Grading

Five graduate faculty members will grade each exam. They may either grade the entire exam holistically or they may grade each individual question and then total their grades for the entire exam. Either way, the exam is graded on a pass/fail basis. Graders are not required to comment on individual student responses (though they may occasionally do so). Passing work at the graduate level is the equivalent of a B- or better. In rare cases, faculty may vote to reward an exceptionally good examination paper with the grade of "Pass With Distinction."

Your answers will be evaluated in terms of your writing ability (for example, style, grammar, and mechanics), your knowledge of the field, and your ability to construct a meaningful logical argument.

A passing exam exhibits detailed, cohesive writing: not only should each essay be free of grammatical and other errors, but it should consist of well-developed paragraphs with quotations and examples from the literature. The essays should show depth of insight, reflecting a carefully planned response to the issues raised by the questions.

You will receive your results approximately three weeks after the exam. If you fail your first exam, you may retake the test one time. If you fail the exam twice, you revert to post-baccalaureate status.