Qualifying Examination Requirement

Qualifying exams cover the areas of coursework specialization (as stipulated in each program area). The qualifying exam consists of both a written and oral portion. The written portion (involving two questions covering two distinct areas of study) is take-home with a limit of 10 days for the student's completion from the day the examination commences. The oral portion of the exam is scheduled after the written exam is submitted to an examination committee of four faculty members who serve as readers of the written portion. If a student does not pass any portion of the exam, one additional opportunity is provided for the student to retake the exam.

• The functions of the qualifying examination are to determine that the student is adequately prepared to embark on the research required for producing a dissertation; and, that the student has sufficient knowledge to be a member of the academy in the student's discipline.
• The qualifying examination consists of two portions: the written and the oral. Typically, students are given the written examination questions on a Friday morning, and submit their answers to the questions on a Monday 10 days hence. Exam dates are determined by the student and his or her committee, but should not be conducted past the 12th week of each semester without approval from all committee members. Within two weeks of submitting the written answers, the oral examination is scheduled.
• The written portion of the qualifying examination for all students consists of answers to two different questions. Each question must be read by at least two examiners, and there must be at least four different examiners in total. The four examiners constitute the examination committee.
• Each program area determines for itself what the questions cover, within the constraints of the program description for that area. Library and information science (LIS) requires that students study in two areas: an LIS area, and an area from outside LIS. This means that the student must answer one question relevant to each of the two areas in which she or he has studied. In communication, students must have a major and minor area of study. These may include foci within the communication area: organizational communication, social interaction, mediated communication, or health communication; but are not limited to these areas of communication study. Students may choose as a minor area one of the other areas of the Ph.D. program, or a minor elsewhere in the university. In media studies, there is no requirement to study in more than one area, so the two questions may cover whatever aspects of media studies the examination committee considers relevant.
• For cases in which the student is to answer a written qualifying examination question in an area different from the program area, at least one examiner of that question must be from that area. For instance, if the other area is from outside the School of Communication and Information (SC&I), then at least one of the examiners must be a member of the graduate faculty of that other area. Or, if the other area is from within SC&I, at least one of the examiners must be a member of that program area.
• The number of questions that are set, from which the student chooses two to answer, is decided by the program area: a typical pattern for areas which require students to study in two areas is two questions for each area, the student choosing one from each of the two.
• The examination committee consists of the chair, determined by mutual agreement of the student and the faculty member, and at least three other examiners, chosen by the chair in consultation with the student.  
• The members of the examination committee may set questions that are generally relevant to the student's research interests and/or course of study; or they may set questions that are relevant to the examined area as a whole. Such decisions are made by the examination committee, within any constraints that may be set by the program area.
• The oral portion of the qualifying examination is led by the chair of the examination committee, and includes all four members of that committee. In this portion of the qualifying examination, the members of the examination committee pose questions to the candidate, on the subjects of the written questions and/or on subjects related to the areas in which the student is being examined.
• There are three options when evaluating each exam question: pass, revise, or fail. At the conclusion of the oral portion of the qualifying examination, the members of the examination committee decide if the student has successfully passed one or both questions, or if the student will have to provide additional written work for one or both areas (revise option), or if the student has failed one or both questions. When both questions are passed, the student receives a pass and is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. (the members will sign the Candidacy Form and give it back to the student to return to the Ph.D. office). The revise option allows the student to rewrite the answer(s) or provide additional written work related to the same question(s), which would need to satisfy the student's committee (but with no additional oral exam). This is appropriate when the student has not demonstrated satisfactory performance, but has not failed the question (and could pass with additional revisions). One month is allowed for satisfactory revisions (which then results in a pass for that question or questions); failure to do a satisfactory revision results in a fail for that question or questions. There can be only one revision, and that will be a pass/fail decision. The fail option requires the student to re-sit the examination in those areas where the student has not achieved a pass, including an additional oral exam. A minimum of three favorable votes is needed before one is considered to have passed some or all of the examination. One must ultimately pass both questions to pass the qualifying exams.
• Additional instructions: The committee members will receive a copy of the exam and a copy of the evaluation form, and will bring it with them to the oral exam. A copy of the form from each committee member will be given to the student after the oral exam, unless the committee decides it would not be helpful for the student to receive feedback in that form. The committee chairs should bring the student's Candidacy Form to the oral exam.
• Re-sitting the examination means providing new questions for the required area(s), submission of answers to the question(s), and an oral examination in the area(s). The two examiners for each question read the new papers and participate in the new oral portion of the examination. If the student has failed in respect to both questions all four examiners participate in the reading of the new questions and in the new oral portion of the examination. Students may re-sit the qualifying examination only once.