The exam consists of one hypothetical question, tailored to each student, to his/her project/thesis and to his/her course of study. The question is developed by the chair/committee AND the student in prior consultation. The exam is administered on site by the chair of the student’s project/thesis committee or designated committee member. The student has three hours to write a response.

According to the Graduate School catalog, the exam must take place during the semester of the student’s final enrollment in course work and (in thesis programs) when the thesis/project has been substantially completed. In the J-School this exam must be completed BEFORE the project presentation or thesis defense.

The exam is scheduled through the J-School’s Graduate Records office. The determination of timing (day and time) is left to the student and chair. The graduate student initiates consultation with the committee chair early in the last semester to schedule the exam. Most graduate students find it best to complete the final general examination before mid-term of the final semester of course enrollment.

Students are provided with a laptop computer to compose his/her response, to use digital sources and a digital dictionary. Students may not bring their own computers or have a prepared outline, notes or drafts (digital or otherwise).

Evaluation

The project/thesis committee members, under the direction of the chair, evaluate the student’s response. The exam is comparable to those conducted in professional settings and the Graduate Faculty of the J-School outlined the following criteria to measure the student’s response.

• To think, organize and provide a written response in a timed and controlled setting
• To reflect upon prior learning
• To apply course knowledge and principles
• To provide evidence (specific examples) supporting the response
• Evaluators will not grade the writing alone, but the quality of the writing, editing and proofing will affect the overall assessment.

Grading of this examination

This exam is recorded on the University “Do-All Form,” completed and signed by the chair of the committee and filed with the J-School’s Graduate Records office. The grading options are: Honors, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.

The committee may grant honors to work/response that is extraordinary; that demonstrates a superior command of the subject and equally demonstrates a superior ability to articulate the response.

Work that shows little grasp of the subject, that is superficial and without specific examples may be graded unsatisfactory, especially if the articulation does not demonstrate an ability to use the language well, does not present organized thinking or is greatly flawed with careless errors.

Unsatisfactory work requires major deficiencies to be addressed subsequently in a written response as required by the committee. Such a response should be completed within two weeks from the time of committee notice. In addition, an unsatisfactory evaluation may influence the final grade in JOUR 899.

Should an unsatisfactory final general exam be coupled with a weak and/or unsatisfactory project/thesis, the student could receive a failing mark for the project/thesis.

Written exams (and any required corrective response) should be filed with the Graduate Records Coordinator in the student’s academic folder after the chair and committee members have evaluated the exam.