Written Comprehensive Examination

This exam, taken at the beginning of the second year, is designed to ensure that students have a broad knowledge of drama, acquired through a combination of coursework and independent reading. Such knowledge will provide useful perspective to students both for their own research and for their teaching. The requirement is also intended to make students more marketable, since it testifies to their broad knowledge and thus their potential to teach a variety of courses, especially survey courses in the history of drama and theatre, as is expected of faculty in most drama and theatre departments. In addition, preparation for the exam constitutes the students’ first significant independent scholarly activity.

Oral Comprehensive Examination

Taken at the beginning of the third year, this exam is designed to help students to narrow their interests in preparation for researching and writing the dissertation. Students devise their reading list for the exam -- no more than fifty sources (including plays, books, essays, performances, archival material, etc.) – and, in consultation with their advisor, choose two other examiners (making a total of three). The list is designed to prepare the student for advanced research in the general dissertation field, broadly conceived. Students should understand that in preparing for this exam, they are selecting a dissertation field and not a precisely focused dissertation topic. Like the Written Comprehensive Exam, this exam is given after the summer -- unless otherwise arranged -- so that students have the summer to prepare, when they are not burdened by coursework and teaching responsibilities.

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