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Cultural, Social & Political Thought

Former (2013) candidacy exam guidelines

In the 2005-2006 academic year, the Cultural, Social and Political Thought (CSPT) program admitted PhD students who had first been accepted into doctoral programs in English, History, Political Science, Sociology or individual Interdisciplinary Studies.

The CSPT PhD students are expected to follow the requirements of their respective departments with the exception that as PhD CSPT students they are required to write, as one of their comprehensive exams, a CSPT candidacy exam, set by the CSPT program.

Specifically, the purpose of CSPT candidacy exam is to examine the student’s knowledge in the areas of cultural, social and political thought as captured through the CSPT candidacy exam reading list. It is important that the CSPT students experience a collegial process that respects their particular abilities and strengths while they undergo a rigorous process of knowledge examination.

Procedure

The CSPT candidacy reading list is the master reading list. The reading list consists of 5 “possible problématiques” that capture the essential readings in the topics pertaining to some popular areas of interest within cultural, social and political thought. In order to keep it up-to-date, upon the director’s initiative the list shall go through revisions by CSPT faculty every 5 years.

In preparing to write their CSPT candidacy exam, in coordination with their (co-)supervisor, who is a CSPT faculty member, the CSPT PhD student is required to follow these steps:

    1. The student is required to create a list of 40 books (or equivalent in case of articles) selected from the CSPT candidacy reading list. The 40 books are expected to both reflect the research interests of the student and show that they can offer a coherent account of their capacity to teach in this field.

    2. In coordination with their (co-)supervisor, the student may include in the 40 books a number of books and other problématiques that are not on the CSPT candidacy reading list but are deemed essential by the student and their (co-)supervisor to their area of research.

    3. Of the 40 selected books, the student will designate 15 books, which they are expected to know in greater depth than the other 25 books. It must be noted that familiarity and competence in all 40 selected titles is essential.

    4. The (co-)supervisor shall then send a memo (via email) requesting the director’s approval. The memo will include the following information:

      1. An attachment containing the PhD student’s finalized candidacy reading list that adheres to the criteria listed above.
      2. The student’s selected format for writing and submitting the CSPT candidacy exam (see below).
      3. The names of 2 CSPT faculty members who will participate, in addition to student’s (co-)supervisor, in the student’s candidacy exam committee. In the composition of the examining committee, at least 2 of the CSPT participating departments must be represented.

      The CSPT director’s written approval will officiate the process.

    5. The student’s (co-)supervisor and candidacy examination committee create the candidacy exam paper, normally consisting of 9 questions, of which the student will be required to answer 3. The questions will direct the student to display their in-depth knowledge of (some of) the 15 designated books as well as familiarity with the other 25 books in the list.

    6. The candidacy examination committee will meet with the student 1 month prior to sending out the candidacy exam questions to the student. This meeting is intended to clarify the entire process of candidacy examination to the student and answer their questions.

    7. In terms of the writing and submission of the candidacy exam, the CSPT program allows the students, should they so choose, to follow the format of their participating department in writing a comprehensive/field exam. The CSPT program recognizes that the student may choose any of the following formats:

      1. The exam questions will be provided to the student 24 hours in advance of writing. The exam itself will take 5 hours and the student will write it in the student’s department and under the supervision of their (co-supervisor). The submitted exam will take the form of an exam write-up.

      2. The exam questions will be given to the student at the agreed-upon date and time, in coordination with their (co-)supervisor and the answers are due in 72-hours. The submitted exam will take the form of a short paper.
      3. The exam questions will be released to the student at 9 a.m. of the agreed-on date and the student is required to submit the exam to their (co-)supervisor precisely 1 week from the date/time they receive the questions. The submitted exam will take the form of a fully referenced, extended theory paper.

    8. A 2-hour oral examination is scheduled no later than 2 weeks after the submission date of the written exam. The oral examination will only take place upon the agreement of the candidacy examination committee that the submitted, written exam is acceptable. The student’s (co-)supervisor will oversee this process and set up the oral examination.

    9. The student’s (co-)supervisor is encouraged to meet with the student and help them prepare for the oral examination.

    10. The examining committee will be chaired by the CSPT director. In case the director is unavailable or is the student’s supervisor, a CSPT faculty designated by CSPT director will chair the CSPT candidacy oral examination. The chair’s function is to observe that the student’s written exam accords with their chosen format and the oral exam reflects the written exam.

    11. The CSPT candidacy examining committee will vote on the student’s performance. Should the examining committee find the written component insufficient, the student will be given a second opportunity to write up the candidacy exam according to the above procedures. Should the examining committee find the oral component insufficient, the student will be given a second opportunity for an oral examination within a maximum of 6 months. The (co-)supervisor will make the arrangements for a second oral examination. Failing the second examinations will require that the student withdraw from the CSPT program. The student may appeal this decision by referring to the student appeal procedures of their home department.

    12. In the case of a successful written exam and oral defence, the supervisor is required to collect the signatures of the members of the examining committee and file a CSPT PhD candidacy exam completion report to the graduate secretary of the student’s department. This form will stay in the student’s records to ensure that proper record of their work is kept and sent to Faculty of Graduate Studies.