Comprehensive Examination
The Fall 2008 comprehensive examination for the MSAS program will be administered the week of December 1-4. The deadline to apply is November 2.
You must complete an application to take the comprehensive examination.
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DESCRIPTION: The comprehensive examination is a test designed to access your "mastery" of the material comprising your Option Area. It is typically taken in the last semester of course work, the semester in which you intend to graduate. You must answer one essay question from each of the four courses that comprise your Option Area. You are responsible for contacting each professor and asking if he/she would be willing to serve as one of your examining professors and prepare a comprehensive question for your examination. It is also your responsibility to ask your examining professors for advice on how to prepare for the examination. You must inform the MSAS Program Coordinator who has agreed to serve on your examining committee and what courses are being tested. This can be done via email.
DATE: The Graduate College designates the last day that the comprehensive examination can be administered each semester. Normally, the exam will be scheduled 7 to 14 days prior to the date selected by the Graduate College as the last day the examination can be administered.
ADMINISTRATION: The examination will be administered at a distance by the MSAS Program Director. You will receive all four of your questions via email seven days prior to the date set for the examination. You will have seven days to compose an answer for each of the four questions. You will send all four of your answers back to the program director who will distribute them to your examining professors for evaluation.
EVALUATION: Each answer will be evaluated by the professor who wrote the question. Each professor will have seven days to evaluate your answer and determine if you have "passed" or "not passed." You must receive a "pass" on all four questions to successfully complete the entire comprehensive examination. If you receive one or more "not pass," you have not successfully completed the examination. You are eligible to retake the examination for any question(s) you did not pass on your first attempt. You must wait until the next time the examination is formally administered to retake any of your questions. This gives you time to consult with your examining professor and to prepare to retake your question(s). If you do not receive a pass on your second attempt, you have not successfully completed all requirements for the degree and the degree will not be awarded. This is university policy.
I have prepared a sample of comprehensive examination questions from previous testings. This will give you some idea of the kinds of questions that faculty typically ask.
For additional information about the comprehensive examination contact the MSAS Program Director at JohnBourhis@MissouriState.edu.