Applied Linguistics MA Program
| MA Exam Option
THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAM (PLAN B)
In lieu of the thesis, an MA comprehensive exam option is available to
MA students in the Applied Linguistics specialization.
The Comprehensive
Exam consists of a sit-down exam on three subject areas of your choice
and a take-home exam. On each portion of
the exam,
students
will be given one of the following scores: commendable, pass, partial
pass, or fail. To pass the whole exam, the student must score at least
two passes
and one partial pass on the sit-down exam as well as score at least
pass on the take-home exam. If you are interested in Plan B, ask for a packet
in the Department Office or from Dr. Choi (the Comprehensive Exam Coordinator.)
This packet contains procedural information, sample questions from previous
years, the most recent reading list, time tables, a list of subjects,
suggested preparatory courses, and other information.
To officially declare
your intention of taking the Comprehensive Exam, you must meet with
the graduate advisor within the first two weeks of
the semester. The graduate advisor will verify that you have completed
all of the preparatory steps, such as advancement to candidacy and completion
of the required units. Also note that once you have selected the Exam
option, you may not change to the Thesis option.
The comprehensive exam
is given toward the end of both the Fall and Spring semesters. Students
have only two opportunities to pass the comprehensive
exam. Since the Spring of 1994, approximately eight students have passed
the exam after the first attempt, five have passed after their second
attempt, and one failed both attempts.
THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAM OPTION
One successful student tells all!
" If you suffer from test anxiety, this
is probably not the option for you, since it is a very intense process. You
MUST keep in regular
contact with at least one of the two professors giving each section of
the exam. This is essential!
Initiate contact early, (preferably in the
semester before you take the exam).
Declare your intention to take the MA Exam and ask for their advice
and suggestions for preparation. Once you decide to take the exam, waste
no time! Begin reading and outlining or note-taking at once! Then you
will be able to have several informed conversations with the professors
who will be writing the exam.
I highly recommend taking the exam option.
It requires just a few months of intensive studying and worrying, rather
than a year or years of researching
and revising for a thesis. If you begin studying in the preceding semester,
you are that much more ahead of the game, and then you just have 3 - 4
months of studying in the semester of the exam. You are allowed to get
a partial pass on one subject and still pass the whole exam -- so there's
an escape clause. And you can retake any section(s) that you fail."
Advice about choosing between the Thesis or the Exam
* If you have a definite research interest in a particular research
topic, think seriously
about the Thesis (Plan A).
* If in your coursework, you were particularly good in a certain course,
but not in
other courses, think seriously about the Thesis (Plan A) and consider
a topic
within the areas that you excelled.
* If you received A's in most of your courses, but do not have a particular
topic, then
think seriously about the Exam (Plan B).
To Graduate Handbook
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