In this solo episode, I talk about my experience taking my qualifying (or comprehensive) exam. I explain what my exam consisted of, how I prepared for it, and why I had to take it twice. I also share some tips from my experience for others that are preparing to take their own qualifying exam. To find the full show notes, visit http://www.aboutfromandwith.com. Follow me and the podcast on Instagram @danikapfeiffer.slp and Twitter @AboutFrom_With.
Episode Transcript
Welcome back to About, From, & With! Thanks for spending part of your day listening to this episode!
Today I am going to share my experience preparing for and taking my qualifying exam during my PhD program. Some programs also call this exam the comprehensive exam. The purpose of this exam is to demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about your area of research and that you are prepared to take on your dissertation project to contribute new knowledge to the field.
These exams are not standardized. Each PhD student has a different exam and there is typically a written and an oral portion. This typically takes place after you have completed your coursework during the first couple years of your PhD program. Since each program and each committee approaches this process in their own way, I am sharing my experience, but I just want to note that it could look slightly different from program to program.
Typically your PhD committee members discuss expectations with you for the exam. These faculty members write the questions for your exam. The topics of your exam are dependent upon your area of expertise that you have been focusing on during the beginning of your program. For me, the topics on my exam were child language disorders and interprofessional practice.
The most stressful thing about this exam is that you have to pass it to continue in your PhD program. This exam really proves that you have enough mastery of your topic area to continue on and complete your dissertation. After completing all your PhD coursework, the last thing you want to do is fail this exam. Unlike other big exams that I had taken before this like the SAT, or Praxis, there’s no guidebooks or study guides out there that you can use to prepare because the questions are written by your committee members. This uncertainty definitely felt like it added to my anxiety about this exam.
My written exam was scheduled for August before the Fall semester started. I set the date with my committee and they explained that I would have the choice of two writing prompts. I would take the exam in one of the committee member’s research labs on her computer. I was told that I would have 5 hours to write my response. I wouldn’t have access to the internet or any resources during that time, but I could bring in a reference list of key resources to cite in my response. It was expected that I would integrate information from the literature that I had learned during the beginning of my program into my response. However, the main purpose was to apply the knowledge, not simply just list out the facts that I had learned.
I didn’t have much specific information to use to prepare for this exam, except that it would challenge me to apply the information that I knew about child language disorders and interprofessional practice. Since I was allowed to bring in a reference list, I started reading back through the key pieces of literature that I had been exposed to in my classes on these topics thus far and taking notes about their key findings and take-home messages. I limited myself to just a couple key things from each article to memorize. I used all of this information to make a study guide for myself to prepare for the exam. Once I finished adding material to it, I read over it again and again. I also made flash cards where I put the reference on one side of the card (which is all I would have during the exam) and the key findings or points from it on the other. I quizzed myself again and again with these cards until I felt good with all the material. I also remember making diagrams and charts with the information to try to help me make connections between the different sources so I could remember it easier on the day of the exam.
I remember feeling very stressed about this exam. I actually remember going to the hair salon one day during the time I was preparing for the exam, and the first question my stylist asked as he was looking at my hair was if I was feeling stressed about something lately. Which I thought was a weird question to ask. But I told him about the exam and he said ahhh that makes sense and then told me that I had a patch of gray hair! I was only 24 years old at the time and completely shocked!
As I was preparing for this exam, I learned that some people have to re-write their written exam. You could be asked to re-write portions of the exam or the whole thing. There had actually been several people in my department before me that had been asked to do re-writes. After all the time I put into preparing for this exam, I really did not want to have to do it twice. But I started to mentally prepare myself for the possibility. I actually had a history by this point of not succeeding the first time when it came to some of my academic coursework. When I started my governor’s school program my freshman year of high school, I failed my first history exam. I also failed my first essay during undergrad. And then my first adult neuro quiz in grad school my first semester, and my first pop quiz in my first PhD course. That was an instrumentation course (still my least favorite!) where we learned about how to identify and design different circuits with the goal of being able to fix our lab equipment someday. That course is a story for another day, but I ended up earning an “A” in all of those courses, so you could say I was developing a bit of a resilience by this point.
On the morning of the exam, I reported to my advisor’s research lab where she got me set up on one of her lab computers. She turned off the computer’s internet connection and made sure I was comfortable for the many hours of writing ahead of me. I knew my committee members were all on my side and really wanted me to succeed and do well, so that helped ease my nerves that morning a little bit.
