European History Comprehensive Exams
The Graduate Regulations of the History Department govern how all students take the comprehensive examinations and defend the dissertation prospectus. Students should consult those regulations, as well as the day-of-exam rules outlined on the form which they must submit in advance of the examination. As an addition to those general departmental rules, this document outlines the specific regulations of the European History field.
The European History field is subdivided into Modern, Early Modern/Late Medieval, and Medieval.
The purpose of the comprehensive examinations in European History is to encourage students to read widely in preparation for their work as teachers.
Therefore, we expect students to demonstrate in their essays a mastery of the basic information, the main lines of historiographical debate, and the chief methodological implications specific to the areas examined. These expectations clearly go beyond an in-class essay examination but, due to the constraints of time, do not require the level of detail and documentation of a term paper. Each essay must be lucidly written and cogently argued, showing a maturity and breadth of knowledge that inspires confidence in its author's historical judgment.
The comprehensive examination is actually divided into three separate exams covering distinct areas of inquiry. A minimum of three faculty members will therefore be involved, though it is possible to split areas of examination into component parts in order to involve up to a maximum of five faculty. The three exams are:
1. GEOGRAPHICAL EXAM. This usually covers a country or a language area (like France) in which the dissertation is situated.
2. METHODOLOGICAL EXAM. This involves a methodological approach to the past like diplomatic history or social history.
3. CHRONOLOGICAL EXAM. This covers a time period of European history other than that of a student's primary research interest.
In preparation for these exams, the establishment of reading lists is crucial. As early as possible after the MA a student must seek out the members of his/her committee and negotiate with each an acceptable number of titles (30-35 would seem suitable). This list is to be considered as a binding contract, spelling out for the student what reading must be achieved at a minimum and to the professor what body of material can be fairly examined. Beyond a general core, the list will usually contain a number of titles which reflect the specific approach or research interest of an individual student.
Students should self-schedule their exams in consultation with their advisor and all members of the examining committee. All three exams should be completed within a single semester, and usually within a one-week period (though a two-week window is permitted). The exams will take place on three separate days, with each exam containing one or two questions and comprising six hours of writing. The actual amount of time available for each exam will be eight hours, so that students can take the questions home, work on their own computers, and, should they wish, also consult some literature or notes. The essay or essays produced for a single exam should not exceed ten pages. Students will need to sign an honor pledge to indicate that they have not used previously drafted answers or the help of friends. In exceptional cases, the student and his/her examiners may agree to have one of these three fields tested with a different procedure, such as a semester-long take-home examination that will produce a more substantial paper of more than 20 pages.
For each written exam, the examining faculty member(s) will assign a grade of "pass" or "fail." A student who receives a failing grade on one of the exams (or part of one exam) may retake that exam within a time period specified by the examination committee. (A partial failing grade on an exam is possible if a student has opted for more than one examiner.) A student who receives failing grades on more than one of the three exams has failed and may only retake the complete exam with the permission of the examination committee.
Upon the recommendation of members of the written and oral doctoral examination committees, a student may be evaluated as having passed the comprehensive examinations "with distinction."
ADDITIONAL FIELD RULES:
Students in all areas of European History must acquire competency in at least two foreign languages.