DOCTORAL
STUDIES
PROGRAM
SCHOOL
OF
COMMUNICATION
AND
THE ARTS
Preparing for Qualifying Examinations
Dr. William J. Brown
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
STUDIES
PROGRAM
Begin preparation by reviewing the Ph.D. handbook
Read the relevant sections on “Qualifying Examination”
from the handbook, sections 5.0 - 5.4, pp. 20 – 22.
What is it?
The qualifying examination is a stage in doctoral
studies at which the doctoral student has completed
all coursework for the Ph.D. degree and is now
required to demonstrate mastery in both written
form and oral defense form of the content of both
mandatory courses In the program and courses
in their major interest area.
Qualifying Examinations
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What is the content of the exam?
• The qualifying examinations contain four periods of
four-hour writing units over two days, the Thursday
and Friday of the examination periods followed
by an oral defense on the written portion for a
minimum of two hours.
Then what?
• Passing all units of the examination together with a
vote of the doctoral faculty and School faculty
constitutes the candidacy stage for the Ph.D.
degree and the dissertation stage of the degree
may begin.
Qualifying Examinations
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Who writes the questions?
Day 1: Your professors for your core courses or
professors who teach those courses, including
adjunct professors
Day 2: Your professor for your primary
methods course and the other professors on your
qualifying examination committee
How do they create the questions?
Out of the materials used in your classes and
targeted toward your areas of interest on Day 2
Qualifying Examinations
When are the exams available?
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• The exams are offered twice each fall and spring
semesters; dates are available at
www/regent.edu/acad/schcom/schedule/
deadlines.shtml
Breakdown of the exams: written portion
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
8 AM – Noon
1 PM – 5 PM
8 AM – Noon
1 PM – 5 PM
Philosophy and
Communication
(or methods)
Theology and
Communication
Major Interest Area I
And methods (if not taken
day 1)
Advanced Communication
Theory
History of Communication
Major Interest Area II
• Oral portion: Anytime after one-week-minimum faculty-reading-period;
a minimum of two-hours oral defense (usually 2-3 weeks).
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
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What is the required paperwork needed?
• Run your grades transcript from Genisys
• Make sure that all your coursework in completed and
correct grades appear on your transcript
• Choose two additional doctoral faculty members to join
your advisor to form your examination committee
• Check the available School calendar dates for your
preferred semester and choice of two sets of
dates offered
• Complete the application form for taking qualifying
examinations (see appendix, Ph.D. Handbook)
and turn in to Amy Harden (amyhard@regent.edu)
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
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How do I plan for the exam?
• Plan on taking your qualifying examination as close
to the completion of coursework as possible
• Clear the time before and during your writing period
from daily requirements: take vacation time from
work; send the family to relatives; take leaves from
other commitments that might interfere with you
concentration
• Remember that for at least a week (between written
and the earliest date for orals), you will know what
your exam questions are, so plan study time after
the written portion before the oral defense
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
STUDIES
PROGRAM
How do I prepare a study plan?
• Review the “Competencies” section of both mandatory
and major interest area course syllabi
• E-mail committee members with the courses you have
taken, the title/content of papers, dissertation
interest topic,etc.; this helps them to write
integrating questions
• Review course textbooks for highlighted areas, notes
taken, discussion boards in Blackboard sites, etc.
• Consider forming/joining study groups of other
colleagues taking qualifying examinations with
you – groups provide encouragement & insight
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Who should I talk to as I plan?
• Talk with those who preceded you on their experience
and what they would do differently
• Ask them about their questions, remembering
that questions are written for individuals but the
tenor, content and format remain the same for all
• Talk with colleagues about outlining notes and texts
to form a good review format for everyone; a
study group will make this easier and faster
• Talk with each professor writing a question for you
about how to best prepare for his or her
question
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DOCTORAL
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PROGRAM
What are some effective study techniques?
• Everyone is unique: Find out how you learn best
hearing, seeing, writing, speaking, etc.
• Outlining appears to be a good study technique for
many; notes on file cards is another good option
• Discussing course content together, on-line,
face-to-face, and even out-of-town works for many
• Review major works and authors in communication
in general and major interest area in particular:
dates are not as important as titles and authors
• Integrate the content of your courses: think beyond
individual classes; questions will be written to
make you integrate your knowledge
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
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How do I prepare for 8 hours of writing?
Take a mock exam with sample questions
that your colleagues make up or that have
been used in past exams.
Get good sleep the night before each day of
the exam (7-8 hours).
Eat light and get some exercise each day
before each exam day
Stay out of emotional conflict or concerns
before you take your exam
Qualifying Examinations
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How do I prepare for the oral defense?
• Critique your work: In the time between your written and
oral exams, study your written answers and
write each answer again as an “open book”
question, correcting your errors – write one a day
• You may only bring a copy of your written answers into
the oral defense with you--no notes, no texts, etc.
