Comprehensive Exams
During the summer following the completion of the second year of coursework, the student will be required to prepare an original research paper on a topic of interest to the student. The student will secure the participation of a faculty member to serve as the primary advisor in the preparation of the research paper. Generally, this will be a faculty member with a research interest in the student’s chosen topic area. An advisor should be selected no later than May 31 following the student’s second year in the program.
A first draft of the research paper must be submitted to the primary advisor no later than October 1 of the student’s third year in the program. A draft which attempts to address any concerns of the primary advisor, which are to be specified in writing, should be submitted to the primary advisor and the academic coordinator of the finance Ph.D. program no later than February 1 of the student’s third year in the program. A response detailing how the student has addressed the concerns of the primary advisor should be submitted with this draft.
To satisfy the comprehensive examination requirement, the student must then orally defend the research paper before a committee of the graduate finance faculty, which may be a committee of the whole but not less than four graduate finance faculty members, prior to May 1 of the student’s third year in the program. The paper itself, the primary advisor’s initial concerns, and the student’s response to the primary advisor’s concerns will be available to the committee a reasonable period of time before the presentation. The oral defense of the paper may occur within existing mechanisms for presentation of faculty and student research. Following the oral defense, the aforementioned committee will determine whether the student has successfully met the requirements of the comprehensive examination.
If the committee determines, by majority vote, that the student has failed the examination it will provide its concerns in writing to the student, who will have one additional opportunity to successfully defend the research. A revised version of the research paper with a separate response indicating how the committee’s concerns were addressed must be submitted to the primary advisor and the academic coordinator of the finance Ph.D. program no later than September 1 of the student’s fourth year in the program. The student must then present the revised research paper to a committee of the faculty, constituted in the manner described above, no later than October 1 of the student’s fourth year in the program. The committee determines the outcome of the second presentation in a manner similar to that described above. A second failure will result in dismissal from the program. Students dismissed for a second failure may apply for a master of science in finance degree and are exempted from the master of science in finance comprehensive exam requirement.
A student passing the comprehensive examination is eligible to defend a dissertation proposal. All dates specified herein are the latest dates at which the requirements can be met and students are encouraged to complete the research paper and orally defend it at the earliest possible date.