Comprehensive Examinations

Comprehensive Exam Application Online Form

After completing all required coursework, doctoral candidates must successfully complete the doctoral comprehensive exam. The examination must be passed within five years from the start of the doctoral program. For more information on the comprehensive examination, refer to the Doctoral Handbook.

Successful completion of the comprehensive exam is also required for education specialist programs, as well as some master's programs. To find out which master's programs require students to take the comprehensive exam, see the list below:

• Educational Leadership and Administration
• Educational Technology Leadership (Distance program only)
• Bilingual Special Education
• International Education (Option to take comprehensive exam or a 3-credit course)
• Individualized Program
• Higher Education Administration (Option to take comprehensive exam or a 3-credit course)
• Elementary Education
• Secondary Education
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Early Childhood Special Education
• Special Education for Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities
• Special Education for Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities
• Transition Special Education/Teacher Certification (Non-certification programs may have a portfolio or research project in lieu of a comprehensive exam, or may give an alternative exam)

Comprehensive exams are offered by the school once per semester, usually in December, April and July. All students must apply to take the comprehensive examination by the following deadlines:

To determine the exact date for any given sitting please contact Matt Deters at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by telephone at 202-994-7630.

If there is a compelling reason preventing a student from sitting for the comprehensive examination on the regularly scheduled date, they may request a special sitting by completing a Special Sitting Request Form , which then needs to be approved by the Examination Field Advisor and submitted to the Office of Doctoral Student Services.

In order to be cleared to sit for the comprehensive examination, students must be in good standing and have completed all of their coursework or be in their last semester of coursework (with the exception of 390 and a level B Research Methods course for doctoral students) and have no Incompletes ("I's") or In Progress Grades ("IPG's") on their record.