Content Comparison

Table of Contents

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All theses must be approved by the student’s Master’s thesis committee. The committee is comprised of your advisor (who will serve as committee chair) and two additional faculty members from the Department of Human Development and Family Science. Only H.D.F.S. tenured and tenure track faculty, and Professors of Practice may chair a Master's thesis committee. H.D.F.S. Internship Coordinators may serve as a committee member, but they may not serve as committee chair. .   The student may select one faculty member from outside of the department if the expertise of this individual is related to the student’s thesis.

The proposal must be submitted to the committee for evaluation. The committee will determine if the proposal is of sufficient quality to progress to the proposal defense. At the time of the proposal defense the student will present the proposed thesis and address any questions or concerns raised by the committee. The committee will determine whether the proposal is coherent, well developed, of sufficient importance, and feasible within a given timeframe. Students whose thesis proposals are deemed “unsatisfactory” will be required to re-defend their proposal. 

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Comprehensive Examination

After completing coursework, students have two years to prepare for, and pass, the comprehensive examination. The exam is intended to assess students’ ability to integrate substantive knowledge within the broad field of Human Development and Family Science. Students are expected to synthesize, critically analyze, and evaluate the literature in the field and articulate this scientific information. Doctoral students must successfully complete the exam before they can advance to candidacy. Students enrolled in the M.S. and who have continued on to the Ph.D. program must have submitted their Master’s thesis prior to sitting for the comprehensive examinations. 

Procedures and Guidelines:

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Evaluation and Notification of Results:

Students should notify the Graduate Director of their intents to complete their comprehensive examination requirement using the dates in Table 1. The Graduate Director shall appoint an Assessment Committee for the student’s comprehensive exam consisting of three faculty members including the student’s advisor and inform the student and the advisor of the composition of the Committee.

After notifying the Graduate Director of the intent to complete the comprehensive exam and the Director’s appointment of an Assessment Committee, the student shall develop a proposal outline for their comprehensive exam review outlining the topic, its significance, and the methods to be used in conducting the review (e.g., textual review, meta-analysis, etc.). The proposal outline also should include a preliminary list of at least 15 references from the last 10 years of research that will form the basis of the proposal.  Students should assume that the Assessment Committee will need at least 3 weeks to review the proposal outline. The Assessment Committee will review the proposal outline to determine if the topic is appropriate to meet the requirements of the comprehensive examination. The Committee may determine that the proposal is adequate as submitted or may require a meeting with the student to discuss the proposal further.  Following approval by the Assessment Committee, students will be allowed to take a semester to complete the review. Students may start the review at the beginning of either the fall or spring semester.

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