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Written M.S. Comprehensive Exam

Oral M.S. Comprehensive Exam

Consequences

The Graduate School requires that at the end of the M.S. program of study, all students must pass a comprehensive examination. The student may elect to take either a written or an oral comprehensive exam.

A student must be registered during the semester in which the M.S. Comprehensive Exam is taken.

Written M.S. Comprehensive Exam
The Written M.S. Comprehensive Examination tests the student's mastery of the graduate core course material and supporting undergraduate content. In the Department of Computer Science, the Core Comprehensive Exam (CCE) serves as the written form of the M.S. Comprehensive Exam. Most M.S. students in Computer Science satisfy the Written M.S. Comprehensive Exam by taking the CCE. If passed, the Written M.S. Comprehensive Exam can also satisfy the Doctoral Written Exam requirement should the student choose to continue toward the Ph.D. degree.

Oral M.S. Comprehensive Exam
The student may opt to take an Oral M.S. Comprehensive Exam. Passing an oral M.S. Comprehensive Exam cannot satisfy the Ph.D. Written Exam requirement. The scope of the Oral M.S. Comprehensive Exam is broader than that of the CCE: it may cover all courses listed in the 30 hours of credit required for the degree rather than just core courses.

Consequences
If the student passes the exam, that fact is reported to the Graduate School by the Department.

If the student fails the exam, the Comprehensive examination may be retaken, only once (again by petition only), after a lapse of at least three months. The student may elect an oral or a written form for the second examination independently of the form of the first.

If the failure resulted primarily from weakness in a narrow area, the second examination may be designated to cover only that area of weakness. For an oral examination, the examining committee will notify the student in writing of the scope of the second examination. For a written examination, the departmental Committee on Examinations will so notify the student.