QUALIFYING EXAM
The Qualifying Exam (QE), also known as the Comprehensive Exam, is one of the required steps to determine whether a PhD student can become a PhD candidate.
PhD students are required to show their expertise and mastery of the literature on one of the four tracks offered by IDAS. Please note that the chosen QE track and the dissertation are not required to be in the same field of study.
The purpose of the QE is to prove the student’s knowledge and ability to teach a course on the selected topics in the future, as well as the capability to successfully complete a PhD.
Exam Format, Rules and Regulations
The QE is a written, essay-style exam with several questions. The exam is open book; students are allowed to bring any books or notes they wish into the examination room.
Each student must bring their own computer to use during the exam. Internet access is not allowed and will be monitored.
Students must cite and reference all the content. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden and all the exams will be checked to assure academic integrity.
Each question is graded individually on a 0-100 scale. Students must score an average of 70 points for all the questions to pass the exam. In other words, students can score less than 70 points on some questions as long as the total average is 70 or above. A total score below 70 points is considered a failed exam. Students are allowed to retake the QE only once.
The QE is taken in the IDAS department twice a year (at the end of May and the end of September). The exact date will be announced a few weeks before the exam.
The exam starts at 9:00 AM and ends at 6:00 PM. Students must arrive by 8:30 AM. If the student is not present at the exam time, he/she will be marked “no show” and considered as a fail.
Examination rooms will be allocated to students. During the exam, breaks outside of the examination room are permitted, but make sure to finish the exam on time.
IDAS Tracks
Students can choose any of the four available tracks for the QE exam. In general, students choose the track they are most familiar with or that has been part of their academic background; however, this is not required.
All four tracks have a basic reading list. Students are expected to cover their track’s reading list and expand on the literature as much as possible to show their expertise.
The reading list is only a guide for students. The objective of the QE is to prove the students’ knowledge, therefore students must extend their literature scope as widely as possible.
Main Track Sub-Fields in:
Foreign Policy Analysis, Security and Strategic Studies, International Political Economy, International Trade and Development, International Organizations, Asia Pacific Security, Political Identity in the Asia-Pacific, Cross-Strait Relations and Chinese Foreign Policy.
Theory of Political Economy, Development, Strategies and Patterns of Industrialization, Varieties of Capitalism, Globalization and Regionalization, The East Asian Miracle and the Developmental State, The Asian Financial Crisis, Asian Economic Integration, Institutional Arrangements of Economic Cooperation in Asia, The Rise of China and Cross-strait Relations, Financial systems and Monetary Integration.
Political Systems Theory, Democratization and Political Participation, Dynamics of Social Movements, Globalization and its Modern Issues, Civil Society and the Third Sector, Public Governance Strategy, Theories of Agenda-Setting, Problem Definition and Decision-Making, Policy Development, Design and Evaluation, Public Policy and Program Implementation Studies, Public Leadership Theory and Strategy, Theories and Practices of Public Sector Performance, Managing Public and Non-profit Organizations.
History and Theory of Anthropology, Research Methods of Ethnography, Religious Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology of Culture, History of Culture, Linguistics, Cross-cultural Studies, Migration and Diaspora Studies, Indigenous Studies.
