Passing the Comprehensive Examination is a Graduate College requirement for all non-thesis masters students. This written examination tests for integration of learning from both the foundation and candidacy years of the program. The exact format of the exam may vary in different years. Students take this exam in their final semester of enrollment. Where a student fails the exam (a score of less than 80), she/he may, at the discretion of the examining committee, retake the examination. Students may take this exam a maximum of two times and only once during any given semester. Where a student fails twice, they are terminated from the MSW program. The exam is offered, typically, in the spring semester of the final year.
Thesis Option
MSW students have the option of completing a master’s thesis. A master’s thesis is the product of individual research. It must represent an original contribution to the academic field of knowledge and must represent original research by the student. Students who complete a master’s thesis are not required to take the Comprehensive Exam. Important information on the thesis option includes:
• A student in a thesis track program must work with the
Graduate Coordinator to select both a thesis topic and a thesis
committee.
• The thesis topic and committee must be chosen no later than the semester in which the student is required to submit the Admission to Candidacy form, or following the procedures established by the academic unit, if earlier. For almost all social work students the required semester is the Fall semester prior to (Spring) graduation.
•The thesis committee must consist of a major professor and at least two other members of the graduate faculty. The graduate dean must approve the committee members.
• Thesis option students must apply from 2-6 hours to their MSW degree.
For additional information on the thesis option, contact the School of Social Work Graduate Program Coordinator Dr. Jim Rosenthal, (405) 325-1401; jimar@ou.edu.
For detailed information and requirements of the Graduate College go to: http://gradweb.ou.edu/docs/infor/master/thesispkt.htm
Typical Curriculum for the Candidacy Year
Applicants should recognize that some changes in the curricula could take place prior to their beginning graduate study. In both DP and ACP, the practicum occurs in the final (spring) semester and involves approximately 36 hours per week over the course of the semester. The following two candidacy-year schedules apply to non-thesis option students.
The school currently is studying ways to add flexibility to how the concentration year is taken. It is probable that a part-time concentration option will be available by 2007-08. Further, it is likely that students will have the option of extending their concentration year practicum through spring and summer rather than taking the practicum as a block unit in the spring.
