Doctoral students take two comprehensive exams covering foundations and research coursework. Exams are now solely offered as take-home, open-book exams. Direct any questions to Sarah Kirschner.

Open-book Comprehensive Exams

Take-home, open-book exams are offered once per academic quarter on the first Monday of October, February, May, and June. 

Examinees have 4 weeks to complete the exam and must sign up for the exam at least one month in advance of the next exam date. Examinees will receive their exam from the Associate Director of Graduate Programs on the scheduled exam date. Exams are distributed to SPU email.

Cancellations must be received in writing at least five days prior to the exam date. Email the graduate programs office at soe-grad@spu.edu to cancel. Students may not cancel or withdraw once the exam has been distributed. Students' inability to submit a distributed exam will result in a non-passing grade.

Students who are taking the open-book research exam should have SPSS installed on their computer. A free version may be downloaded at the SPU Student Software Instillation wiki page. If you are using a Mac computer and are experiencing download issues, follow these directions to install SPSS:
https://servicedesk.msstate.edu/TDClient/45/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=2016 
Here is a second article about SPSS compatibility with Mac hardware and software:
https://www.ibm.com/mysupport/s/defect/aCI3p0000004Khs/dt243265?language=en_US

Scheduled Dates for the 2023-2024 Academic Year

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