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What are comprehensive exams?

The comprehensive exams consist of six components, only three of which are traditional exams. Students must successfully complete these six “comps” components before they can progress to their Dissertation Prospectus. Students plan comps with a “comps committee” consisting of three Communication faculty members, who will evaluate the student's comps work. Students typically constitute this committee beginning in the second half of their second year.

The three comps components that are not traditional exams are:

  1. A research paper in a “ready for journal submission” state
  2. A reflection paper in which the student provides a statement about the communication discipline and how they position themselves in this field
  3. A comprehensive syllabus for a 400-level seminar in the student’s area of expertise, accompanied by a brief reflection paper

A student should begin developing these three components during coursework and must have them completed by the time they take their three traditional exams.

The three traditional exams are a combination of closed-book and take-home exams that are completed during a multiday exam period that is scheduled at least three months before the exam date.

What is the purpose of the comprehensive exams?

The purpose of the exams is to demonstrate written and oral mastery of secondary research, reflect upon the student’s view of the discipline, prepare students for a career as professionals in the field, and qualify the student to move on to conduct his/her dissertation research.

When should I start preparing and planning for comprehensive exams?

In consultation with their advisor, students can begin developing the comps research paper, comps reflection paper, and comps syllabus during their first two years of coursework. Students typically constitute a comps committee and begin to plan in earnest for their comps during the spring semester of their second year, but an advanced student might begin earlier.

What is the procedure for fulfilling the comprehensive exams requirement?

At least three months before the proposed dates for the traditional exams, the student constitutes a Comprehensive Exam Committee ("comps committee"). The committee consists of at least three members of the Communication faculty (additional examiners from outside the department are optional).

The committee and student meet to discuss the examination structure, timeline, and other issues relating to this process. The content of the examination is not restricted to coursework from the student's Plan-of-Study; students may be required to prepare in areas not covered in their coursework, as determined by student and committee. Faculty members serving on the committee work with the student to develop study questions, reading lists, or other means for delimiting examination subject areas.

At least three months in advance of the examination dates, the student must complete an “Approved Examination Schedule.” This must be signed by the student, the advisor, and the Graduate Program Director and submitted to the Graduate Secretary, who will schedule an examination room. The exam question answers and other comps components (research paper, reflection paper, syllabus) must be submitted by the end of the scheduled two-week exam period.

Upon submission of the written examinations, all members of the Comprehensive Exam Committee will evaluate all exam materials. They will provide evaluation of the materials to the student’s advisor to let them know if the student is ready to defend the comprehensive exam orally. In cases where answers are “Unsatisfactory,” the student will have one opportunity for rewriting within the regular semester following the submission of the written materials.

Once the student has satisfactorily completed the written examination, the Comprehensive Exam Committee, chaired by the advisor, will conduct an oral examination. All written and oral portions of the examination must receive the unanimous approval of the Comprehensive Exam Committee. It is the responsibility of the student’s advisor to report in writing the results of the examination to the Graduate Program.

Please note that a similar copy of procedures appears in the department's Graduate Handbook.

Guidelines for the Comps Research Paper

Publishable Research Paper: For this element of the comprehensive exam, you need to submit a "ready-for-submission" research paper. This paper can be a result of a seminar or prior work, which you, with your comps committee members' help, continue to work on in order to make it ready for submission to a double-blind refereed journal. As a scholarly article, your article may have the following elements, depending on outlet, and perhaps others as suggested by your comprehensive exam committee:

  • Title
  • Abstract
  • Key words
  • Introduction
  • Theoretical framework
  • Literature review
  • Research question/ design/ methodological section
  • Analysis or findings
  • Conclusions
  • References 

The paper should be between 8,000–10,000 words, as this is the current word-number size for many publications in our field. Longer or shorter papers should have a clear explanation for their length (unless they follow the journal's specifications). On top of the paper, you'll also need to submit these accompanying materials:

  1. Explanation of the reasoning for the specific journal to which the paper will be submitted. This decision can be based on either the field of the publication, relevant literature with which you engage, or other criteria—aim at the top tier journal in your area as first choice. Design your paper to abide by the specific journal's demands for publications (length, citation style, requirements, etc.)—see "author guide" or similar section in the specific journal.
  2. A "letter to the editor" that will accompany the article itself. Such letters are important elements of the submission process, and writing the right letter to the right journal editor greatly enhances the chances of publication. The letter should be addressed to the specific editor (if the journal has more than one editor) you have in mind for the publication, explaining why your article is best fitted to this journal and why this journal best fits the article.