My advisor gave me a piece of paper with the two prompt options on it. She said I could choose to address either prompt. Each prompt had several questions for me to answer. I read over each prompt and pretty immediately identified which one I wanted to address. I remember that I was allowed to have some blank paper and a pencil to brainstorm ideas. I took some time to outline my thoughts before starting. Then I got to work.
I remember taking a brief lunch and bathroom break in the middle of my testing session. I felt like I had prepared well and could integrate the literature that I had read beforehand into my responses. At the end of my writing block, I was left feeling very tired but overall pretty good. I felt like I had prepared the best I could and addressed the questions to the best of my ability.
Unfortunately there was a 2-week waiting period before I would know the outcome so that my committee members had time to read through my response. Those two weeks felt like they lasted forever!
After my committee reviewed my exam, I met with my advisor. At this point, I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to do any re-writes but had mentally prepared myself for it just in case. In my meeting, my advisor explained that there was actually some disagreement between committee members about if I needed to do re-writes or not. The issue was that some of my committee members felt that I misinterpreted part of the prompt and therefore, didn’t fully address the questions asked. After discussion between my committee members, they decided that they did want me to rewrite my responses to a couple questions.
I was a little bummed that I would have to prepare and then write again, but I was able to know which parts I needed to rewrite and gained clarity on what the questions were really asking, so preparing for the rewrite definitely was less stressful. This rewrite period was significantly shorter too. And luckily, I passed that time and was able to move on to the oral exam.
My oral exam consisted of two parts. First, I was asked to put together a presentation for my committee members where I explained my oral exam response. During this presentation I was asked to elaborate on my responses and explain some of the decisions that I made. Then there was a question and answer period where my committee members asked me questions. Some of these questions were purely to see if I knew the content material and others were more application based. At this point in the PhD program, you need to be able to demonstrate that you have solid expertise in your content area and can also provide informed recommendations about key issues.
After I finished my presentation and answered my committee members’ questions, I was asked to leave the room for a few minutes while the committee deliberated. I went to my office down the hall and waited. After my committee members finished their discussion, one of them came down and asked me to go back to the conference room. Once I sat down they told me that I passed and we signed paperwork for my candidacy.
This was a HUGE step. When you pass your qualifying exam, you go from ‘PhD student’ to ‘PhD candidate.’ At this stage, you are ‘All but dissertation’ or ABD. This means that you have completed all the coursework required for your doctorate and your qualifying exam. So now the focus of your program really becomes your dissertation. This candidacy status carries some weight, especially if you apply for faculty positions in the job cycle before you graduate. Many faculty job ads will specify that you can apply if you are ABD. Some positions will actually let you start working while you are ABD and finishing up your dissertation.
Becoming a PhD candidate was very exciting. It was validation that all the hard work I was doing was paying off and I was well on my way to earning my PhD.
I want to end this episode with a few tips based on my experience with the qualifying exam.
First, start the conversation about your exam with your committee early on. Ask them what format to expect and what content will be addressed on your exam.
Second, talk to other people that have taken qualifying exams in your department. Especially people who have some of the same committee members as you. This can help give you a better picture of what to expect and how to prepare.
Third, if you can, try to plan your exam during a break between semesters or a semester where you have a lighter courseload. I was really grateful that I did this and had sufficient time to devote to preparing for my exam.
Fourth, after you read through the prompt or prompts for your written exam, ask for clarification. I think my rewrites could have been avoided if I had verbally explained my interpretation of the questions to make sure I fully understood what was being asked.
And lastly, give yourself some grace. If your program allows re-writes, know that you may not pass the first time, and there is really nothing wrong with you if you don’t, and it doesn’t mean anything about your future career. The PhD journey, and a career in academia, is filled with lots of highs and lows. Try to remember that it’s ok to lean on your support system during the challenging times and keep your head up!
Thank you for listening to this episode. I encourage you to follow the podcast so that you’ll be notified of new episodes as they come out! Please also consider leaving a review of the podcast -I’d love to hear what you think, and it helps others find the podcast. You can also find the show notes and transcripts at www.aboutfromandwith.com and connect with me on Instagram @danikapfeiffer.slp. Until next time, stay humble and kind!
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