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Rules for Comprehensive Examinations in the History
Department
Prerequisites
1) The student will have completed all coursework and language exams by the end
of the semester in which comprehensive exams are taken.
2) The dissertation committee will be formed and Form D-1 filed at least 60 days
in advance of the comprehensive examinations.
3) Form H-1, listing 3 faculty, one of whom will be chair, one of whom (except
the chair) may be from outside the dept., who will form the
student’s comprehensive exam committee and examine the student, must be
filed at least 60 days before the exam.
4) The dissertation and comp committees and chairs are chosen by mutual agreement
between student and faculty
5) Exams will be scheduled by the chair of the student’s comprehensives
committee, who whenever possible will also be the chair of the
student’s dissertation committee. Written Exams may take place at any time,
as long as they take place at least 28 days before the last day of classes in
that semester. The chair is responsible for all scheduling issues and bureaucratic
formalities
Structure of Written
Portion of Exam
1) There will be 3 questions. Responses to the questions will be written over
a 72-hour period
2) Each committee member is solely responsible for preparing the student to write
the question in their field. Faculty are free to consult each other on reading
lists and questions. All questions will be graded by their author and one other
faculty member, chosen by the chair of the comprehensive examination comittee.
In exceptional circumstances, the DGS may permit a single grader. If one grader
passes an exam and the other fails it, the DGS will appoint a 3rd grader to decide
the issue
3) There will be a total of 3 questions on the comprehensive examination. Students
will write 2 questions in their primary cultural area of concentration. 1 of
these questions will be in the same chronological period as the student's dissertation
topic, and the second will cover another chronological period or theme, different
from the dissertation topic. The third question will be on a comparative field.
Questions may be chronologically and/or topically organized.
4) The written portion of the comprehensive exam must be graded within 2 weeks
by the faculty concerned.
5) Students must pass all sections in order to pass the exam.
6) Students who fail only 1 question may retake the exam within one month. Students
who fail 2 or more parts must wait until the next
semester to retake.
7) 2 failures will result in expulsion.
Oral Portion of Exam
1) Orals will be held within 2 weeks of the written exam (including
make-up exams).
2) Oral examiners will be those listed in H-1. Student may request the presence
of the DGS, or of the department chair if the DGS is on the
committee.
3) Orals will last no more than 3 hours
4) Following the exam, the committee meets to decide grades of Pass/Fail in each
field. If the student passes all fields, the committee will decide on Pass with
Distinction grade
5) A student who fails one or more fields on the oral exam must retake the exam
within two semesters of the original exam. Failure to do this or to pass on the
second try results in expulsion from the program.
Dissertation Proposal Hearing and Comprehensive
Examinations
The dissertation proposal hearing will take place within the week of the oral
portion of the comprehensive examination.
All particular field rules
for comprehensive exams are hereby abolished.
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