It is important to start thinking about the comprehensive examination as soon as you begin your program--don't wait! Start talking with your advisor about this from your first meeting onward.

Exams are very different on the MA and PhD levels, so the advice is split up that way:

• Masters
• PhD

MA

Masters students have the option of completing a thesis or of taking a comprehensive exam. The exam set up consists of a board of three exam readers (one of which should be your advisor) who give you a four hour exam. The nicest thing about this exam is that it is based upon a list of monographs (about 35-40 books, essays, or articles) which you have selected with your advisor. They are focused around your specific area of interest (ex: late nineteenth-early twentieth century American, focusing on gender).

U.S. History Lists

• African American Women's History, 1800-1940 (Robert Koepke)
• Past U.S. Generals Comprehensive Exam Questions (2000-2003)
• Past U.S. Generals Comprehensive Exam Questions (1994-1999)

Don't see a listing here for your field of study? The advice provided may still prove helpful--especially when it comes to strategies.

SUBMIT YOUR READING LIST: E-mail the webmasters.

PhD

This consists of three parts: a four hour general exam (ex: British history), a three hour special exam (ex: labor history), and a two hour oral exam (on the general topic again). Students are expected to take them during their fourth semester in the Ph.D. program. They are a required step before writing your dissertation proposal and candidacy. The general exam committee of three faculty are selected by the program, but you select your committee of three faculty for your special field exam (including your advisor). The committee you select will hear your orals too.

The exams expect very solid textbook knowledge, solid understanding of the historiography, and well-formed opinions on central issues within your field of history. Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. All of the graduate work you've done up until this point will help you out. Even your work as a Teaching Assistant has strengthened your textbook knowledge.

Talk to graduate students when you get here and talk to a lot of them. There are many ways to go about the process so you may as well learn the different possibilities/methods and then devise your own strategy. Select classes that will help you to prepare for comps (ask grad students which courses they recommend for this). (quoted from L. Noel)

Get to know your committee early, take their classes, and even go to their undergraduate lectures. Keep up with the major journals and with new monographs. (quoted from I. Trauschweizer)

Once you know your commitee members, work closely with them by having them review book lists, practice questions and practice exams. Avoid reading additional monographs up to the last minute. Most students who fail admit having done this. Instead, at least three months before the test (and maybe sooner), concentrate on synthesizing all the works that you've already read by reviewing your notes and papers, writing practice essay questions, reading historiographical essays and scanning a textbook or two. (quoted from L. Noel)

It's important to take practice exams in order to refine your skills at writing a timed essay. This is the best way to prepare yourself to write tight, coherent essays with well articulated arguments on the days of your exams. Take fewer classes while preparing for exams. Practice, practice, practice. Read textbooks. Practice some more. (quoted from C. Regenhardt)

• Guide and Tips for UM's PhD Comps, compiled by Harvey Cohen (2004)

• European Exams (2004)
• American Exams (2004)

Don't see a listing here for your field of study? The advice provided may still prove helpful--especially when it comes to strategies.

SUBMIT YOUR READING LIST: E-mail the webmasters.