Besides normal classwork, your last semester in the LIS program involves two specific tasks. The most important one is the Comprehensive Exam, which all students must take to be awarded the MA degree. Once results for that are complete, we send those to the Graduate School, at which time you are listed for graduation.
The other task is that you have to let the Graduate School know that you plan to graduate by filling out the Graduate Application Form. The Graduate Application Form is available for approximately six weeks prior to the beginning of your final semester. Watch your MU email account for notices from the Graduate School and SISLT Student Coordinator as to when the application will be available.
- The Application for Completion is your indication to the Graduate School that you intend to graduate during a particular semester. Fill it out at the beginning of your final semester in the program.
- Planning on participating in MU’s commencement ceremony? Read the Graduate School’s commencement ceremony checklist, including where to obtain regalia.
The Comprehensive Exam
Master’s degree students in the LIS program must complete the Comprehensive Examination (Comps) during the final semester of course work. Comps consist of one question in each of four general areas: Issues, Management, Services, and Technology. Each question is created and evaluated by one of the full-time resident LIS faculty.
The Comps Information Meeting is held several months prior to administration of the examination each semester. You will be given an overview of the content of the questions, a list of suggested readings for each question and information on how Comps will be administered. Students scheduled to take Comps are loaded into a Blackboard site where you can post questions and interact with the Comps Committee and your peers.
Toward the latter half of the semester, the Comps questions are released on the Blackboard site. You have nine days to answer the four questions and submit the answers to the Comprehensive Exam Committee.
How is the Comprehensive Exam Evaluated?
At the close of the Comps period, the Examination Committee grades each response pass/fail. Each Committee member is responsible for grading the answer to the question s/he designed. (Example: all Issues answers go to the faculty member who wrote the Issues question). You must receive a pass grade on each of the four questions to successfully complete the Comprehensive Examination.
If your response to a question does not meet the criteria for a grade of pass, the Committee member will circulate your response to the other three Committee members for further evaluation. If a majority of the Committee members determine the response meets the criteria for a grade of pass, you will successfully complete that section of the examination. If a majority of the Committee members determine the response does not meet the criteria for a grade of pass, the response is marked fail and you will be required to retake that section of Comps (One Section Retake).
What is a One Section Retake?
If you pass three sections of Comps, and fail one section, you will be asked to retake the failed section prior to the end of the semester. You will work with the faculty member who designed the failed question to determine the problem with your initial response. You must submit a new answer before the end of the semester. The retake response is graded pass/fail. If the retake answer is graded pass, you will have passed the Comprehensive Examination. However, if the retake response is graded fail, you must retake the entire Comprehensive Examination during the next semester Comps are administered.
