Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam

The Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam evaluates your mastery of doctoral-level knowledge across your major (educational leadership), your selected cognate area (a secondary specialization of your choosing), and your research methods. The exam includes a written and an oral component and must be passed before advancing to candidacy.

Eligibility Requirements

Before declaring your intent to take the comprehensive exam, ensure that:

  1. Your cumulative GPA in the doctoral program of study is at least 3.50.
  2. You have completed the majority of your coursework as determined by your doctoral advisory committee.
  3. You cannot take the exam during the summer semester.

Form Doctoral Advisory Committee

Your comprehensive exam must be evaluated by your full Doctoral Advisory Committee, which must be formally approved and consist of at least three members. In addition to me being your major advisor (committee chair),

  • A second member must be a full-time member of the CEHD faculty holding an earned doctorate and Graduate Research Faculty Membership
  • A third member must represent a major outside the student's major and must hold an earned terminal degree

Before finalizing or submitting your Doctoral Advisory Committee, consult with me. I must approve the committee composition before it can be submitted for departmental and college-level approval.

Notify the Department

Submit written notification of your intent to take the comprehensive exam to the Department Chair (Dr. Jennifer Esposito, jesposito@gsu.edu) and Administrative Coordinator (Damien Lawrence, dlawrence@gsu.edu). In general, this must be done by:

  • February 1 for Spring semester exams
  • September 15 for Fall semester exams

Please refer to 🔗Prospectus and Dissertation Key Dates for Fall 2026 & Spring 2027 for semester-specific deadlines.

In your written notification, include a proposed timeline for both components of the exam:

  • Proposed start date for the written take-home exam
  • Proposed submission date for written responses
  • Proposed date, time, and location for the 2-hour oral exam. You are responsible for coordinating the availability of your committee for the oral exam. The oral exam must be held in person. Please contact Damien Lawrence (dlawrence@gsu.edu) to reserve a room.
Written Exam

You will respond to three comprehensive questions, each aligned with the following areas:

  • Major Area: Theories, frameworks, and practices central to Educational Leadership.
  • Cognate Area: Concepts and debates relevant to your approved secondary specialization.
  • Research Methods/Methodology: Knowledge of research design, methods, and epistemological foundations.

It is a take-home written exam scheduled over a three-week period (21 days). Your responses should demonstrate depth, synthesis, and critical analysis. Your committee will evaluate your answers using the official rubric.

Although your comprehensive exam is not exactly the prospectus (Chapters 1-3) of your dissertation, you can still use the 🔗General Checklist for All Chapters to guide your scholarly writing.

🔗Ensure the Alignment Among Construct, Theory, Theoretical Framework, and Methods in Research

Each question must be completed independently, and students submit their written responses to the department's Administrative Coordinator (Damien Lawrence, dlawrence@gsu.edu), who then sends them to the committee at least two weeks prior to the oral defense.

Oral Exam

Prepare for the Oral Exam

Prior to your oral exam, carefully review your written responses. Identify any gaps, unresolved issues, or areas where your responses could be strengthened or clarified. Be prepared to discuss these areas during your oral examination.

Structure of the Oral Exam

The oral exam allows you to clarify and elaborate on your written responses. At the beginning of the session, you will provide a brief overview (no more than 10 minutes) highlighting any content you believe was missing, incomplete, or underdeveloped in your written exam.

After your overview, your doctoral advisory committee will ask questions related to:

  • Your written responses
  • Your ability to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate content across your major, research methods and cognate areas

After your answer all questions from all of the committee members, the committee will deliberate to determine whether you Pass or Fail the comprehensive exam based on the 🔗Ed Leadership Ph.D. Comps Evaluation Sheet and Rating Rubric.docx. All three questions must be passed to continue in the doctoral program.

After the Exam

1. I'll fill out 🔗Comprehensive Exam Report Form.pdf and submit it to Damian.

2. You'll fill out 🔗Comprehensive Exam Report (1).pdf, and send it to me. I'll then send it to Damien who will collect committee members' signature.

3. You will follow 🔗Next Steps After Passing the Comprehensive Exam