After completing their dissertations, doctoral candidates are required to formally defend their dissertations in a final examination before they are recommended for graduation. Please see the Dissertation Research page for more information.
The Portfolio (Qualifying) Examination
At the end of their first year in the PhD program, students will submit an individual portfolio of their work. Professional and/or academic work may be selected for inclusion in the portfolio, though it must be work the student has completed during their first year. The portfolio must include at least four documents and their accompanying reflective statements. Such documents could include seminar papers, essays, research articles, websites, critiques, redesigns, and annotated bibliographies.
The Portfolio Committee, comprised of three members of the TPPC faculty, will review and approve these portfolios before the student may proceed through the program.
The Portfolio Committee will evaluate the portfolio and assign a grade of High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, or No Pass based on the following criteria:
· the range of writing represented in the portfolio,
· the quality of each document as an example of its genre, and
· the extent to which the student contextualizes each document, generates significant connections across documents, courses, or conversations, and explores broader implications within the field of rhetoric and professional communication.
The Committee will meet with each student and issue a report of progress, which will remain in the student’s file. To proceed beyond their first year in the Ph.D. program, students must pass the Portfolio (Qualifying) Exam with a grade of High Pass, Pass, or Low Pass. A grade of Low Pass, while allowing the student to continue in the program, does serve to indicate concern about the student's ability to successfully complete the program. There are no retakes and decisions are final.
*About the Portfolio Committee- Membership on the Committee lasts for two years and is staggered to ensure continuity and uniformity of assessment. The Committee sponsors a workshop each year to explain expectations and answer questions about the Portfolio (Qualifying) Exam. After that, however, students will work independently on their exam.
The Comprehensive Examination
At the end of their formal course work, students will write a Comprehensive Exam. This exam is comprised of two essays.
· The first essay asks the student to demonstrate a breadth of knowledge in the field of rhetoric and professional communication and requires that the student demonstrate a good understanding of foundational theories, chronologies, and methodologies. The first essay requires that students synthesize knowledge by reflecting on their coursework and study.
· The second essay requires that the student project forward. In this essay, the student is asked to demonstrate depth of knowledge in a specific aspect of rhetoric and professional communication, the area in which the student will be conducting their dissertation work. If the first essay provides context, the second should articulate clearly how the student's specific area of interest extends the conversations in the field and furthers a line or series of questions.
Though the comprehensive exam is taken at the completion of coursework, students should begin preparing for this exam upon starting the program. To complete the exam, students are responsible for generating a reading list from which exam questions will be formulated. Given the scope of the comprehensive exam, the reading list should equally exemplify breadth and depth. The reading list must include at least 100 items.
After submitting their reading list, students should meet with the members of their Supervisory Committee to discuss their reading. It is from these conversations that the exam questions will be drawn. For each essay, students will be given two questions and asked to answer one. The average exam length is 15 pages per essay. In addition, each essay must also include a works cited list. Students will have 72 hours from the time they are given the exam questions to complete both essays.
The student's Supervisory Committee will be responsible for reviewing the completed Comprehensive Exam. Within one week of the exam date, the Chair of the Committee will notify the student of the results, and the Supervisory Committee may ask to meet with the student. Determination of whether the student is ready to proceed to the dissertation research phase of the TPPC program will occur at the end of this meeting. Students not passing the Comprehensive Exam will be allowed to retake the exam within a year. If the student does not pass the exam the second time, they will be asked to discontinue the program.
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