Advising Graduate Students – PhD Students
As a graduate student preparing for the comprehensive examination, all coursework should be oriented toward addressing the central question assessed by the exam: Is the student prepared to write a dissertation that meets the required standards? These standards include the following:
- Originality
Originality is assessed by evaluating whether the student is well read and deeply engaged with the scholarly literature relevant to the research question they intend to pursue. Evidence of originality appears in written work and in sustained discussions with the advisor that demonstrate the student’s understanding of existing scholarship, identification of gaps in that scholarship, and articulation of how a dissertation would contribute to the field.
Students must show not only the ability to survey and summarize major works and scholarly trends, but also the capacity to critique existing frameworks in ways that demonstrate sustained, independent engagement with the research. Originality is evaluated during the comprehensive examination across two areas: (a) theory and disciplinary foundations, and (b) the proposed dissertation area. In short, originality means producing research that contributes something not already known, done, or argued in the same way—whether through new data, methods, theoretical approaches, or interpretations.
- Significance
A dissertation must make a meaningful contribution to knowledge, both conceptually (theoretical significance) and substantively (scope and depth). In the humanities and social sciences, a dissertation is a monograph-length study—not an article, paper, or MA-level thesis—and typically exceeds 70,000 words. Writing samples, performance on the comprehensive examination, and other program benchmarks are used to assess the student’s potential to meet this standard.
Only after successfully passing the comprehensive examination—which confers PhD Candidate status—may the student formally begin dissertation research.