As outlined in the graduate catalog, the comprehensive exam consists of 3 parts: a written breadth exam, a written depth exam, and an oral exam.
Applying for Comps
For full-time students who enter the Ph.D. program already holding an MS degree in an IT-related area, the DPC expects that comprehensive examination would typically occur in the 4th or 5th semester of study (excluding summers).
Students must apply to take their comprehensive examination one semester in advance. In order to apply students, must:
- Have an approved plan of study on file with Graduate Studies
- Have completed all IT Ph.D. Core Coursework prior to the semester of the exam
- Have identified a committee of depth-examiners made up of at least 3 IS&T graduate faculty members with relevant expertise in the student's research area.
Students should complete the application for the comprehensive examination, indicating members of the depth-examining committee and the selected breadth examination areas. Applications should be returned to the IS&T graduate advising office.
Applications will be reviewed and approved by the DPC during regularly scheduled meetings. Students are encouraged to submit their applications at least one month prior to the end of the term to ensure sufficient review time.
Written Breadth Exam (Part 1)
The breadth examination consists of two essay-style questions from each of two areas of interest within the field of information technology (ie, 4 questions total). Passing the breadth exam requires satisfactorily answering questions from both areas.
The list of possible examination areas of interest is specified by groups of IS&T graduate faculty members in advance, and these groups publish reading lists that constitute preparatory materials in that area. When applying for the comprehensive examination, students must select two areas in which to be tested.
The currently available breadth exam areas of interest are given below and link to the current reading list.
- Artificial Intelligence
- Computing Systems
- Digital Development
- Human-Centered Computing
- Project Management
Written Depth Exam (Part 2)
The written examination assesses students' ability to knowledgeably answer questions that are closely related to their current and future research goals. The depth-examining committee is selected by the student during the application for the comprehensive exam and must consist of the current faculty research advisor and two additional graduate faculty members from IS&T. All members of the committee are expected to have relevant prior experience in the student's research area.
The student and their faculty advisor will prepare a personal reading list of publications aligned with the student's intended dissertation research specialization. This reading list should be finalized no later than when the student applies to take the comprehensive exam.
The faculty advisor works with the other members of the depth-examining committee to prepare will prepare a minimum of two essay questions that assess the student's depth of knowledge in their individual research trajectory.
Pre-Proposal Document and the Oral Exam (Part 3)
Two weeks prior to the written comprehensive examination, students must submit a research pre-proposal document to their depth examining committee which outlines the intended dissertation research focus. This document must be formatted using the ACM Standard Conference Proceedings format. The pre-proposal should be between 5 and 10 pages in length, containing the following sections.
- Context: Describe the motivation and/or overarching context for the research you aim to conduct for your dissertation
- Background: Provide an original literature review of key work that frames the specific research you aim to conduct
- Goals: Clearly describe the primary research objectives and goals for your work. This will often include a proposed thesis statement, research questions, and/or specific hypotheses.
- Approach: Detail and justify the methods/approach you plan to use. If some of your research has already been completed, make it clear which methods correspond to work that is done and which are for future work.
- Contributions: Describe the current and expected contributions of your intended dissertation research.
- References: A complete list of all references cited in the pre-proposal should be given using the standard ACM citation format.
The pre-proposal document should be provided to all depth examining committee members prior to the written exam. Within two weeks of successfully passing the written exam elements, the student will give an oral presentation of the pre-proposal to the depth examining committee.
Passing the oral examination to the satisfaction of the depth examining committee will conclude the comprehensive exams. Students will then advance to candidacy, be allowed to enroll in dissertation hours and work towards a formal dissertation proposal to be defended at a later date as a separate program milestone.
For Students Admitted Prior to Fall 2019
NOTE: This content above provides details about the comprehensive examination procedures for the PhD in IT which took effect in the 2019-2020 graduate catalog. These procedures apply to all students who began their doctoral program in Fall 2019 or later. For those who started the program prior to Fall 2019, you may select to be evaluated under the old comprehensive exam procedures described in your applicable graduate catalog year OR under these new procedures. This selection must be made in writing at the time of initial application for comps and will apply uniformly to all three parts of the examination. The doctoral program committee strongly recommends evaluation under the new procedures, and its members are happy to discuss the differences with students considering this choice.
For completeness, below are additional details about how comps are administered under the old model, addressing any necessary adjustments due to other related procedures in the graduate program.
- Application for Comps: As described above in the new model, students must apply to take the comprehensive exam one semester prior to the written exam. The same application form is used for both models, just be sure to fill out the correct side of the form.
- Scheduling of Comps: The comprehensive exams for all students will take place on the same days, regardless of which model the exam is conducted under.
- Breadth Exam: Under the old model, students select 4 potential topic areas on which to be tested from the list of all research topics introduced during CIST9080 in the semester it was taken. When the application form is reviewed by the DPC, 2 of these areas will be selected for the breadth exam. In order to bring ensure the written breadth exam serves as a meaningful and uniform benchmark for students, DPC provides the additional details here to clarify the intent of prior graduate catalog descriptions. Faculty members who took part in the associated CIST9080 discussions will be asked to confirm any necessary preparatory materials with you by the end of the semester you filed your application for comps. Faculty may supplement reading materials discussed during that CIST9080 session in order to better help you understand that area or provide you with updated research since the course was taken; however, the overall topic must remain the same and students must be given sufficient notice of the preparatory materials. Passing the breadth exam requires satisfactorily answering both sets of questions.
- Depth Exam: If you already have an approved doctoral supervisory committee, this group of faculty will be responsible for setting the written depth exam as described in the graduate catalog. They will also work with students to recommend necessary preparation material. If you have not yet formed a full supervisory committee due to the new graduate studies timelines, you must identify a depth examining committee made of at least 3 IS&T faculty members at the time of application (see above). Faculty names should be clearly listed on your application for the comprehensive exam in both cases.
- Oral Exam: Under the old procedures, your formal dissertation proposal comprises the oral examination for comps. However, the DPC recognizes that proposals are often completed in a later semester than the written exams and that prior catalog policies prohibited enrolling in dissertation hours prior to completion of all parts of comps. To resolve this timing issue, the DPC will approve a limited number of dissertation hours pre-candidacy as students prepare the formal proposal provided that they have passed both the breadth and depth written exam. The expectation is that the oral examination will occur within 1 year of passing the written exams. The outcome of the oral exam should be documented on the appropriate form. Those passing the oral exam are then eligible to advance to candidacy.
Retaking Elements of The Exam
Guidance related to retaking exam elements apply consistently for all students, regardless of which comprehensive exam model is applied. Written breadth and depth exam elements are assessed on a strict pass/fail basis. Students may not be asked to revise answers submitted for these components of the exam.
Should a student fail any component of the examination (breadth, depth, or oral), the doctoral program committee will allow a second attempt in the subsequent academic term, excluding summer. A maximum of two attempts at comprehensive exams is allowed.