UNM Department of Linguistics

M.A. Comprehensive Exam

Each M.A. candidate must pass the master's comprehensive examination. This exam is usually taken by Plan II candidates during their last semester in the program and by Plan I candidates during their next-to-last semester when they are conducting their thesis research. The examination may be taken only after the Program of Studies has been approved by OGS and only if you have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

The responsibility for administering the examination and providing the final evaluation is assigned to the M.A. Examination Committee, a committee of three faculty appointed by the department each year. The examination typically consists of three-day take-home questions for each of the three areas chosen; responses of approximately 10 double-spaced pages per area are expected. The exam is usually given over a one week period at the time of Fall Break and Spring Break. The exam committee may subsequently request an oral interview with you in order to determine the final evaluation of the exam, which is reported to OGS on the "Report of Examination" form. Each committee member also completes the department's "Assessment of M.A. Comprehensive Examination" form for student outcomes assessment.

Barring extraordinary circumstances, you will be notified of the results of the examination no later than two weeks from the date on which it was completed. Should such circumstances arise, the chair of the M.A. Examination Committee will inform you in writing of the reason for the delay and let you know when notification can be expected.

A student who fails the examination is allowed a second attempt within one calendar year. The examination may be taken only twice.

Examination Areas

To permit you to display appropriate breadth and depth of understanding of the field of linguistics, you will be examined in three areas chosen from the following list of seven options; you must select at least one area out of each group:

Group I :

(a) syntax/discourse
(b) semantics/pragmatics
(c) phonology/phonetics
(d) morphology/grammaticization

Group II:

(e) psycholinguistics
(f) sociolinguistics
(g) computational linguistics

Upon deciding on each area, you should ask a faculty member with expertise in the area to serve as your "supervising faculty" for the area. The supervising faculty will assist you in preparing the supplementary readings for the area (see "M.A. Reading List" below) and will propose the question(s) to the M.A. Examination Committee. The supervising faculty will also be asked to evaluate your response for the area, but the final evaluation rests with the M.A. Examination Committee.

Deadlines

You must file with the Graduate Advisor the department's "M.A. Comprehensive Exam Areas and Supervising Faculty" form no later than the third week of the semester in which you plan to take the exam. At least two weeks before the examination, the department must notify OGS by submitting an "Announcement of Examination". The results of the examination must be reported to OGS by November 15 for Fall graduation, April 15 for Spring graduation, or July 15 for Summer graduation.