All master's students must pass a comprehensive examination,
even if they are submitting a thesis. Programs may choose to combine the thesis
defense and the comprehensive examination into a single oral examination. There
must be three program faculty members on the committee. Exceptions to this
general requirement include master of arts for teachers (M.A.T.) and master of science for teachers (M.S.T.) graduate programs (students enrolled in
these programs may include one faculty member from another language graduate
program as one of the three committee members). The vote on the examination and
the approval of the thesis must be unanimous. Under some circumstances, it is
permissible to include an outside member on a thesis committee. Requests for
such exceptions should be addressed to the Office of the Dean prior to the
examination.
In either case, the student is encouraged to seek advice during the course of study from the graduate director, committee chair, and professor supervising his or her courses. No graduate student should regard a program of study as the mere accumulation of numerical credits and meeting of formal requirements. Progress toward mastery of a discipline depends largely upon the guidance of the professors in charge of the effort and upon the student's initiative.
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