GENERAL EXAMINATION

Fields
Format
Committee
Bibliography
Procedure
Checklist
HUAM Procedure

The thesis proposal should be submitted in November (following general exams in May) with the dissertation research grant proposal. The thesis proposal should be 3-5 pages in length with additional bibliography and should be consistent with a standard dissertation research grant application.

• The GE will be taken no later than the sixth term in residence, typically spring term G3. The exams should take place during reading period of the spring term, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, on consecutive days. Exceptions can only be considered by the DGS, in close consultation with the thesis supervisor, and must be approved by the faculty during a Departmental meeting.
• The petition to take general exams must be filed in the department by March 1 of the spring term of the 6 th semester of residence.
• One term of intensive study should suffice to prepare for the GE.
• The proposed thesis supervisor in consultation with the committee will make sure that the bibliography is appropriate, but not over-burdened.
• The final bibliography will be submitted to the DGS, for the record.
• The general examination is given only during the academic year and not during holidays or summer.  
• The examination is designed to test the students' mastery of their scholarly fields and their ability to proceed to writing a dissertation. Students are allowed access to the library and to other resources while answering Parts 1 and 2.

There are written and oral components, both of which test students' knowledge of general and specific fields. Following completion of the Qualifying Paper and at least two months prior to the date of the examination, the student should consult with advisers and present to the department a written proposal describing the general and specific fields to be covered in the examination.

The general field ordinarily consists of two of the following areas:

The balance of art and architecture to be covered will depend on the field and will be determined in consultation with the committee.

The specific field is a narrower area of study chosen by the student and subject to faculty review. In principle it should comprise a coherent and clearly defined area of scholarly inquiry. Ordinarily this specific field will cover no less than fifty years, and will be confined to one or two regions. This is also the area in which the candidate's dissertation topic will most likely be concentrated.

FORMAT OF THE EXAMINATION

DAY I: Written essay(s) on the general field, 8 hours total -- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Interpretation. The student answers one or two out of several questions designed to test her or his grasp of broad art-historical issues.

DAY 2: Written essay(s) on the specific field, 8 hours total-- 9 a.m. to 5 p.m . Methods and Historiography. The student answers one or two questions designed to bring out his or her knowledge of sources, both primary and secondary, and of methodological issues.

Students are allowed access to the library and to other resources while taking the written portion of the examination. On each day the students will be given a choice of essay questions, normally 1 of 3 or 2 of 5, to be determined in consultation with committee members. Students usually choose to have their questions sent by email at 9am and submit their essays at 5pm to their committee.

DAY 3: Oral examination, 2-3 hours. Analysis of visual material. General Field. The student will have one to two hours prior to the convening of the full committee to examine eight to twelve works of art, slides, or photographs, in preparation for an oral discussion of all but one of them with the examination committee. The discussions may involve such issues as connoisseurship, contexts, iconography, formal analysis, patronage, technique, and condition. This is followed by an evaluation and review, 1 1/2 hours.

No research may be done once the oral examination has begun.

Students whose performance on the examination is not satisfactory will be given one opportunity to repeat all or a portion of it.

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THE EXAMINATION COMMITTEE

The examination committee will ordinarily consist of three members, at least two of whom belong to the Department faculty; the committee will be appointed by the faculty in consultation with the student and adviser. At least two of the three members of the committee (the Chair and the 3rd member or arbitrator) must be from the Department of History of Art and Architecture. At least two months prior to the examination, the student should consult with advisers and present to the department a written proposal describing the general and specific fields to be covered in the examination and suggesting a committee. The form is available in the Department office and should be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of Graduate Studies will then notify the student of faculty approval of the proposed committee as well as extending a formal invitation to any outside members of the committee.

During preparation for the examination, students should meet at least once with the committee and, with its help, should formulate general and specific areas, a bibliography, establish the format of the examination, and generate possible questions. Discussion will include clarification of the committee's expectations with respect to objects and the oral portion of the examination. Following the group meeting, the student will formalize her or his understanding of the range of questions and format for the written part of the exam, as well as the procedure of the oral portion of the exam and provide a copy of this document for each member of the committee. It is also understood that students will meet with individual committee members in the course of preparation. (Under extenuating circumstances, when members of the committee include individuals not on the faculty, or when faculty members are not in residence, it may be necessary for the Chair of the committee to coordinate consultation without a meeting before the examination.)

The Chair of the committee is often, but need not be, the dissertation adviser. If the Chair of the committee anticipates being on leave in the semester during which the exam is scheduled, it is the student's obligation to secure permission from the faculty member in advance for the exam to be scheduled. Barring such permission, the student will have to arrange to take the exam prior to or following the leave in question.

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CANDIDATE'S BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUMMARY OF EXPECTATIONS

A bibliography should be produced by the student resulting from consultation with individual members and the committee as a whole. The aim of the bibliography is to serve as preparation for studying for the exam and also as an indication of the student's control of the literature of the general and specific fields. Expectations regarding the bibliography should be understood and agreed upon by the committee and the individual.

