The following strategy document was written by the IR Field Committee for students planning on taking comprehensive exams in international relations. I have posted it here because I believe that at least some of the recommendations made in this memo may be helpful in preparing for comprehensive exams in other fields. Of course, please check with faculty on committees in those fields to be sure that a similar strategy would be appropriate for success in those fields.
Ron Mitchell
To: Grad Students interested in taking comprehensive exams in International Relations
From: IR Field Committee (Cramer, Mitchell, Skalnes)
Re: Strategy for taking comprehensive exams in International Relations
Date: 26 September 2003
We wanted to provide a "strategy document" for all students who are considering taking either a major or minor comp in IR at any point in their graduate career. We hope this will help students prepare to comp in IR, by helping you take a long term approach and plan ahead.
The goal of the comp exam requirement:
In our view, the goal of the comp exam process is achieved not when someone passes their comp exam, but when someone "knows the field." Successful preparation for a comp exam should lead you to "know the field" well enough that you are well prepared to identify interesting questions for a dissertation, have an understanding of available theories and cases for answering that question, and have a sense of the "look and feel" of compelling and convincing arguments in the field. Preparation for the exam should also get you to a point at which you are about 60-80% of the way to being fully prepared to teach an introductory undergraduate course in IR.
Recommended strategy:
During 1st and 2nd year of enrollment:
Take PS 624 at first available opportunity: International Relations Field Seminar (offered every other year)
Take at least 3 of the following 5 upper division/graduate classes offered in International Relations.
o PS 510: Causes of War
o PS 510: Advanced International Political Economy
o PS 577: International Environmental Politics
o PS 520: International Organization
o PS 555: Theories of International Politics
Meet with members of IR field seminar once per term to get a feel for their interests, perspectives, and expectations about comprehensive exams
Read the whole book W. Carlsnaes, T. Risse, and B. Simmons, eds. 2002. Handbook of International Relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. This book will provide an overview of all the major threads of IR at present - use this to identify literature that you will follow up on in different areas. Another good resource is I. Katznelson and H. V. Milner, eds. 2002. Political Science: State of the Discipline. New York: W.W. Norton, part 1 and chaps. by T. Risse and R. Powell
Take a first look at the IR reading list for comp exams
Begin the habit of reading several of the top journals in IR generally, and several subfields, e.g., World Politics, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and International Security, etc.
During term that is 3 terms prior to expected taking of comp
Re-read the Handbook of International Relations
Begin systematically reading books and articles from the IR reading list for comp exams - by this point you should be reading many of these for the second time
Write at least two practice comp exams, and have them reviewed by a colleague
Meet with IR field committee faculty at least once to get more information about what is expected in a comp exam
During term that is 2 terms prior to expected taking of comp
Complete reading books and articles from the IR reading list for comp exams
Write at least three practice comp exams, and have them reviewed by a colleague and by one or more of the IR field committee faculty. Practice, practice, practice
Begin structuring your own thoughts about the field and subfields. Start writing several "theoretical lit reviews", one of the field as a whole and others for each of the subfields you plan to take your comp exam on
Meet with IR field committee faculty at least once to get more information about what is expected in a comp exam
During term in which you will take comp
Further develop your theoretical lit reviews
Take several more practice comp exams
Meet with IR field committee faculty at least once to get more information about what is expected in a comp exam
If you follow this strategy, you should be very well prepared for your comprehensive exam and should "know the field" quite well. If you really "know the field", you should have no problem passing the comprehensive exam.