Upon receipt of the above description, members of the Examining Committee will prepare questions that address pertinent conceptual, theoretical and methodological issues relevant to the student's scholarly field and research area -- as defined and outlined in the description of the scope of the examination. Normally each member of the committee will prepare one to two questions for the scholarly field section and one to two questions for the research area section. Questions will be submitted to the Graduate Officer, who will work with the student's advisor to prepare the final set of examination questions (six for the scholarly field and four for the research area).
The student must address three of six questions relating to the scholarly field, and two of four questions relating to the research area. Each answer should be a maximum of 1,500 words long, and must be typed, double-spaced, and supported using appropriate citations. A separate reference list is not needed, except when a source not already listed in the student's reading list is cited. Figures, maps and diagrams may accompany the written answer.
The student will have five days to complete the written examination. Normally questions will be provided to the student on a Monday morning, while the written answers will be submitted to the Graduate Officer on the following Friday.
In answering the questions, it is expected that the student will make effective use of the pertinent literature, and will demonstrate a thorough understanding of conceptual problems, theories, and methodologies. Additionally, students must demonstrate the ability to evaluate critically the literature and, where appropriate, to integrate major contributions in the literature.