Qualifying Exams

This guide will provide you my philosophy for asking questions for the written and oral portions of the qualifying exam.  If you utilize this sheet as a study guide, you will be prepared for the type of questions that I ask on the qualifying exam.  

General Guidelines

These are the general guidelines that I use when writing questions for the qualifying exam. These hints will help you prepare for your qualifying examination. For the qualifying examination, I feels that as a doctoral student in your field you must be able to:

• Explain and support your philosophy of the field of career and technology education or training and development.
  
• Utilize the theorists/theories of your field to support your arguments statements, or position, made during the qualifying examination. This should include theorists/theories in the areas of needs assessment, curriculum development, facilitation, evaluation, organizational development, leadership, special populations, and other areas specifically related to your doctoral study.
  
• Use recent research articles in the fields of career and technology education or training and development to support your position during the qualifying examination. This should include making projections on future directions in your field, trends in the research literature, and implications for research and practice.
  
• Utilize research, statistics, and measurement tools appropriately in research study design.

• Begin your study by reviewing your course materials. This is a beginning point not an ending point. Your courses only serve to facilitate your learning, the courses in a doctoral program are not meant to provide you with all of your information for the qualifying examination.
  
• You need to read, read and read. Recent research articles or conferences will give you hints of the future trends and issues in the fields of career and technology education or training and development.
  
• You need to research the prominent theorists/theories of the fields of career and technology education or training and development. These theorists/theories guide your doctoral field of study.
  
• You must have a broad understanding of the issues in your field. Don’t worry (as much) about the little details.
  
• The qualifying examination is designed for you to give your ideas about the fields of career and technology education or training and development, but you must SUPPORT your ideas through the literature.
  
• Contact individual committee members for more specific guidance.
  
• You must use APA 5^th Edition format. This will remind you to support your ideas through the literature.
  
• You have been given a lot of information in your courses. Now is the time to assemble and "make sense of" that information.
  
• Finally, use this as an opportunity to begin formulating your dissertation topic. Your next, and final, step is the dissertation.

Gus Perez provides a Comprehesive Exam study guide to help you begin to structure your study strategies -- <click here>.  

Qualifying Exam Time Format

During the final semester of course work and upon completion of all the previously stated requirements, the student must pass a qualifying examination. The examination covers the major, minor, educational research and statistics, and related fields.

A qualifying written and an oral examination is given to qualified students for advancement to candidacy for the doctoral degree.  The written examination consist of a 14 day take-home examination.  Upon successful completion of the written examination, the oral examination is held approximately 30 days after the written portion of the qualifying examination.