Students are strongly encouraged to complete their comprehensive exams by the end of the fifth semester and are required to be completed by the end of the sixth semester. (Some faculty prefer students to complete the prospectus in the fifth semester and take exams in the sixth semester; please consult your advisor.)
The Comprehensive Exams include a written component and an oral portion.
Written component:
- One major field; an 8,000-word historiographical essay based on the major field is to be submitted to the Graduate Registrar at least two weeks prior to the oral component of the exams. With the approval of the examining faculty member, the student may submit a course syllabus in the major field as a substitute for the historiographical paper.
- Two or three minor fields; a syllabus for a lecture course in each minor field is to be submitted to the Graduate Registrar at least two weeks prior to the oral component of the exams.
Oral component:
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The oral portion of the comprehensive exams last for two hours.
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For those students who choose two minor fields, the major field will be examined for 60 minutes and the minor fields will be examined for 30 minutes each.
- For those students who choose three minor fields, each field will be examined for 30 minutes.
Students are expected to submit a Comprehensive Exam Statement of Intention Form to the Graduate Registrar in the term prior to that in which they will be examined. The form can be found on the History website or i
n the office of the Graduate Registrar. It is the student’s responsibility to submit the completed form before the end of the term prior to that in which the student will take exams.
It is strongly recommended that all examiners be physically present when you take your oral exams. However, if that is not possible, one or more examiners may participate by video conference. However, it is required that there be two faculty members present in the room during any exam.
The form to certify the exams is available on the History website or in the office of the Graduate Registrar. It is the student’s responsibility to submit the completed form, signed by the examiners to the Graduate Registrar after completion of the exams.
Once you have completed your exams, you are encouraged to share your reading lists with the Graduate Registrar for the reference of other students.
