COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION (NON-THESIS OPTION)

a. Nature

i. The Comprehensive Examination shall be a written examination that must be taken by a student in the Non-Thesis Option. It shall aim to test the student’s mastery of his/her discipline or area.

ii. The student may apply for the comprehensive examination after satisfying the following requirements:

1. completing the course work in his/her Program of Study,

2. satisfying the language requirement, if any; and obtaining a CWAG of “2.00” or better in all his/her courses, including those courses taken to comply with the Maximum Residence Rules (see 4.10).

iii. Each department has their own Comprehensive Exam Guidelines (Please see Appendix B).

b. Administration

i. The Comprehensive Examination in each master’s program shall be scheduled and administered by the appropriate Department Graduate Committee. The Program Adviser shall recommend to the Dean, through channels, the schedule of the Comprehensive Examination (CHEG Form 05).

ii. The Dean, based on the recommendation of the Department Graduate Committee shall appoint an Examination Committee of a minimum of three (3) members who shall schedule, conduct, and evaluate the Comprehensive Examination.

iii. The examination shall be administered by the Department Graduate Committee at intervals of at least two (2) days in the officially designated Examination room in the College with the approval of the Dean, through channels. Students may vary in terms of schedule and content of examinations.

iv. Results of the Comprehensive Examination must be officially reported by the Examination Committee to the Department Graduate Committee and the Dean, through channels, within two (2) weeks after the last day of the examination.

c. Comprehensive Examination Committee

The Comprehensive Examination Committee shall consist of a minimum of three (3) graduate faculty members with master’s degree. The members of the committee shall be appointed by the Dean upon the recommendation of the Department Graduate Committee (CHE GForm 06). Professorial Lecturers and Professors Emeriti may also serve as examiners provided they are master’s degree holders and known experts in their fields and have taught in the Department or College during the last two (2) years.

d. Rating

i. There shall be three ratings for the Comprehensive Examination: “High Pass,” “Pass,” or “Fail.” (CHE GForm 07)

ii. A student who fails the Comprehensive Examination shall be allowed to re-take the examination within one (1) year after the first examination.

iii. A second failure or failure to re-take the examination within the prescribed period shall bar the student permanently from the master’s program, and from admission into other master’s programs within the same Department.

iv. If the student passes the Comprehensive Examination, he/she shall qualify for the Master’s Degree under the Non-Thesis Option.

v. Department Graduate Committee may impose stricter rating rules, upon the approval of the CGC.

QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

a. Nature of Examination

i. The Qualifying Examination shall be a written and/or oral examination which aims to test the student’s mastery of the fundamentals of his/her discipline or area provided by the core courses.

ii. The examination must be taken by the student within one semester after completion of a prescribed number of courses in his/her Program of Study. See Appendix F for the prescribed course requirements of each doctoral program. The prescribed courses must be completed within the first three semesters of the student in the program.

iii. A student who enters the doctoral program with a Master’s degree in the same discipline/area may be exempted from the Qualifying Examination by the Dean, through channels, provided that the student has a CWAG of at least 1.45. See Appendix F to check if this applies to your degree program.

iv. A student who fails to take the Qualifying Examination as prescribed shall not be allowed to take further courses in his/her degree program.

b. Administration

i. The Qualifying Examination in each doctoral program shall be scheduled and administered by the appropriate Department Graduate Committee every July (for students intending to enroll during the First Semester) and December (for students intending to enroll during the Second Semester). The Program Adviser shall recommend to the Dean, through channels, the schedule of the Qualifying Examination.

ii. The application period for the Qualifying Examination starts one week after submission of grades and shall last for two weeks after that. (CHE G Form 05)

iii. The Dean, based on the recommendation of the Department Graduate Committee, shall appoint an Examination Committee of a minimum of three (3) members who shall schedule, conduct, and evaluate the Qualifying Examination.

iv. The examination shall be administered by the Department Graduate Committee at intervals of at least two (2) days in the officially designated examination room with the approval of the Dean, through channels.

v. Results of the Qualifying Examination must be officially reported by the Examination Committee to the Department Graduate Committee and the Dean, through channels, within two (2) weeks after the last day of the examination.

