1/19/2024 0 Comments State test survival kitSome exams test your subject-area knowledge, some focus on your proposed research, and many cover a combination of the two. The scope, structure, and timing of oral exams vary among institutions and departments. Your performance is the end product of a much longer process of collaborative learning and demonstration of knowledge that starts when you first meet the members of your exam committee. And we are about to let you in on the real secret of orals: The outcome can be determined, in large part, in advance of the actual test. We're all doctoral students in the sciences and social sciences who have successfully passed our oral exams. Too often, no one explains what to expect or how to prepare. For many students, the stress associated with preparing for orals is largely because they will experience the exam format for the first, and last, time. oral exam can be the most terrifying hurdle in graduate school, it can also be a positive and rewarding experience. But the reality doesn't have to be that bad. That's how many graduate students imagine their oral exam. The threat hangs constantly over your head: Fail to satisfy them, and your graduate career will end. You writhe before them as they take turns posing questions almost beyond your grasp. Your executioners are four professors who are experts in their fields. It is like standing in front of a firing squad. Too often, no one explains to graduate students what to expect of their comprehensive exams. Reprinted with permission from The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 14, 2009. By Eric Hallstein, Michael Kiparsky & Anne Short.
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