Qualifying Exam Schedule (2008)

Sample Qualifying Exam Questions

Prior to the semester that you plan to take the qualifying exam, consult with your chair to determine if you are ready to complete qualifying. After receiving permission from your chair, contact the ELPA Department’s administrative assistant (439-4430) to sign up for the qualifying exam.

Students are encouraged to take the Qualifying Examination after the completion of all required coursework. Therefore, students may enroll in dissertation hours during the semester of qualifying and oral exams.  However, continued enrollment in dissertation hours (concurrent with qualifying and oral exams) is dependent upon successfully completing qualifying and oral exams.  Students must be registered for at least three semester hours of coursework, Readings & Research, or Dissertation hours in the semester in which the examination is taken.

In order to sit for the qualifying exam ELPA students must have completed the four following requirements:

1.      ELPA 6581 (3 Internship hours),

2.      Submitted and have approved the residency activities notebook,

3.      And have a program of study submitted and approved (signed).

4.      Currently enrolled for a minimum of three semester hours (either in coursework, Reading & Research, or Dissertation hours).

Successful completion of this Qualifying Examination leads to a departmental recommendation of the student for candidacy, which, in turn, allows the student to register for dissertation coursework. You may use the ELPA exam schedule (listed above) in planning when to take the exam.

Throughout their programs of study, students are encouraged to reflect upon their preparation for the Qualifying Examination. Although the specific format of examination questions may vary for each student, to assist students in this ongoing self-assessment, the ELPA department faculty members have compiled a sample file of aspects of the professional knowledge base which may be addressed and some sample examination questions which have been posed on the Qualifying Examination. Although it is essential to remember that these questions were intended for specific individuals, whose programs of study may well have been very different from those of other students (thereby implying that the knowledge base being tested was also significantly different), hopefully this information will be of some interest and utility to all students.

Students with further questions regarding the written qualifying exam and the oral exam are referred to the relevant sections of the Doctoral Handbook. Furthermore, students are encouraged to discuss these examinations with their advisors and committee members.

Qualifying Examination and Orals

The written and oral portions of the qualifying examination are designed to determine the student’s level of achievement prior to the dissertation, with emphasis on the student’s ability to apply, synthesize, and evaluate knowledge in the areas of research, educational leadership, educational foundations, and within the student’s cognate area (post-masters only). Typically these exams are held on pre-determined Thursday and Friday in the months of January, May and August.   

At least three weeks, and preferably a full semester, prior to the departmentally scheduled exam date, any student desiring to participate in the examination should consult with his or her committee chair. After verbally approving the student for participation in the examination, the committee chair will contact the members of the student’s committee to solicit appropriate questions. Each student will typically respond to questions in four areas, answering the questions over a period of sixteen hours. From 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, students will respond to the foundations area questions. From 1:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., students will respond to the leadership area questions. On Friday, students will begin with the research area questions, from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., followed by the cognate area questions from 1:30 p.m. until 5:30 pm for students who do not have their Ed.S. Well in advance of the examination students should consult with each member of their committee to learn more about the types of examination questions which may be asked.

The examination is conducted under supervised conditions within the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. In order for the Department to make reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, the student must contact the Center for Students with Disabilities and present a Faculty Accommodation Form to the ELPA chair prior to the qualifying exam. Only accommodations approved by the Center for Students with Disabilities will be provided.  Students will write their responses directly on one of the department’s computers using the current version of Microsoft Word). At the end of each session, the student will receive information about the submission of the exam (electronic or hard copy).  

Students should keep a copy of the examination questions and their replies to take with them. Students are expected to reflect on their own performance on the written examination and, where necessary, engage in additional targeted study in preparation for the oral examination. Students will not be permitted to bring additional materials of any kind to the oral exam (you may bring your original exam with notes in the margins). Following the committee’s review of the written examination, a mutually convenient time and date are selected for the oral examination. At this examination, the committee members probe the student’s written responses in greater depth for related information and understanding. Following the oral examination, the committee files a signed report regarding the student’s examination results with the Program Coordinator, Dean of the College of Education, and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

Students who are not successful on the qualifying examination are provided with a remediation plan which should assist them in preparing for a re-examination in a future semester. Those students who are unsuccessful in only one area of the exam will be re-examined (in both written and oral formats) in that specific area. The chair of such students’ committees will be responsible for conferring with appropriate committee members regarding questions and for the re-examination and timelines which might be recommended to students for preparing for the re-examination.

Students who are unsuccessful in two or more areas (one or more for post-Ed.S. students) must re-take the complete examination at a regularly-scheduled examination date in a subsequent semester. Again, all students must be registered for a minimum of three semester hours of coursework, Readings & Research, or Dissertation hours in the semester in which they re-take the exam; if they have no further regular coursework to complete at this point, they should register for three-semester hours of ELPA 7990 - Readings and Research. Failure on any portion of the second administration of the examination will disqualify the student from further participation in the doctoral program.