All procedures for the qualifying exams are facilitated through the qualifying exam portal below. Once a date is chosen, students must initiate the qualifying exam through the portal. Exam questions and results are delivered through the portal.

The general field qualifying exam is individually designed for each student by the advisor and two other faculty members, who constitute the student’s exam committee. Each Ph.D. student will take a General Field Qualifying Exam covering the field of special education or the education of individuals with disabilities to determine the student’s readiness to move to the dissertation phase of the program. The exam is intended to assess the student’s ability to convey knowledge about the field through academic writing. The exam is made up of three questions. The first question is mandatory for each student, and the two additional questions are composed and agreed on by the committee members. Questions address the student’s general knowledge of special education, their understanding of how their subfield relates to the broader field, and their understanding and/or use of research methods.

Academic Integrity

The general field qualifying exam is an independent exam; thus, all work should be original student work. It is expected that each student will follow the Illinois Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure and the Department of Special Education Generative AI Usage Policy.

Committee

The advisor, in consultation with the student, will identify at least two additional faculty members from the list of Graduate College faculty within the special education department. Per College of Education Rules, readers must be contacted prior to the exam to determine availability.

Timeline

The General Field Qualifying Exam will occur after the Early Research Project has been completed and the ERP results have been submitted to the Graduate Student Services Office. Once the student is provided the examination questions, they have three weeks to submit the final product.  If the student wishes to request an alternate timeline, the student must confer with the advisor, who shall determine if an exception is warranted.

Format 

Mandatory question: Write a journal article review as a narrative monograph (bullet points are not acceptable). This review should be between 5-10 pages, and provide an overall summary of the manuscript, and a critique of the content, methods, and conclusion drawn from the study. Students should focus on the manuscript’s alignment between the introduction through the discussion. We also encourage the use of quality indicators. The advisor, in consultation with the committee, will determine the article to be reviewed. A literature review or metanalysis is acceptable for this journal review.

Additional questions: Committee members design two additional qualifying exam questions. These questions may be related to the student’s subfield; however, they should challenge the student to think beyond their specialized area of interest. For example, a committee may ask a student to design a research study using methods different from their research area requirement focus; compare diverse research methods; situate the student’s topic in theory, history, policy, or more broadly within the field of special education or their subfield; or consider their topic within a different theoretical or conceptual perspective.

Evaluation

A holistic rubric will be used to assess the student’s examination. (See Appendix A for the holistic rubric.) Procedures for evaluation and procedures for revisions/rewrite will follow College of Education rules (see the College of Education Graduate Handbook).  All committee members must come to an independent evaluation decision within two weeks of receiving the qualifying exam.

The special field qualifying exam is individualized for each student by the advisor and two other faculty members, who constitute the student’s exam committee. Each Ph.D. student will complete the special field qualifying exam covering an area of specialization proposed by the student with the concurrence of the advisor. The exam is intended to assess the student’s depth of specialized knowledge in their subfield of study. The special field should be a scholarly specialization more broadly conceived than the anticipated dissertation topic.

Academic Integrity

It is expected that each student will follow the Illinois Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure and the Department of Special Education Generative AI Usage Policy (see Appendix C).

Committee

The Special Field Committee members will include the student’s advisor (or co-advisors) and two other faculty members selected in collaboration with the advisor.

Timeline

The Special Field Qualifying Exam can be completed after the student has successfully completed the General Field Qualifying Exam. The advisor and student will determine the timing of the Special Field Qualifying Exam.

Format

Portfolio: The student completes a portfolio of three papers of publishable quality and completes an oral proposal and defense. The three papers should represent the student’s specialized field of knowledge/research. There is an authorship requirement for the papers. The student should be the first author on at least one of the papers and the second author on the others. If the student is the third author on a paper, the first author must write a statement describing the contributions of the second and third authors (e.g., were these roles equal, etc.). At least one paper in the portfolio must be a data-based paper with the student as the first author. The advisor is responsible for working with the student to arrange a time for the portfolio proposal and defense and for completion of the required paperwork.

Portfolio proposal meeting: Two weeks before the proposal meeting, the student should send the committee members a 3–5 page proposal according to the current guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA). This proposal will include an overview of the papers that the student plans to submit as part of the Special Field Qualifying Exam, including the authorship and journals that the student will target. On the day of the proposal meeting, the student will present their proposal describing (a) each of the three papers (i.e., content, potential audience and journal, role in developing the paper); and (b) how the three papers are connected and related to the student’s specialized field of knowledge/research. The committee will provide feedback to the student.

Portfolio defense meeting: Two weeks prior to the portfolio defense, the student will send their committee members the three completed papers (in publishable or published format). On the day of the meeting, the student will meet with their committee and orally present the three papers. The advisor, in collaboration with the committee members, will complete the evaluation form following the defense meeting. The student is responsible for: (a) preparing a presentation (using presentation software) for this meeting, highlighting each paper included in the portfolio and (b) answering questions from the committee about: the strengths and weaknesses of each paper; the methodology used in the research papers; how the papers tie together; the student’s strengths and areas of growth as a writer, researcher, and teacher; and the student’s specialized field of knowledge and research topic, including recommended practices, philosophy about the topic area, etc.

Evaluation

A holistic rubric will be used to assess the student’s examination. (See Appendix A for the holistic rubric.) Procedures for evaluation and procedures for revisions/rewrite will follow College of Education rules (see the College of Education Graduate Handbook.).  All committee members must come to an independent evaluation decision within two weeks of receiving the qualifying exam.

Remediation Plan

The student must pass the Special Field Qualifying Exam to continue in the doctoral program. Students must complete all revisions on the three papers within a two-month period following the portfolio oral defense. Committee members will complete the evaluation form following approval of the revisions.