PhD Comprehensive Exams 

Students in the Doctoral Program must demonstrate, by passing a written and oral comprehensive examination, that they have both an overall command of knowledge in Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies and in their area of dissertation specialization. The successful completion of the exam indicates that the student is qualified to teach at the university level, in undergraduate introductory and overview courses as well as in her/his own specific area. 

The comprehensive exam challenges the student to examine and synthesize a body of theory, and related empirical research. Comprehensives combine breadth, depth, and synthetic ability, without necessarily entailing exhaustive knowledge of the field. Students are expected to demonstrate a broad understanding of the major theoretical perspectives in the field and of key debates. Comprehensiveness also requires good knowledge of the alternative approaches to relevant empirical research, key findings, and their interpretation in relation to theoretical approaches and gaps in current research. Comprehensive exams have two components: the general and the specific. 

Students start the comps exams as soon as they have completed course work or as they are completing it, typically in the summer of year one (semester 3) or the fall of year two (semester 4). The comps exam process takes about six months and is normally completed by the end of year two (semester 6). While students may begin their comps while they are doing course work, they cannot write their comprehensive exams until all coursework is completed. Students have some flexibility in progressing through the stages of the PhD but must have a comprehensive exam committee in place by the end of year 2 (or semester 6) to progress to year 3. 

Please refer to the GFWS Comprehensive Exam Checklist to help guide you through the process. 

STEP 1: COMPREHENSIVE EXAM COMMITTEE 

The Comps Committee consists of a supervisor (who must be affiliated with GFWS), and two committee members (one of whom can be non-GFWS affiliated). Students choose Comps committee members based on various criteria, including their areas of expertise, and their working relationship with one another, as well as with the student. Students should know that their areas of specialization in their comprehensive exams must match the areas of specialization of their committee. Once the committee is selected, the student must submit to the program a filled out PhD Comprehensive Examination Committee Approval Form. 

The GFWS Comprehensive Exam involves completion of the following four components: 

• Readings lists; 

• Summary statements and sample questions; 

• A written exam of two essays OR one essay, a course outline, and lecture; and, 

• An oral exam. 

STEP 2: PROBLEMATICS & LISTS 

In consultation with the Comps Committee, the student develops a reading list for each of the General and the Specific exam. These problematics identify central questions, key issues or conceptual frameworks which have informed feminist dialogue and debate. 

The questions/issues/problematics should draw on and apply to two of the main designated fields of gender, feminist and women's studies identified in the Program: 

1. Cultural and Literary Studies, Performance and Fine Arts 

2. Diaspora, Transnational and Global Issues 

3. Histories 

4. Politics, Economies and Societies 

5. Race 

6. Sexualities 

7. Theories and Methods 

*Special Topics: A student may choose a special topic as one of their ‘fields’ as in some cases there could be an argument for reviewing another body of literature not covered by the seven key fields. The goal is to ensure that the student has an appreciation of the breadth and depth of feminist scholarship. 

For the Specific component of the comprehensive examination, the issues or problematics should relate to the specific area of focus for the student's anticipated dissertation. The General and Specific problematics and reading lists should address significantly different areas. 

In consultation with the Comps Committee (and with suggestions from the Committee), the student develops a reading list for each of the General and Specific components of the examination. In consultation with the committee, the student develops the topics and readings lists for each of the General and the Specific exams. Each reading list should include a brief description of the focus, parameters, and primary themes of the list (normally 500-700 words). 

• The General list should consist of 15 books or the equivalent. 

• The Specific list should consist of 25 books or the equivalent. 

• Three articles or book chapters are considered equivalent to one book. 

Total = 40 Books (or equivalent) 

The Comprehensive Examination Committee must meet with the student at least once to formulate, finalize, and approve the lists. 

At this time, the student must indicate which option they are selecting for each component of the examination: the four-page problematic and written exam or the course outline. Students can choose between writing an exam or creating a course outline for each component of the comps: 

Before receiving approval to move forward, the student must choose how they want to complete the written portion of the comprehensive exam on their General list. The exam for the Specific list is always a written essay. The student has two options:

Option 1: For option 1, the student writes two essays, one for each list, in the agreed upon time frame in response to a questions provided by the Supervisory Committee.

