Preliminary Examination
Each student will complete a prelim exam. The purpose of the exam is to assure that the student is ready to undertake research and to prepare the student for designing and conducting such research.
Guidelines
Timeline
The prelim exam will be completed within no more than six semesters
beyond admission to the program. If more time elapses, a letter of justification
must be filed with the Program Chair, and it must be accepted before
permission to take the prelims is given.
At least three weeks before the exam, upon receiving notice from the
advisor, the Program Office will submit the warrant request to the Graduate
School. A warrant will not be issued if the student has incomplete grades
or progress grades in anything other than research/thesis (usually 990).
Procedure
Under the supervision of the advisor, the student's committee will
prepare the prelims. The committee will meet at the request of the student
at least six weeks before the intended exam to identify common themes
in the student's Program of Study, and to discuss issues and methods
relevant to the student's interests and research focus. Subsequently,
each committee member will submit question(s) to the advisor who will
prepare the exam. There may be a need for communication between the
advisor and other committee members to refine the final design of the
exam.
Typically a seven-day, take home, open book, written exam format is
used. There must be a written component in the exam. The committee,
however, is free to alter other aspects of the typical format to best
achieve the purpose and focus of the exam. This can include an oral
presentation to complement the written exam. The design of the exam
will provide a time frame in which the student can be reasonably expected
to complete it.
Content
The prelim exam will evaluate the student's competence related to both
problems and methods pertinent to the research interest. It will reflect
an interdisciplinary perspective on development research, theory and
practice. The exam will focus on the student's course work, knowledge
of the relevant literature, ability to identify and analyze interesting
issues, grasp of appropriate research methods, and ability to conduct
advanced research. The exam questions will test both the breadth and
depth of the student's knowledge.
The student may request sample copies of previous prelim questions from
the Program Office or members of their committee. In reviewing such
questions, the student must keep in mind that each exam is prepared
with a focus and design tailored to each individual student. When meeting
with the committee to identify themes for the exam, the student can
also ask for guidance on literature to review and other helpful preparations
to consider.
Evaluation
The committee members will evaluate the student's performance in the
prelims, considering the student's breadth and depth of understanding
of exam topics and demonstrated ability to analyze critically relevant
research issues. The committee will determine whether the student passes
or fails the exam. A copy of the exam, along with the decision of the
committee, will be filed with the Program Chair. Upon success, committee
members will sign the Graduate School warrant certifying that the exam
has been successfully completed. The signed warrant will be returned
to the Program Office, which will forward it to the Graduate School.
The advisor will notify the student of the committee decision. The student
is granted Ph.D. candidacy by the Graduate School upon successful completion
of the exam and must maintain continuous registration in dissertator
status which is three credits of Research and Thesis through the advisor's
home department.
In case the committee judges that the student has failed the prelim
exam, the advisor will provide feedback to the student on areas of strength
and deficiencies. A student who fails the exam can request that the
committee allow a re-examination. The advisor, in consultation with
the members of the committee may ask the student to carry out additional
coursework or other preparation before retaking the exam. If the advisor,
in consultation with the committee, does not agree that a second exam
is justified, the student can appeal this decision to the Governance
Committee.
The Governance Committee, subject to the limits set by the Graduate
School, is responsible for establishing and modifying guidelines for
the prelim exam, and for hearing and deciding on appeals.