c. Qualifying Examination Committee

i. The Qualifying Examination Committee shall consist of a minimum of three (3) graduate faculty members with doctoral degrees. The members of the committee shall be appointed by the Dean upon the recommendation of the Department Graduate Committee (CHE GForm 06).

ii. Professorial Lecturers and Professors Emeriti may also serve as examiners provided they are doctoral degree holders and known experts in their fields and have taught in the Department or College during the last two (2) years.

d. Rating

i. The Qualifying Examination Committee shall create a rating tool or rubric to evaluate the performance of the student in the examination.

ii. A student’s performance in the Qualifying Examination shall be rated “High Pass,” “Pass,” or “Fail” (CHE GForm 07) based on the following guidelines:

                                                         Score                                                    Rating

                                                    96 to 100%                                             High Pass

                                                     91 to 95%                                              High Pass

                                                     86 to 90%                                                  Pass

                                                     81 to 85%                                                  Pass

                                                     76 to 80%                                                  Pass

                                                     71 to 75%                                                  Pass

                                                70% and below                                              Fail

iii. A student who fails the Qualifying Examination shall be allowed to re-take the examination within one (1) year after the first examination.

iv. A second failure or failure to re-take the examination within the prescribed period shall disqualify the student from the doctoral program.

v. Department Graduate Committees (DGC’s) may impose stricter rating rules, upon the approval of the CGC.

THE CANDIDACY/COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

a. Nature of Examination

i. The Candidacy Examination shall be a written and/or oral examination which aims to test the student’s mastery of the discipline/area acquired in the Program of Study.

ii. The examination must be taken by the student after satisfying the following requirements:

1. completing the course work in his/her Program of Study;

2. satisfying the language requirement, if any;

3. obtaining a CWAG of “1.75” or better in his/her course work; and

4. completing the courses stipulated by the Residence Rules (see 5.11), if applicable.

b. Administration

i. The Candidacy Examination in each doctoral program shall be scheduled and administered by the appropriate Department Graduate Committee. The Program Adviser shall recommend to the Dean, through channels, the schedule of the Candidacy Examination (CHE GForm 05).

ii. The Dean, based on the recommendation of the Department Graduate Committee, shall appoint an Examination Committee of a minimum of three (3) members who shall schedule, conduct, and evaluate the Candidacy Examination.

iii. The examination shall be administered by the Department Graduate Committee at intervals of at least two (2) days in the officially designated examination room with the approval of the Dean, through channels.

iv. Results of the Candidacy Examination must be officially reported by the Examination Committee to the Department Graduate Committee and the Dean through channels, within two (2) weeks after the last day of the examination.

c. Candidacy/Comprehensive Examination Committee

The Candidacy/Comprehensive Examination Committee shall consist of a minimum of three (3) graduate faculty members with doctoral degrees, preferably those who have taught the courses covered in the comprehensive examination (CHE GForm 06). The members of the committee shall be appointed by the Dean upon the recommendation of the Department Graduate Committee. Professorial Lecturers and Professors Emeriti may also serve as examiners provided they are doctoral degree holders and known experts in their fields and have taught in the Department or College during the last two (2) years.

d. Rating

i. The Comprehensive Examination Committee shall create a rating tool or rubric to evaluate the performance of the student in the examination.

ii. A student’s performance in the Comprehensive Examination shall be rated “High Pass,” “Pass,” or “Fail” (CHE GForm 07) based on the following guidelines

                                                         Score                                                    Rating

                                                    96 to 100%                                             High Pass

                                                     91 to 95%                                              High Pass

                                                     86 to 90%                                                  Pass

                                                     81 to 85%                                                  Pass

                                                     76 to 80%                                                  Pass

                                                     71 to 75%                                                  Pass

                                                70% and below                                              Fail

iii. A student who fails the Candidacy/Comprehensive Examination shall be allowed to re-take the examination within one (1) year after the first examination.

iv. A second failure or failure to re-take the examination within the prescribed period shall bar the student permanently from the doctoral program. Moreover, the student shall be disqualified from admission into other doctoral programs within the same Department.

v. Department Graduate Committess may impose stricter rating rules, upon consultation with the CGC.

e. Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy

A student who passes the Candidacy Examination advances to candidacy for the doctoral degree.