MERM PhD Comprehensive Examination

Eligibility

Only students who will have obtained 85% or better in the required core MERM courses taken at UBC will be allowed to attempt the Comprehensive Examination. The core MERM courses will be the MERM courses listed in the student's approved PGS for the MERM program. Students who do not meet this requirement must obtain 85% either by retaking the course(s) or by writing a sit-in examination on material specific to the course(s) prior to starting the Comprehensive Examination.

Format

Eligible students will write a Take-home Examination. This examination will require the student to compose a comprehensive essay/paper on a topic identified by the student's examining committee comprised of three MERM professors who may be part or all of the student's supervisory committee. The student will identify one member of the examining committee as the coordinator of the Comprehensive examination.

Evaluation

The content of the paper may be related to student's dissertation topic, but should not be part of the dissertation. The student must demonstrate depth of understanding and originality via synthesis and application. An Oral Examination will be required as well, where the student will present a brief summary of his/her written material and answer questions from the Examining Committee members who would have read the written answer. An expectation of the scope of the answer will be stated along with the question. Both the written and the oral examination will be considered together for a pass or fail decision.

Time

Students will be given four weeks to complete the paper. Normally, both the written and oral examinations would be completed within six weeks. Students will receive an immediate evaluation of their performance following the oral examination.

Re-Examination

In the case of unsatisfactory performance, the student will be allowed one re-write and/or one oral presentation of the whole examination or the part(s) the examining committee may require. The time for the re-examination will be specified by the examining committee.