THE PSYCHOLOGY SENIOR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION
Like other majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, all
psychology majors have to pass a senior comprehensive exam to qualify
for graduation. Instead of a multiple-choice exam, the Psychology
Department implemented a new method of evaluation in Spring 2008, with
minor revisions in Fall 2008. Requirements are explained below.
Students with 90 credits or more need to download and submit a
Senior Comprehensive Exam Evaluation Form to their advisor.
Also download the
Comps Criteria Documentation Form and
Timeline. Forms are also available outside the department office in
OM 384.
Senior Comprehensive Exam Requirements
Department of Psychology
Comprehensive Examination
Version effective Fall 2008 on
Students need to pass the comprehensive examination during their senior
year in order to graduate. The present document describes the
requirements and procedures. At the end of the document there are
answers to common questions that students might have.
Requirements
Students qualify by demonstrating a sufficiently high level of
performance in 2 out of 3
areas. These areas are the following:
-
Conceptual knowledge
-
Research
-
Applied knowledge and/or experience
First, there is an initial screening to assess students' past
accomplishments in the three performance areas. Second, students and
their advisors work out a plan for satisfying the senior comprehensive
requirement. For students who will not satisfy the initial screening
criteria, this plan will include remedial options. In all cases,
students must submit sufficient documentation to prove that they have,
or will, meet the senior comprehensive exam requirements.
Initial
Screening Criteria
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1.
Conceptual knowledge – One of the
following criteria must be met:
a.
Psychology QPA of 3.00 or above,
based on 21 or more psychology credits. Documentation needed:
Transcript.
b.
Psychology GRE score of 470 or
above. Documentation needed: copy of GRE results.
c.
Grade of A or B in at least 7
psychology courses. Documentation needed: transcript with
relevant courses highlighted.
d.
Grade of A in PSY 200 Statistics,
PSY 270 Experimental, and 3 other psychology courses.
Documentation needed: transcript with relevant courses
highlighted.
2.
Research -- One of the following
criteria must be met:
a.
Publication or presentation (peer
reviewed journal or professional conference). Documentation
needed: reprint, letter from editor indicating acceptance of
the manuscript, Comps criteria documentation form signed by
supervising faculty member.
b.
Presentation at a student
conference. Documentation: letter from the conference
coordinator or Comps criteria documentation form signed by supervising faculty member.
c.
Research assistant for at least one
year. Documentation: Comps criteria documentation form
signed by supervising faculty member.
d.
Project from PSY 270 with grade of
A or B. Documentation: copy of the project or Comps
criteria documentation form signed by supervising
professor.
e.
Project from PSY 370 or 395 Honors
thesis with grade of A or B. Documentation: transcript with
course highlighted, copy of the project, or Comps criteria
documentation form signed by supervising
professor.
f.
Papers from three different PSY
courses taken at KU, each paper with a grade of A or B. Papers
may be literature reviews or research proposals. Lab reports can
also count here if the lab report has at least Introduction,
Method, Results, and Discussion sections. All papers submitted
to meet this criterion must conform to APA style. Documentation:
copies of graded papers or Comps criteria documentation form
signed by course professors.
3.
Applied knowledge and/or experience
-- One of the following criteria must be met:
a.
PSY 305, 362, or 363/364 with a
grade of A or B. Documentation: transcript with course
highlighted.
b.
Relevant work experience and/or
volunteer work of at least 250 hours. Documentation: letter
from supervisor(s) or Comps criteria documentation form signed
by supervisor. If the advisor determines that the
experience was not relevant, the student can submit additional
documentation under remedial options.
c.
Supplemental Instruction (SI)
position for at least 1 semester. Documentation:
Comps criteria documentation form signed by supervising
faculty member(s).
d.
Career development package (vita,
workshops, cover letter, work samples, etc.). The specific
details of this option will be determined by the advisor ,
taking into consideration the student’s experience and future
goals. However, the package should be of sufficient quality to
be considered equivalent to the other options under this
category.
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Remedial Options --
Criteria
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-
Conceptual knowledge -- One
of the following criteria must be met:
-
Score of 60% or higher on
the multiple-choice Comps exam. The exam will be
administered by the advisor approximately six weeks
after the initial screening, to those students who need
this as a remedial option. If a score of 60% or higher
is not obtained, then the advisor administers an essay
exam alternative. Student needs a score of 60% or higher
to pass.
-
Project or paper assigned
by the advisor.
-
Research -- One of the
following criteria must be met:
-
The student revises the
PSY 270 experimental project and submits copies of the
revised manuscript to the advisor. The student meets
this criterion if the advisor agrees that the project
is now of at least “B” quality.
-
The student revises the
PSY 370 paper and submits copies of the revised
manuscript to the advisor. The student meets the
criterion if the advisor agrees that the project is now
of at least “B” quality.
-
The student revises
existing research papers to be able to satisfy Initial
Screening Research criterion 2.f.
-
Research-related paper
written under the supervision of the advisor and deemed
to be of at least “B” quality. This paper may be a 7-10
page literature review, 3 journal article critiques, or
a complete 7-10 page APA-style research proposal.
-
Applied knowledge and/or
experience – One of the following criteria must be met:
-
Additional documentation
showing that any previous work or volunteer experience
was relevant to psychology.
-
Additional work or
volunteer hours to meet the 250 total requirement.
-
Expanded and improved
professional development package.
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Procedure
-
The evaluation process begins in the
first semester of the student’s senior year. Those students who
have less than 90 credits but reasonably expect to graduate after
two regular semesters by taking summer classes should also be
evaluated.
-
Students submit to their academic
advisor a folder containing:
-
Comprehensive evaluation form
-
Sufficient documentation for the
advisor to perform the initial screening evaluation.
These folders are due at the end of the 2nd week of classes.
-
The advisor will perform the initial
screening and decide whether students will meet the criteria or will
need additional work. The advisor will notify students by the end
of the 3rd week of classes.
-
Those students who do not pass the
initial screening meet with their advisor and develop a plan of work
that needs to be completed.
-
The students submit documentation of
the additional work completed, at least 3 weeks before the end of
the semester. The faculty member decides whether the student has
met the requirements. If there is a disagreement between student
and advisor, they discuss the issue with the comps coordinator who
makes the final decision.
-
If the student does not qualify after
the above procedure, he/she can either continue working on the
remedial tasks during the following semester or else meet with the
advisor and develop a new plan. The student submits final
documentation of work 3 weeks before the end of that semester.
Graduating seniors who do not meet this deadline may cause their
graduation clearance to be delayed.
Questions and Answers
Q: The description says that we need to meet the requirements of 2 out
of the 3 general
categories. Should I submit documentation for only 2 of those
categories or can I
include documentation for all 3 of them?
A: You only need to meet the requirements of 2 of the 3 categories.
So, you could pass
by submitting documentation for only 2 of them. However, it is a
good idea to
include documentation for all 3 of them.
Q: Under each category, it says that we need to meet one of the
criteria under that
category. Should I submit documentation for only one of these
criteria or can I
include more?
A: It’s a good idea to include documentation for all the criteria that
you believe you have
met.
Q: What forms do I need and where do I get them?
A: There are two forms you need. One is called “Senior Comprehensive
Exam
Evaluation Form.” The other is called “Comps Criteria
Documentation Form.” Hard
copies are available at the main office of the Psychology
Department. You can also
download the forms by visiting the Senior Comps section of the
department website.
Q: I have more questions.
A: Ask one of the graduate assistants or send an email to Dr. Manos
Akillas:
akillas@kutztown.edu
ver. 12
8-31-08
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