Whats the difference between the oral and written comprehensive exams?
The written exam is five hours long, though you don’t need to use all that time. The three questions are likely to be multi-part, and the answers should be well organized and thorough. A danger with the written exam is that written answers often wander and — although they are brilliant — they never answer the question thoroughly. On the other hand, some students find the oral exam to be intimidating. The oral exam takes three hours. If a student wanders in their responding they are gently guided back on topic. There are more questions but less complicated questions in an oral exam. Often, a four-way conversation occurs, with the student and committee jointly discussing topics. Faculty take turns pursuing their line of questioning. A danger with the oral exam is that sometimes students feel — wrongly — that they have failed after not answering a question well, and then freeze up. On the other hand, there is opportunity to ask for clarification and a greater variety of questions. Stu
