2011 graduate student guide - Department of Political Science ...
2011 graduate student guide - Department of Political Science ...
2011 graduate student guide - Department of Political Science ...
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DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE GRADUATE STUDENT GUIDE<br />
methodologies to be employed, and <strong>of</strong>fer the<br />
underlying argument <strong>of</strong> the project.<br />
Once all committee members have submitted<br />
feedback on the proposal and revisions have been<br />
made if necessary, the proposal defense will bring<br />
together the dissertation committee formally for the<br />
first time. At the defense the <strong>student</strong> will be asked to<br />
provide a presentation <strong>of</strong> the scope <strong>of</strong> their proposed<br />
work and each <strong>of</strong> the committee members will be<br />
given time to ask questions about the work and the<br />
general preparedness <strong>of</strong> the <strong>student</strong> to complete this<br />
work. At the end <strong>of</strong> the question period, the <strong>student</strong><br />
will be asked to leave the room while the committee<br />
confers about the project.<br />
If the committee approves the proposal, a general<br />
conversation regarding the topic areas for the<br />
comprehensive exam should take place at the end <strong>of</strong><br />
the proposal defense. The next step in the process<br />
after the proposal defense is to move on to the<br />
comprehensive exams. These are designed with the<br />
dissertation project in mind and the <strong>student</strong> should<br />
confer with members <strong>of</strong> the committee regarding the<br />
preparation <strong>of</strong> comprehensive exam reading lists and<br />
topics. Students are encouraged to take the exams in<br />
close proximity to the successful defense <strong>of</strong> their<br />
proposal.<br />
If the <strong>student</strong> fails the proposal defense, then they<br />
must revise the proposal and establish a new defense<br />
date. If the <strong>student</strong> fails a second time, they will be<br />
removed from the program.<br />
Comprehensive Exams<br />
Ideally, a <strong>student</strong> will move directly from course work<br />
to comprehensive exams and the proposal defense.<br />
However, we recognize that it is not always possible<br />
to make this transition smoothly. Thus, upon the<br />
completion <strong>of</strong> full time course work, each <strong>student</strong> will<br />
have an additional year to complete a proposal,<br />
compile a committee, defend the proposal and take<br />
comprehensive exams. If a year has gone by and the<br />
<strong>student</strong> has not taken comprehensive exams, then the<br />
Graduate Chair in conversation with the Dissertation<br />
Chair may request that a hard deadline be imposed. If<br />
the <strong>student</strong> fails to meet this deadline, the<br />
recommendation will be made to remove them from<br />
the program.<br />
The <strong>student</strong>'s committee designs a comprehensive<br />
examination based upon the dissertation proposal and<br />
the general fields within which the dissertation will be<br />
situated. The process is organized and facilitated by the<br />
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