Comprehensive Examination
Policy and Guidelines
Students have the option to take comprehensive exams in lieu of writing a thesis to complete
requirements for a masters degree in our department. Students must sign up for comprehensives
during the student's last semester of enrollment. Students are required to sign up for the exam in the
department office, at least two weeks before the examination date. Students may either write or use
a computer to complete the comprehensive exam. For specific details and instructions, students
should consult with their advisor.
The purpose of the comprehensive exam is to assess the knowledge and skills a student has attained
during the course of his/her graduate study in the department. As such, the comprehensive exam will
require that students integrate the principles, concepts, methodologies, and understand the interplay
between them as they may be applied in a real work situation. Comprehensive exam questions are
developed jointly by program faculty; they are designed to allow students to demonstrate how well
they have integrated the knowledge gathered throughout their studies in their masters program. While
the questions come from content/outcomes areas identified in program accreditation standards and
certification/licensure standards for school counselors, responses to them should generally reflect the
application of information learned in individual classes from a student's program of study.
Expectations
Graduating students are expected to provide broad-based responses to several issues related to the
required courses in the student's program. The comprehensive examination is intended to be a
stimulating learning experience that empowers students to expand the level of their intellectual and
professional development.
, School counseling candidates are expected to demonstrate knowledge of content in the areas that
follow:
(1) counseling theory (including techniques used in individual counseling),
(2) small group counseling,
(3) career counseling,
(4) multicultural counseling,
(5) management of counseling programs,
(6) individual and group appraisal,
(7) ethical and legal issues, and
(8) topics and issues related to working as a counselor at the elementary/middle/secondary levels.
Procedures
It is strongly suggested students consult with their academic advisor for exam preparation. At the
graduate level, students will distill information from various sources (which they should already have
done during their program), and then synthesize and analyze the issues to provide a cogent,
organized, well-written response that covers all aspects of each question.
The comprehensive examination will be administered during a single testing period. Students are
encouraged to spend some time organizing thoughts before writing a response. Students are
expected to write coherent and grammatically correct answers to comprehensive examination
questions.
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