Psych Foundations Prelim Examinations

Written Prelim Examination

All doctoral students are required to pass a written preliminary examination in their major field. There are three requirements to fulfill the written prelim exam in the Educational Psychology program: 1) two research methods courses, 2) a pre-dissertation research project, and 3) the written specialty prelim. The written specialty prelim within the Psychological Foundations of Education track is intended to be a comprehensive written examination in which students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a program area (learning and cognition/educational technology, social psychological and social developmental processes in educational psychology.)

Students will register for the written specialty prelim by submitting the prelim registration form to the DGS assistant in 250 Education Sciences Building. Written specialty prelims are only administered in the fall and spring terms, and no later than the last day of classes in the spring term. Written specialty prelims are not administered during the summer. Students typically complete the written prelim exam no earlier than the beginning of the third year of their program. In order to take the written specialty prelim the student must have (a) submitted their degree plan in GPAS and EPsy general prelim registration form to the director of graduate studies assistant, and (b) completed nearly all the required coursework listed on their degree program (including completing incomplete grades) and (c) received advisor approval. By nearly complete, we mean that students must have no more than two courses from their degree plan that they still need to complete at the time they take the written exam. Students must also have an active status in the Graduate School to be eligible for the exam.

Students have two opportunities to pass the written specialty exam. If a student should fail the written exam on the first try, the student will work with the advisor to prepare for re-taking the exam and to determine the term that it will be re-taken. If the student fails the exam a second time, the student’s study in psychological foundations in the Department of Educational Psychology is terminated.

When all three components of the written preliminary exam have been completed, submit the Educational Psychology checklist for showing completion of written prelim.

Submit forms to the Lori Boucher bouch004@umn.edu in 250 Education Sciences Building.

View Written Prelim Exam forms

Preparation for the written specialty prelim exam

The written specialty prelim exam should show that a student has the ability to conduct an independent extensive literature review in each focus area to develop an expertise of the content. The literature review must be a new creative endeavor.

Three faculty members will participate in a student's written specialty prelim exam. The student's advisor will be one member. If the student has a co-advisor, the co-advisor will be the second member. The remaining member(s) will be chosen by the student based on their research interests.

The student will meet with each faculty member, agree on a topic that they will read in, and agree on a reading list. Although it can be based on content from prior research and courses, it must extend prior work by including new readings. When the student has completed their reading, it will be up to the three faculty members to judge whether a student is ready to sit for the exam, or whether additional reading and studying are necessary to achieve mastery. When all three faculty members have judged the student ready, the student's advisor will notify the administrative staff and the exam will be scheduled. The faculty members will submit their questions to the administrative staff one week before the scheduled date.

Format of the written specialty prelim exam

• The exam will be a take-home exam.

• There will be 3 research questions -- one question in each of three topics/areas the student engaged after consultation with each of the faculty examiners.

• Questions will be written by the advisor and two faculty co-readers.

• The student will not see the questions until it is time to write the exam.

• Students will have 120 hours to complete the exam.

• The exam must be scheduled to begin (1) on a day during the Fall semester, during the Spring semester, or during the time between them in late December and early January (2) when the University is officially open. The exam must end on a day satisfying criterion (1) alone. All dates are given by the official calendar for the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

• The exam should be a maximum of 8 pages per question plus a separate reference list, and be formatted according to APA style (e.g., double-space with 1 inch margins).

Scoring

• Student answers will be evaluated on the degree to which they display knowledge of the literature by (1) identifying and illustrating major themes/issues, (2) critiquing major conclusions, and (3) identifying topics/areas of needed future research.

• Each question will receive scores from the readers indicating whether the question adequately addresses the criteria listed above using this Scoring Scale:

  • 1 = Does not meet minimum competency level according to the three evaluation criteria (fail)

  • 2 = Meets minimum competency level according to the three evaluation criteria (pass)

  • 3 = Exceeds minimum competency level according to the three evaluation criteria (pass)

• In order to pass, students must receive a score of at least ‘2’ (meets minimum competency level) for all questions.

