Required Examinations
Each doctoral program (major field) in the Bauer College of Business may administer a qualifying examination and must administer a comprehensive examination. In addition to the following policies governing these examinations, each major field within the Bauer College of Business shall have specific written policies and procedures governing the design, administration, timing, and evaluation of exams, and the consequences of failure of all or part of any exam. These policies and procedures shall be made available to each student at the time doctoral level coursework begins.
Administrative Responsibility
The responsibility for designing, administering, and evaluating written and oral examinations in the major field rests with the faculty of that field, or a subset of such faculty as determined by the major field's policies.
Eligibility For Examinations
A qualifying examination will normally be successfully completed before a doctoral student can undertake the second year of coursework in his/her content area. Because some students are asked to take a preliminary set of courses during their first year, those students may, as determined by their major field faculty, take the qualifying examination after completing four long semesters of coursework. However, no student may be evaluated for a second time, as specified in the policy requiring an evaluation annually in May or June, without having completed a qualifying examination or a comprehensive examination, so that his or her performance on that examination can be taken into account.
The Associate Dean of Administrative and Academic Affairs will determine the eligibility of a doctoral student to take the comprehensive exam. To be eligible, the student must
- Have successfully completed all course work in the degree plan,
- Have successfully completed any additional requirements included in the policies of his or her major field
- Received verification from the Bauer College director of student records and registration that coursework and other requirements have been completed.
Click here for Request for Doctoral Comprehensive Examination Form
Scheduling and format of the comprehensive exam
A student eligible to take the comprehensive exam must be offered the opportunity to do so within six months of becoming eligible and must sit for the exam within that time period in order to remain in good standing. The comprehensive examination must have two parts, written and oral.
Notification of Results of examinations
For the qualifying examination and the written portion of the comprehensive examination, notification shall be provided in writing to the student within three weeks of completion of the respective exam. The notification letter shall be prepared in accordance with written policies of the student's major field and copies shall be sent to the Bauer College director of student records and registration and to the major field Ph.D. program coordinator. Written notification of results for the oral examination shall be provided to the student within 24 hours of the exam.
In the case of a failing result for any portion of any exam, the letter shall cite the specific deficiencies warranting the decision that the student has failed all or part of the examination. Departmental policies shall govern the ability of a student to retake an examination he or she has failed, or a portion of an examination that he or she has failed.
