This seminar would typically involve all faculty members and exposes students to the interests and specialties of the faculty. The oral comprehensive examination is in the form of a thesis proposal defense. The defense date will be decided by all involved parties. All revisions suggested by the supervisor and committee will have been completed before a defense date is set. Students who wish to complete the program in two years should write their proposal during their third semester and defend it either at the end of the third semester or very beginning of the fourth semester.
Students then can complete their thesis during the fourth and final semester.
All committee members and the thesis supervisor must attend the defense. It is also suggested that the defense be made public allowing anyone who is interested to attend. Students should be prepared to address questions regarding their proposed research as well as about their general research area. The students will be expected to relate their thesis proposal to the material generally presented in the core seminars in Theory and Research Methods and their specialty area. Thus they would be expected to relate their proposal to alternative theoretical perspectives and research methods.