Complex/Comprehensive Exam

The complex exam or comprehensive exam is an oral exam due at the end of the 4th semester of PhD studies. Its goal is to determine how ready well prepared PhD candidates are for the next step of their academic career, in order to write their dissertation. The exam committee consists of three members: an internal examiner from SZTE, an external examiner from another university, and a chair who is a full/emeritus professor of the home university. Supervisors may be present at the exam but should remain silent and cannot vote about the results.

Preliminary steps

In the Fall semester of their 2nd year, students discuss with their supervisors:

  1. A list of the 10 scholarly books most significant for their research project, a preliminary bibliography of the dissertation. This will provide the material for discussion for the theoretical part of the complex exam.
  2. The 4 subjects (research fields, topics) of the exam:
    • a main subject/topic in the field of Literary/Cultural Theory
    • a subtopic in the field of Literary/Cultural Theory
    • a main subject in the field of Literary/Cultural History
    • a subtopic in the field of Literary/Cultural History
  3. The potential composition of their exam board (external examiner, internal examiner)

In the Spring semester the Doctoral Program and the Doctoral School approve the exam subjects and the examination boards. Supervisors start negotiations about the potential date of the exam.

Portfolio

By the end of May (2 weeks prior to the exam the latest) students create a Portfolio and after the approval of their supervisors send it to the head of the Doctoral Program, who will mail it to the exam committee members (internal examiner, external examiner, chair).

The Portfolio should contain the following:

  • Outline/Structure of the prospective dissertation
    • abstract & key words
    • tentative table of contents
    • a summary of the prospective dissertation in running text (min. 3000 words): main research questions, aims, arguments, methodology
    • tentative bibliography
  • List of 10 academic books for the complex exam
  • Outline of PhD research activities
    • list of courses attended
    • CV including publications and conference presentations
    • future plans, timeline

Prerequisite for taking the exam

Students must complete all course load (90 credits) and acquire their grades (including that of all the four compulsory PhD Research Seminars) before taking the complex/comprehensive exam. The required academic outputs of the doctoral students leading up to the complex/comprehensive exam are: two publications from the last three years preceeding the complex exam (minimum one related to the topic of the dissertation; minimum one written in English; maximum one forthcoming/accepted for publication) and at least two conference presentations.

Procedure of the complex exam

The exam consists of two parts:

I. DISSERTATION (30 min)

The PhD candidate presents the research project in 10-15 minutes (explains the feasibility and novelty of the research topic, suggests research question(s), thesis statement, argumentation, methodology and thesis structure. Summarizes the research activities (classes, conference papers, publications) completed during the first 2 years of the PhD program. Also provides an outline of the candidate’s future plans.

The candidate can rely on and refer to the portfolio submitted for the complex exam. Notes and PPT presentations can be used but candidates should aim at a free (but organized) oral presentation of their ideas.

The examiners ask questions about the presentation and the portfolio.

II. THEORY (30 min)

The second part of the exam focuses on the basic bibliography of the dissertation, the list of ten books provided by the candidate (in agreement with the supervisors) in the portfolio. Examiners may select one or two items from the book list and discuss pertinent theoretical, critical, methodological views raised in these scholarly resources. Each examiner asks 2-3 questions to launch the discussion and candidates are invited to explain how they elaborate on established academic views, how they integrate theoretical/critical insights within their argumentation, or how they position key concepts within larger cultural/ literary-, critical/theoretical trends or sociocultural, (literary) historical contexts.

The exam lasts for about 60-90 minutes, followed by an evaluation by the exam committee, and a public announcement of the results.

Evaluation

Students will get 2 grades (dissertation part; theoretical part) for the exam on a scale of 0-5 points. For an overall Pass an average of 3 points must be reached, each evaluator should give at least 3 points, and both parts of the exam should be evaluated for a Passing grade (min 3 points from all 3 examiners).

The evaluation of the first ‘dissertation discussion’ part takes into consideration the following criteria:

  1. familiarity with relevant secondary sources, critical/theoretical background (szakirodalmi ismeretek)
  2. research results (kutatási eredmények)
  3. research/dissertation plans (kutatási/disszertációs tervek)

The final evaluation is on a binary scale of Pass or Fail.

In case of Fail, the candidate has the right to repeat the exam once but no later than the end of the exam period of the same semester.