WKU History Graduate Program

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Guidelines for Comprehensive Examinations

The written and oral comprehensive examinations must be completed in the final semester by all students (both thesis and non-thesis) in the History M.A. program.

• 6-9 months prior to exam
  Select three fields of specialization: Each student must select three fields of specialization for the comprehensive examination. These areas must be drawn from courses that the student has taken in the graduate program. The instructors who taught these courses will comprise the exam committee. Students must secure permission from each faculty member before adding them to the committee. One member should be designated as committee chair.
  
  

• 3-6 months prior to exam
  Prepare bibliographies for each field: Prepare a bibliography consisting of all works that the student has read in that field of specialization. Faculty may require additional books.
  Register for HIST 598 and meet with faculty: Students on the non-thesis track must register for HIST 598 in their final semester. All students (thesis and non-thesis) must meet with each committee member to discuss expectations and practice answering questions. Students cannot proceed to the exam without meeting at least one time with each committee member.
  Schedule the written and oral examinations: Students should contact all three members of the examination committee to schedule a day and time for the one-hour oral exam. Once a date for the oral exam is selected, the student should work with the Graduate Advisor to schedule the written exam, which is completed prior to the oral exam.

 

• Examination procedures

 

Written Examination

Faculty: Each faculty member will submit a question for the student to the Graduate Advisor, who will administer the exam. The exam chair will also submit a question based on a primary source (or sources), the full text of which will be included with the exam prompt.

Students: Students write four essays (one essay per field and one primary source essay) over a three-day period. Students are allowed to consult notes and books. They may not consult other people or any sources on the internet.

 

Oral Examination

The oral exam is one hour in length. During the exam, committee members ask questions about the essays submitted for the written exam. They may also ask questions to assess learning in any other aspect of the student’s program of study. Following the exam, the committee will complete the comprehensive examination assessment form (see next page) and notify the Graduate Advisor of the outcome. The committee may fail a student who does not demonstrate sufficient knowledge and understanding of their fields. Students who fail the examination may re-take their M.A. exam two times. If a student fails to pass the exam after three attempts, the student will be dropped from the M.A. program.