Doctoral Program Qualifying Exams

The purpose of the qualifying examination is to foster a synthesis of theories and research from course work, independent study, and a student’s own reading, to exhibit competence in areas of library and information science and demonstrate this to the SLIM faculty. Through the qualifying examinations, a student demonstrates the readiness and competence to undertake dissertation level research.

Students may not sit for qualifying examinations until they have successfully completed all coursework.

Exam Procedures

1. A student and his/her faculty mentor will determine the time and order in which a student will take the qualifying examinations. The faculty mentor and student will negotiate the scheduling of examinations and the mentor will notify the doctoral program coordinator regarding the times and dates of all three examinations. The doctoral program coordinator, in conjunction with SLIM office staff, will record decisions regarding the qualifying examinations in the ESU mainframe student database. Paper or electronic copies of the student’s questions and answers and examination results will also be filed in the student’s folder no later than one month after the last examination was passed.

2. All students will write an examination in research. Students will also write examinations in any two of the four foundational fields.

3. One qualifying examination will be conducted as a timed, closed-book examination done at SLIM (or another designated place, since we have a distance program). The time limit for closed-book exam is four (4) hours. The other two examinations can be written as a formal paper, as an open-book examination, or as a take home examination. The time limit for the open-book exams is two (2) weeks. The mix of format will be negotiated between the student and the faculty mentor. The choice of examiners and readers will be discussed by the mentor and student; the student is encouraged to meet with each examiner chosen to review the student’s research interests, related to the student’s dissertation proposal. The examiner creates the exam question(s) based on this review.

4. A student and his/her faculty mentor will ask appropriate faculty to prepare and evaluate the examination questions. Appropriate here means faculty who have competence in the areas in which a student is to be examined.

5. Two faculty members will read each of the student’s qualifying examinations. Each examination is to be evaluated as weak (not a pass), pass, satisfactory or excellent. Exam evaluations will be given to the student two (2) weeks after the completion of the exam.

If the readers disagree regarding a question, another reader, chosen by the doctoral program coordinator and the faculty mentor, may be asked to review the answer. This reader, in consultation with the student’s faculty mentor and the doctoral program coordinator, will be responsible for the student’s grade on that question.

6. If the readers determine a student's examination answer is weak (not a pass), they have two options:

The readers may require the student to do additional work, as the readers and the student's faculty mentor define this, and then ask the student to retake the examination; or,

The readers may ask the dean to appoint another reader, whose opinion, in consultation with the student's faculty mentor and the dean, will be final.

A student cannot take the next examination until s/he receives a pass or better on this examination. If readers and the faculty mentor require a student to do additional work, this stops the clock on the period in which the qualifying examinations are to be completed. This process must be completed to the satisfaction of the faculty mentor and the readers within four months. If a student is required to repeat an examination originally taken as a timed examination, the second examination must also be taken as a timed examination.

If the doctoral program coordinator and the Ph.D. faculty find a student’s work to be unsatisfactory, the student’s faculty mentor may ask him or her to enroll in additional courses. A student’s faculty mentor may suggest other action(s). At any point, the doctoral program coordinator, in consultation with a student’s mentor, the Ph.D. faculty, and dean can ask a student to leave the program. There is no appeal to the judgment of the faculty regarding the qualifying examinations.

Updated 5/10/2007