• Write out corrections to each answer, being careful
to add missing and correct erroneous content
• Practice making oral explanations of your corrections
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Sample Prep – History of Communication
• Check the “Course Competencies” of the syllabus for
the course
• Review the textbooks and your notes for the course
• Talk with the professor who taught the course
• Review previous exam questions about the history of
communication
• Learn the names and key ideas and contributions of five
or six major writers/scholars that you studied in
your class
• Answer a mock 2-hour question in this area of study
Qualifying Examinations
Examination question formats:
• Course syllabus format
• Scholarly publication format
• Scholarly presentation format
• Research grant proposal format
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Qualifying Examinations
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Course syllabus format – sample question
You are a faculty member in a department of communication at the
undergraduate level. You have been assigned to the upper-level student
major population. Because you are the resident rhetorician, you are being
assigned to write and teach a sequence of two courses at the junior and
senior levels. These courses are expected to “funnel” undergraduate majors
into the graduate division of your department.
Develop two sequential syllabi that address rhetorical communication. Title
the courses and create brief course descriptions for each of the two courses
you propose to be taught.
As with any syllabus, these syllabi must contain all necessary elements
of a quality syllabus at the upper undergraduate level of education.
The sequence of the two courses and rationale for the sequence should be
explicated in light of the subject matter. The choice of textbooks and authors
should be made and annotated explaining to students why they were chosen.
A fifteen-week calendar distributing content topics throughout the semester
for each syllabus should be noted.
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Scholarly publication format – sample question:
Imagine that you have been asked to write a book chapter on “Diffusion
of Buddhist Ideology through Mass Media in the United States.”
The editor of the book has asked you for an outline of your chapter, a
thorough introduction to the chapter, and a conclusion. The chapter is
25-30 pages, double-spaced 12-point font.
Next, provide a detailed description of the scholarly work you will draw
upon for this chapter, citing relevant communication theorists and
scholars who have studied the diffusion of religious ideas through mass
media.
Qualifying Examinations
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Scholarly presentation format – sample question:
Imagine that you have been asked to prepare a formal two day presentation
on An Introduction to Qualitative Communication Research Methods for
the study of an entertainment education play to promote drug abuse
prevention. The committee in charge of the two-day seminar wants you to
provide them with a careful and detailed outline of the presentation, and to write
an extensive introduction to the presentation identifying your approach to the
topic and mentioning the major strengths and weaknesses of the qualitative
approach with reference to the area of entertainment education. The
introduction should include a discussion of the various approaches to data
collection, different problems with analysis and the varied ways one can write
up the research findings.
Draw our attention to the issues being discussed by scholars working
with this research methodology.
Please reference your work where appropriate.
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
STUDIES
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Research grant proposal format – sample question:
The U.S. government has published a call for research proposals for a grant for
research in the fields of communication and media as they apply to civil servants
in bureaucratic Washington, DC. They have left the problem statement for the
proposed research to the researchers writing the proposal. The grant award is
substantial--$250,000-$500,000. You are to write a proposal for that grant money
using all the relevant elements of a proposal. You are to suggest a topic to study
that meets the requirement of the grant “research in the fields of communication
and media.” In proposing a quantitative research project, you are to cover
thoroughly all elements of the statistical requirements for good research from
research problem statement, research questions and/or hypotheses to the
population to be studied, drawing a sample and naming the sample, data
collection method, etc. The variables to be researched should be defined and the
measurement scales to be used should be included. A draft of a data collection
instrument should be included. From the type of data measurement you propose,
indicate the statistical tests you propose to use. Also indicate what limitations you
anticipate to your proposed research and its anticipated generalizability.
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
STUDIES
PROGRAM
Sample Day 1 Question – Philosophy of Communication
It would be incumbent on doctoral students to know their own minds,
whether one calls it one’s worldview or one’s philosophy. On each of
the following great questions in philosophy—how do we know, what is
truth, what is the nature of physical reality, what is the relationship
between faith and reason, which argument for the existence of God is
moist cogent, what is the strongest argument for the immortality of the
soul, how does the mind and body interrelate, and what ethical theory
most serves the Christian seeking a terminal degree—state your
philosophical position from the content of our course in Philosophy
and Communication. At this level of your doctoral education, one is
expected to be able to state: (1) “As my position on a theory of
knowledge (or truth, reality, etc.), I hold a theory of (e.g., objectivism)
and I am a (e.g., Neo-Thomist).”
Qualifying Examinations
DOCTORAL
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Sample Day 2 Question - 4 hrs on Entertainment-Education & Quantitative Methods
During the past ten years a number of corporate scandals such as the Enron debacle have
landed dozens of top executives in jail and have resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions
of dollars. President Bush has spoken out publicly on numerous occasions of the need to
teach ethical decision-making to corporate leaders. Some business schools of Ivy League
universities have actually decreased their teaching of ethics over the past several years.
You have been hired as a consultant by Harvard University to change this trend in the
Harvard Business School. However, you are going to propose to Harvard a new and
innovative way to teach business ethics – through the use of entertainment-education.
Based on your knowledge of the entertainment-education communication strategy, design
a required ethics course for all MBA students and design a social scientific study to
measure the effects of your course on the ethics beliefs and practices of the students who
complete the course. Write as if you were actually going to present your new proposed
course to the dean and faculty of the business school. Cite relevant theorists and studies of
entertainment-education media and arts to support your proposal. Be very specific in
outlining your research design, including a list of specific research questions and/or
hypotheses, an explanation of the sample design and procedure, a discussion of the
research method(s) to be used, a discussion of any research instruments that will be used,
a description of the type of data your study will produce, and an explanation of how you
plan to analyze your data and use it to assess the effectiveness of your proposed course.
Questions?