Each student must pass three qualifying comprehensive exams, two of them as written take-home exams and the third as an oral exam. The two written exams must include one in the field of film/culture/media theory and one in the field of film/media history. These exams must be taken in the second and third semesters of coursework (See Ph.D. Trajectory). The third exam is an oral exam that will be conducted at the time of student’s dissertation proposal defense at the end of the fourth semester. This exam covers material from the student’s specific area of research.
Students who began the program prior to Fall 2007 must adhere to the following:
Each student must pass three qualifying comprehensive exams, all of them as written take-home exams. The student must include one exam in the field of film/culture/media theory and one in the field of film/media history. The third exam may either address another topic within the existing exam offerings or more often, be drawn up as a special area of study, possibly in sync with a directed reading or independent study that relates to the student’s proposed dissertation topic in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser.
The theory exam areas include Gender, Sexuality, and Representation; Race, Nation, and Representation; Cultural Theory; Media Theory; Theory of Narrative and Genre; Theory of Sound and Image.
The history/historiography exam areas include the following options: American film—1895 to 1929, American Film—1927 to 1960, or American Film—1960 to the Present; History of French Film; History of Italian Film; History of Japanese Film; History of Soviet and Post-Soviet Film; History of German Film; History of the International Avant-Garde; History of Documentary Film; History of Latin American Film; History of British Film.
The written take-home exams consist of six questions, of which three are to be answered in the form of a 10-page essay per question. The student has one week to complete the take-home exam. Each subject area is offered for examination once a year either in the fall or spring semester.
A scheduled list of the areas offered in a particular semester is available from the department at the beginning of each academic year. Semester specific deadlines are included with the schedule. All students must register for each exam by the appropriate deadline.
Written exams are graded by three faculty members. The student receives a grade of high pass, pass, or fail. If a student fails an examination, the exam in the same subject area must be re-taken the next time it is offered. Upon failing an exam in any one area twice, the student must leave the Ph.D. program. Students take their written exams in their second and third semesters of course work.
The oral exam is comprised of a series of questions pertaining to the student’s specific area of research drawing from the previously completed third semester directed reading and the dissertation proposal. The exam is conducted and graded by three faculty members. The student receives a grade of pass or fail. If the student fails the oral exam, they must reschedule another examination to take place the following summer semester. Upon failing the exam twice, the student must leave the Ph.D. program. Students take their oral exam at the end of their fourth semester during their dissertation proposal defense meeting.
