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The comprehensive examinations comprise two parts, normally taken in the third year of the Graduate Program in Clinical Psychology.   Both parts must be passed in order to meet the comprehensive examination requirement.  Policies and procedures for the two parts of the examination are shown on the following pages:

1. Case comprehensive exam
2. Oral comprehensive examination in ethics

The description below is quoted from the Graduate Student Handbook of the College of Graduate Studies and Research,  These provisions apply to both the case presentation and ethics components of the comprehensive examination process for clinical psychology.

 

The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination covers a broad aspect of the appropriate discipline and may be in written and/or oral form. This examination is on topics cognate to the candidate's field of research and is used as a means of judging whether or not the individual has a mature and substantial grasp of the discipline as a whole. A comprehensive knowledge of the subject will not only help to validate the Ph.D. student as an expert in the general field of his/her choice, but will also complement research activity in the specific area under investigation. Normally this examination is scheduled after the student has completed all requirements except the doctoral thesis. Unsuccessful candidates for the Comprehensive Examination may repeat the examination once with the permission of the CGSR. A second failure will result in the student being required to withdraw from the program.

All clinical psychology graduate students should be on research teams from the time they start the program until they go on the full-year internship.  As a member of a research team, you may have opportunities to:

1. Bring in references you come across that may interest other members of the team.
2. Present and discuss important articles in the research literature, as in a journal club.
3. Act as a research assistant in a project being carried out by the team leader or by another student.
4. Receive assistance from other team members in carrying out your own research (e.g., rating, scoring, entering data, assistance with analysis).
5. Offer constructive criticism of documents written by other members of the team (e.g., articles to be submitted to journals, thesis proposals, grant proposals, conference presentations, posters).
6. Rehearse talks for conferences, dissertation defenses, etc., and obtain feedback.
7. Carry out a joint research project in which all team members contribute.
8. Brainstorm and refine ideas for further research.
9. Discuss and demonstrate specific research techniques (e.g., statistical methods, psychometric methods).
10. Give and receive social support to help get through the tribulations of completing research.

Normally each student will participate on her or his adviser's research team.  If the adviser does not have a research team, or if the adviser is away, the student should take the initiative to locate another research team.  In any case students are encouraged to visit other research teams over the course of their time in the program.