LLC Comprehensive Field Examinations

Students will complete the LLC field comprehensives after completing all courses and before enrolling in LLC 890, the Research Proposal Seminar. The comprehensives allow students to integrate information they have learned throughout their time in the LLC Program into two substantive papers that extend their scope of inquiry in ways that directly connect to their envisioned dissertation project. In other words, the culmination of the comprehensives process should yield, for every student, two solid scholarly papers that are designed to directly inform the student’s prospective dissertation.

Students will work with their Research Advisor (or Co-Advisors) and their LLC Program Advisor to identify the broad areas of inquiry the two comprehensive questions. One area of inquiry is intended to be related to the theoretical frameworks in the disciplines and fields in which students are working, and which may include synthesizing different strands of literature. The other area of inquiry is intended to be related to a review of methodological issues that scholars have addressed and approaches they have used in the fields and disciplines of the student’s envisioned dissertation project. Above all, the two areas of inquiry will be selected based on their direct relevance to the student’s envisioned dissertation topic. Students will have one month to develop two reading lists of key sources that are relevant to each of the two areas of inquiry agreed upon by the advisors and the student. After completing a draft of each of the two reading lists, the student will solicit feedback from the advisors as to the suitability of the sources. The student will then make revisions as necessary. Advisors will then develop the students’ two comprehensive questions. Some advisors may decide to ask the student to provide input into the design of the questions; advisors may take such input at their discretion.

For detailed description and rationale of the comphrensive exams, download THIS DOCUMENT.

If you would like to take the comps soon, please fill out THIS FORM.