for distribution. Each committee member reads the examination document. A minimum of two weeks must be allowed for reading the examination.

Step 8. Each member of the committee casts a pass/fail vote on the written examination, using the "Decision Form" or some other method of communication with the major professor. If two or more committee members find the written examination unsatisfactory, the oral defense is canceled and the committee decides how to proceed at that time.

Step 9. An oral defense of the examination is held (usually two weeks to one month after the examination document is distributed). During the oral defense, the committee critiques the written responses, asking the student to expand or clarify the responses as necessary.

Step 10. At the end of the oral defense, the student is asked to leave the examination room while the committee makes a "pass/fail" decision based on a confidential vote. If more than one committee member decides that the oral defense was unsatisfactory, the committee decides how to proceed at that time. (Note: The examination document itself is not "graded" in the normal sense. Although individual committee members might choose to return the written examination document with comments or editorial markings, usually to assist students in preparing their prospectuses, this is not required, and thus, students should not expect it.)

Additional Information:

The Timing of the Examination. The examination may be taken any time after students complete the core courses in their programs of study. However, it is recommended that students complete a substantial portion of their research methods courses before undertaking the examination. Other than that, the examination is scheduled based on discussion between the student and the major professor. Students should be certain to contact their major professors at least two months before they would like to begin their examinations.
Format and Length. The examination document should consist of the examination itself as prepared by the major professor and separate, coherent, narrative responses to the four questions. The four essays should be in APA style and should be packaged as a single, consecutively paginated document ending with a single reference list containing the citations used in all four essays. The text of the total examination document must not exceed 60 typed, double-spaced pages (not counting references or cover materials). Appendices or other attachments to the examination document are not permitted. One-inch margins should be used and the type size should not be smaller than 12-point. Students should be careful to allocate these 60 pages reasonably (though not always evenly) among the four essays. If a student submits an examination paper more than 60 pages in length, decisions about the written examination will be based solely on the first 60 pages of the document.
Resources for the Examination. In preparing their responses, students should feel free to use any learning resources they deem appropriate. However, students should not attempt to discuss specific comprehensive examination questions with anyone. In cases where clarification of a specific question is required, students should contact the Major Professor. Regardless of the resources used, the final written product must represent a student's unassisted work. Prior to the submission of the examination (or the extended editing period described below), no one except the student should read or edit the written responses for any reason whatsoever.
Extended Editing Period. A student may petition the major professor for a two-week extended editing period immediately following the thirty-day-long, written examination. This option will allow students (particularly students for whom English is not their first language or students with special needs) to perfect the language grammar of the examination without altering the substance of the draft responses. The procedures for the editing period are as follows:
1. The student requests an extended editing period during an early planning meeting with her/his major professor (Steps 2 through 3, above). The major professor, with committee input as necessary, decides whether or not the editing period will be granted.
2. The student prepares a complete draft of the examination document at the end of the regular thirty-day examination period. As noted above, no one should be asked to critique or edit any reponses prior to the submission of the draft. The draft should be complete in every way; it should reflect the entire substance of the examination, and once it is completed and submitted, no material may be added to the examination document during the extended editing period.
3. Once the draft has been prepared, the student must submit one copy to the major professor (labeled "Unedited Examination") at the same time it is given to an editor. The major professor will hold this copy on file.
4. Two weeks after submitting the draft, the student must distribute copies of both the final version of the examination document and the unedited draft to each committee member. This distribution should be handled as described in step 7.
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