Criteria for assessment: Each comprehensive exam committee has the flexibility to communicate their own criteria for assessing the paper. The Graduate Studies committee makes the following suggestions: 

  • Originality and significance of the article and its arguments together with its clarity, coherence, and organization. A passing paper should receive "submit without changes or "minor revision" for a passing comps paper at the oral defense from all three members. 
  • Appropriateness of the article for the selected journal and the reasoning for it
  • Clear argumentation of the letter to the editor and other elements requested

The paper and its accompanying materials should be handed in to the Graduate Secretary no later than the last scheduled comprehensive exam.

Guidelines for Comps Reflection Paper

A reflection paper on communication as a field/discipline and the student's place/scholarly interest in relation to the field/discipline. This paper provides a basis for the research statement of the candidate during their job search. Although the field of communication is made up of many diverse areas, we are one professional discipline, and this paper should tell a coherent story of the student's position in this discipline, regardless of subfield and interdisciplinary influences. The paper should be based on the student’s coursework, including required theory, methods, pro-sem, and survey courses, among others, as well as other scholarly and personal experiences. For this paper, you will need to consider your exposure to and reading about the various metaphors for, approaches to, and subfields of Communication. You might consider the following: 

  • Where did the idea of "communication" come from and how has it changed and/or remained constant over time and space?
  • How do various subfields with which you are familiar contribute (or not) to each other and what might we learn from these literatures?
  • What is interdisciplinary about the discipline/field and what might a view from “outside” contribute to your subfields?

Format: 3,000-word essay. Material should be easily transferable to a cover letter for a job, job talk, personal statement, etc. References should include general theorists on the idea of communication as well as those more specific to the student's orientation. Criteria for assessment: Each comprehensive exam committee has the flexibility to communicate their own criteria for assessing the paper. The Graduate Studies committee makes the following suggestions:

  • Student has responded to one or more of the questions above in a comprehensive fashion.
  • Student has reflected on the relationship of their subfield to the overall field/discipline of communication.

Guidelines for the Comps Syllabus

A syllabus of the student's design, including different elements such as: objectives, skills, assignments, and week-to-week readings. This part of the exam reflects on the pro-seminar, the student's teaching career, and the courses they took. It is a syllabus for a seminar (upper-level undergraduate) course in the student's area of expertise, where they demonstrate their approach to teaching and imparting the knowledge they feel is important for undergraduate students. The syllabus is also a means for the student (in the examination and on the job market) to communicate teaching philosophies, technologies, innovations, and effective teaching. For these reasons, a one-page pedagogical statement explaining the rationale for the course topic and design should accompany the syllabus. Students should design a course syllabus for advanced undergraduates in their specialty area. The syllabus should allow the committee and future employers to position them in the field as a potential teacher of courses in, e.g., media and cultural studies, digital media and technology studies, language and interaction studies, etc. The syllabus may be included in their teaching portfolio as part of job applications and may be referred to in interviews regarding teaching. Optional (by Comps Committee) criteria for assessment: Syllabus includes: Introduction to course, to your teaching philosophy as related to course content, learning objectives, outcomes. Grading weights and policies. Inclusiveness statement. Assignments and assessment thereof clearly described. Course schedule easy to understand, assignment due dates indicated.

Guidelines for the Three "Traditional" Comps Exams

Preparation: At least three months before the proposed dates for the traditional exams, the student constitutes a Comprehensive Exam Committee. The committee consists of at least three members of the Communication faculty (additional examiners from outside the department are optional). At least three months in advance of the examination dates, the committee and student meet to discuss the examination structure, timeline, and other issues relating to this process. Faculty members serving on the committee work with the student to jointly develop study questions, reading lists, or other means for delimiting examination subject areas. 

Format: At least one of the three exams will be a closed-book, three-hour exam (four hours for students for whom English is not their first language). The allocation of the remaining two exams between closed book and take-home exams will be determined by individual committees. All take-home portions of the exam must be completed within 48 hours of the student receiving the question. The three examination questions (all in the student’s subject area) will be distributed as follows: one question in theories, one question in methods, and one question in a specialty area defined by the committee and student. Specialty areas are defined as those areas in which a student wishes to focus her/his scholarship, e.g., ethnography of communication about nature, critical discourse analysis and race, cultural production and sustainability, gaming and media effects, performance ethnography and higher education. Theories and methods are generally comprised of theories and tools broadly as well as those that a student will most rely on for a research career in his/her specialty, e.g., social construction theories, and ethnographic research methods. The two open responses should observe the following guidelines:

  • Maximum of 15 pages.
  • There should be a developed, integrated arc or line of argument using, and responding to, literature in the area, rather than just summarizing relevant research.
  • The answers should clearly address the question posed and respond in an organized manner (e.g., utilizing subsections with headings).