Graduation

Application for Graduation

Your Application for Graduation is due by the end of the first week of the semester in which you intend to graduate. The Application for Graduation form should be submitted to the Graduate College. The form is available at the forms page on the Graduate College website.

Comprehensive Examination

A comprehensive examination must be passed before the degree will be granted.

Your Application for Comprehensive Examinations is due by the end of the first week of the semester in which you intend to complete the exams and graduate. The Application for Comprehensive Examinations form should be submitted to the history department. The form is available at the forms page on the Graduate College website.  

The comprehensive examination includes both a written and an oral examination.

Written exams will be taken after course work is completed. An oral exam will be taken after the approval of the research requirement.

The written portion is composed of questions submitted by the members of your committee. The examination will focus on your course work for the M.A. It is graded by the committee, and you must receive a passing mark on each portion of the written examination. If you do not pass part of the written examination you may request re-examination over the portion failed during the next semester. The written examination will be given on one day. Each of the three committee members' exam time on the written exams will be 75 minutes.

The oral examination can not be taken until after 1) you have passed your written exam and 2) your committee has approved your thesis or revised seminar paper. The oral examination will last for at least one hour. It is conducted by the members of your committee. It may consist of a defense of your thesis or seminar paper or questions on your major field. Other members of the graduate faculty may attend the examination but only the committee members certify "pass," "fail," or in case of superior performance, "high pass." If you fail any segment of the exam, the entire oral must be repeated.

If you are taking both the written and oral exams during the same semester or summer term then the written exam must be scheduled at least five days before the oral exam.

To prepare for the comprehensive examination, you should consult with the members of your committee early in the semester in which you plan to graduate and get their recommendation for review. They may provide you with a short reading list related to the work over which you will be examined.