After meeting with the principal adviser, the candidate will formalize her or his understanding of what was agreed upon, either by following the points of this list, or by writing up a separate summary. The document will then be presented to each member of the committee, and further revisions can be made at that point. A final version should be given to all members of the committee and to Deanna. The candidate is largely responsible for ensuring that the procedure runs smoothly. The Chair of the committee informs non-department members of the procedure in the various stages of the exam.

The General Examination Checklist (below) is intended to clarify what the procedures for and expectations of the general exam will be for a specific candidate and her or his committee. It should be noted that not all issues raised by this checklist will be applicable in all sub-fields, nor will all committees wish to be explicit in establishing or limiting options.

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STUDENT PROCEDURE FOR TAKING THE EXAMINATION

 1. At least two months prior to the examination assemble a committee and submit the Petition for Taking the General Examination with the preliminary thesis proposal.

 2. Meet with committee, set dates, prepare and submit bibliography and summary of expectations.

 3. Reserve a room in the museum for the oral examination and inform the committee and the department office.

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GENERAL EXAMINATION CHECKLIST

 Timetable

• When and where will the exams be held?
• Will there be any further meetings between the candidate and either the full committee or individual members?
• Who will be responsible for reserving and opening the room in which the oral exam takes place?
• When and where will the review of the exam take place? (as part of oral exam or afterwards?)

 Bibliography

• What is the scope and intent of the bibliography?
• How do the bibliographies for the general and specific fields differ?
• Will it be a comprehensive survey of the existing literature, or is there a focus on, for example, recent scholarship?
• Is the bibliography primarily intended to cover literature previously unknown to the student? Or is it to be seen as primarily a review of writing that the student is already acquainted with? or both?
• What is a workable length for the bibliography? Will the student be expected to know every source on the bibliography, and if so, in what detail?
• What is the last date before the exam after which no new materials will be added to the list (generally no less than two weeks)?

 Written Examination

• In what way will the questions for the general and specific portions differ?
• How many questions will appear in each section of the exam?
• How will the exam reach the examinee and subsequently examiners?
• Will there be written feedback on this part of the exam?

N.B. Each committee will have different concerns and expectations as to the manner in which the questions will be approached and answered. Be prepared to discuss these expectations (methodological issues, relative importance of specific examples, bibliography, etc.).

Oral Examination

• How many works will be given [N.B. to faculty: traditionally 8-12; N.B. to students: ensure that your committee is aware that you have the option of not discussing one of the works.]
• Will there be slides, photographs, or objects? or a combination?
• If there are objects, what is the range of the objects?
• When and where will the images be available for viewing before the committee convenes?
• Clarify the overall purpose of objects. In discussing the objects, what issues are to be treated, and what is their relative priority? For example, how important are attribution, connoisseurship, contextualization, condition/conservation, comparison, etc.

N.B.to Faculty: Objects from the Fogg collection or from outside collections must be arranged two weeks prior to the exam with the Harvard University Art Museum's registrar, especially if works are to be moved into the Sackler from outside (see faculty procedure for general exam and the registrar).

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GENERAL EXAM PROCEDURE FOR THE FACULTY AND REGISTRAR

 1. Faculty must schedule graduate exams and work out appropriate locations for the exams with the Department of History of Art and Architecture several weeks in advance of the actual examinations dates. When a room is needed in the Fogg, please contact the Museum Registrar (5-2379) directly in the weeks prior to the exam and they will assist in finding an appropriate space.

 2. Faculty should schedule the date and time of the general exam using objects through the History of Art and Architecture Department. The HUAM Registrar MUST be given two weeks' notice of the date, and of the HUAM objects requested. Whenever possible, exams involving works from the Sackler collections (Ancient, Asian, Islamic) will be held at the Sackler; exams involving works from the Fogg and Busch collections will be held at the Fogg. Accessioned objects moving between the Fogg and Sackler must be moved by the exhibitions department on the weekly museum truck-transit -- hence the movement of objects to and from the Sackler/Fogg is more complicated than is apparent.

 3. Outside works of art used for exams must be registered by the depositor in the Registrar's office at least two weeks prior to the date of the oral exam. If outside loans are involved (e.g., MFA; Houghton Library) this should be discussed with the Registrar at least three weeks prior to the exam for budgetary and administrative reasons. Objects belonging to the faculty may be brought in the day of the exam provided they are "exam ready." If any objects belonging to faculty need to be processed through conservation (for framing, identification covered, books mounted open) these objects should be delivered to the Registrar's office one week prior to the exam.

 4. Exam questions must be prepared and in to the Department Office in time to be typed and ready for students by 9 a.m. on the first day of their exams. E-mail and fax are variations which should be discussed with the Administrator.

The HUAM Registrars will set up the objects the morning of the exam; the Chair of the General Examination committee should inform the Registrar when the exam is completed so that the objects can be either returned to storage immediately, or the area secured for the night.

It is important that the staff of the Department of History of Art and Architecture are told directly about all plans for and persons participating in general examinations since the Registrar's office and other involved departments will be calling the Department of History of Art and Architecture to get information about the examination while it is being planned.

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