Option 2: For option 2, the student writes one essay in the agreed upon time frame for the Specific list, in response to a questions provided by the Supervisory Committee, and creates a 2000–4000 level course outline and writes one course lecture for the General component of the examination. 

Once the committee has approved the final statements and lists, and agreed on the option chosen and the timeframe, the student submits the PhD Comprehensive Examination Reading Lists Form with copies of the overview statements and reading lists to the Program Office. 

STEP 3: LITERATURE REVIEW, SUMMARY STATEMENTS, & COURSE OUTLINES 

Once the overview statements and reading lists are passed, students begin reading literature from their lists. For each component, students must prepare a 4-page summary statement which outlines, in a comprehensive and synthesized way, the content of the reading list, and the main debates of their literature. In the summary statements, students should also reflect on the questions they raised in the overview statements. Summary statements should reference most (ideally all) of the literature in the reading lists. The Comprehensive Examination Committee meets with the student at least once to discuss the problematics/central questions. The student submits drafts of the two four-page problematics / summary statements and sample questions/course outline to the committee. Summary statements also include 3 sample questions for the examination if the student has chosen the written exam option. Once finalized, course outlines are due at the same time as the summary statements. Once approved, the student submits the summary statements and course outlines to the program office, along with the Request for PhD Comprehensive Examination Form. 

If the student has chosen the written exam for the General &/or Specific component of the comps, two options are available: 

1. the student writes one/two three-hour papers, on site at York (or in an approved location) within a period of one week. 

2. the student writes the one/two papers over a period of two weeks, writing one question per week (4000-5000 words each). 

If the student has chosen the course outline option for the General, the student will prepare a course outline for a full year 2000-4000 level undergraduate course. This course outline will include: a course description including the goals and learning objectives of the course, a weekly class schedule (assuming a 3-hour class time per week with a minimum of 1 hour and maximum of 2-hour lecture plus a seminar) that indicates the topic, lecture, and readings for each week, including a written explanation of how the readings relate to the topic. The student will also write detailed outlines of two of the lectures, and one of these lectures will be written out in an essay format which is usually 10-15 pages double-spaced. 

Students cannot choose the syllabus option for their Specific component. 

STEP 4: WRITTEN & ORAL EXAMS 

For each of the General and/or the Specific components of the written examination, the Comps Committee, coordinated by the supervisor, will set three questions based on the student's problematics or central questions as reflected in the works on the reading lists and using if they choose some or all the questions formulated by the student. The examination questions are sent by the supervisor to the Program Assistant at least one week before the examination date. The Program Assistant is responsible for providing the student (via e-mail and if requested, by hard copy) with the questions on the appropriate date. For each examination component (General and Specific), students will write on only one of the three questions provided by the Committee. Completed papers are submitted to the Program Assistant who then distributes the completed written examination responses to all members of the Comprehensive Examination Committee. 

An oral examination will be held, normally, about two weeks after completion of the written examination. It covers the student’s responses to the written examination questions, the course outline if selected, as well as the material on both reading lists. The oral examination is, typically, about two hours in duration. 

The format for the oral examination is as follows: 

• Once the student and committee members have convened, the candidate is excused, at which time the Supervisory Committee should confirm, based on the completed written aspect of the requirement, that the candidate is ready to proceed to the oral examination. The proposed format of the oral should also be approved prior to inviting the candidate back into the room. 

• The candidate is then invited to comment on their written examination and if relevant, the course outline. This provides an opportunity for the student to address any errors or omissions in the written work that upon reflection may have occurred to them. It also allows the student to expand upon the issues addressed in the written examination and if relevant, the course outline. 

• Each person on the Committee is invited to pose questions on the written exam and, if relevant, the course outline. The Committee members may wish to revisit the examination questions the candidate did not select. This format is intended to allow a conversation or dialogue to develop. The oral examination continues until each member of the examination committee is satisfied and/or has asked all the questions they wish to pose. 

• The candidate is invited to make a concluding statement if they wish and is then asked to leave the room. 

• Members of the Supervisory Committee evaluate both the written and oral parts of the examination. Following this deliberation, the candidate is invited back into the room and informed of the Committee's decision. 

The results of the comps are then recorded by the committee in the PhD Comprehensive Examination Evaluation Form and submitted to the program office.