• Program faculty will score all three questions and the external committee member will only score the question they write. Any question that receives a score of ‘1’, even if from a single reader is considered ‘no pass’.

Retake

• Students have two opportunities to pass the written specialty exam. If a student should fail the written exam on the first try, the student will work with the advisor and committee members to prepare for re-taking the exam and to determine the term that it will be re-taken. The committee members must be the same members who participated in the initial exam.

• Students only have to re-take the questions that did not meet the passing criteria.

• If the student fails the exam a second time, the student’s study in psychological foundations in the Department of Educational Psychology is terminated.

Oral Preliminary Examination

The oral preliminary examination is taken after you have successfully satisfied the written prelim requirements and completed the majority of the courses listed on the doctoral program. "Majority of courses completed" is defined neither by the Graduate School nor the Educational Psychology Program, since you and your adviser are in the best position to determine when you are ready for the oral prelim exam. In general, the examination focuses on: (a) the oral prelim paper and (b) the courses listed on your Program form, including the minor or supporting field.

The oral prelim paper must integrate the literature in a proposed research area. In many cases, it will be the basis of the Literature Review chapter in the dissertation. (However, the paper should not include a specific research plan for your dissertation.) You select the topic and range of coverage of the oral prelim paper with the approval of your adviser. The intent of the paper is to integrate the literature in a specified area of research. The paper is modeled on those integrative reviews found in Educational Psychology Review, the Review of Educational Research, or Psychological Bulletin. Conceptually, the paper coherently identifies major issues in the area chosen; it is guided by ideas and uses information selectively and critically with respect to those ideas; and reflects methodological sophistication in the description of research strategies and results. The paper is neither a mindless listing of studies in excessive detail, nor a widely speculative paper with any evidence offered in support of argument.

The length and content of the oral prelim paper will generally be 30-40 double-spaced pages (excluding title page, abstract, references, figures, and tables).

Once the adviser approves, the oral prelim paper is distributed to the student's Examining Committee for review. The paper should be distributed at least two weeks before the exam. The Examining Committee consists of at least three faculty members from the major (at least two of whom are faculty members in the PsyF program) and one faculty member on the graduate faculty with an appointment outside the Department of Educational Psychology. Students may not use Department of Educational Psychology faculty members with joint graduate school appointments or external affiliations to fulfill the external membership requirement on graduate committees. Committee members are identified when the Graduate Degree Plan is filed; typically, the faculty serving on a student's Examining Committee for their preliminary oral also serve on their doctoral committee.

Note: If it becomes necessary to change the composition of your committee, you must obtain signature (or e-mail) approval from the new member(s) to be assigned. Send the form to the DGS assistant, who will officially notify the Graduate School of the requested change. As a courtesy, be sure to notify the member(s) to be replaced.

There is no specified date within the academic year when the oral prelim exam is to be taken. Plan to take it when:

1. you feel prepared to be examined on the course content listed on your Graduate Degree Plan;

2. you have successfully completed the written prelim requirements by your program area;

3. you have prepared the oral prelim paper; and,

4. your committee members are available. The oral prelim exam is valid only if all assigned committee members are present at that examination.

The oral prelim may not be held during the summer (unless the members of the assigned committee agree to assemble without substitution).

The oral prelim exam must be scheduled with the Graduate School (in 316 Johnston) at least one week prior to the exam, after the following conditions are met:

1. The Graduate Degree Plan has been approved by the Graduate School.

2. The Preliminary Written Examination Report: Doctoral Degree is approved by the director of graduate studies and recorded by the Graduate School.

Successful completion of the oral prelim exam qualifies you as a "doctoral candidate." This allows you to begin work on your dissertation, register for thesis credits, and begin to work on your prospectus.

Students who fail the oral prelim exam have one additional opportunity to retake the exam. Additionally, prior to a scheduling of a retake, you may be required to substantially revise the original oral prelim paper or may be required to write a new paper.

Additional information on the preliminary oral examination can be found in the Educational Psychology Graduate Program Handbook.