Comprehensive Exams
All IDPhD students at Dalhousie are required to take and pass one-to-three comprehensive examinations (written and oral). The exact number of these exams is determined by your supervisory committee, and subject to FGS regulations. The nature and format of the exams is determined by you and your supervisory committee, ideally in the first year of your program.
See: Comprehensives Quick Start Guide [PDF - 167kb]
These examinations are intended to establish that you have sufficient understanding of your research area to successfully complete your PhD thesis.
Comprehensive exams are normally completed by the end of the second year of full-time study, or at the beginning of the third year at the latest, and only after completion of all required class work and prior to your thesis proposal.
The range of possibilities for the nature and scope of comprehensive exams is very broad. The process normally follows this sequence:
- Student, supervisor, and supervisory committee agree on topics to be covered and depth of coverage.
- Student, supervisor, and supervisory committee agree on the members of the comprehensive examination committee. The comprehensive examination committee may include all or some of the supervisory committee and will serve as chair of the committee. Additional members of the comprehensive committee may be chose, to provide needed expertise.
- The supervisor ensures that either the supervisory committee or the examination committee complete the description of the comprehensive exam:
- Formats are set, including number of individual exams and whether or not there is an option to edit the submitted response after feedback before the exam is given a final grade.
- Clear marking criteria are set. Individual exams are graded as "pass" or "fail" after all options for revision are satisfied. Normally, a student must pass each individual examination in order to pass the entire comprehensive examination process. Any exceptions to this must be entered into the written comprehensive plan.
- Schedules for individual exams are set, including deadlines.
- The oral component - if required - is completed.
The examination committee determines the outcome and provides the student with feedback in timely fashion.
Before the student embarks on the comprehensive exam, the agreed process must be completely described in a written plan which is provided to: the Director of the IDPhD, the student, the supervisor(s), and members of the comprehensive examination committee. The Director may request changes to the comprehensive plan if it is incomplete, unclear, or if other changes seem desirable. The examination may not begin until the Director has received and approved the examination.
It is the responsibility of the supervisor to notify IDPhD Program staff with the results of the comprehensives via the Comprehensive Completion Form [PDF - 112KB]. Note that each element of the comprehensive exams must be reported to IDPhD as it is completed. Upon completion of each exam, your supervisor should fill out the form, have it signed by all members of the examining committee, and submit it to IDPhD Program staff. Once all elements of the comprehensive examinations are completed the supervisor must submit a final comprehensive completion form to the IDPhD. IDPhD will then have a final "pass" or "fail" grade entered in the student's academic record.
Failure to pass a comprehensive exam will result in academic dismissal. However, on the recommendation of the committee and IDPhD administration, you may be readmitted and permitted to repeat the examination within 12 months of readmission. A comprehensive examination may be taken no more than two times. You will receive a pass on your academic transcript only after all comprehensives have been completed successfully.