Reference no: EM132829859

Practice Comprehensive Exam

The comprehensive examination will conclude the formal course work portion of the South University Doctor of Business Administration program. The examination process will provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate doctoral-level mastery of the knowledge base and the competencies required of a doctoral program graduate.

The examination must be successfully completed prior to beginning the dissertation stage. Successfully completing the comprehensive examination will indicate your high level of expertise in the broad field of organizational behavior and your readiness to undertake and complete the dissertation that concludes this program.

The comprehensive examination is scored against specific metrics, against the program learning outcomes, and in accordance with graduate-level expectations of performance. Students successfully completing the actual comprehensive examination are assigned a grade of P/F (pass/fail). For this practice exam, a grade (A, B, C, D, F) will be earned.

The comprehensive examination does not require a "brain dump" of regurgitating every reading from every class. A doctoral-level performance on the comprehensive examination should demonstrate (a) mastery of organizational behavior concepts, (b) the ability to apply theoretical concepts to practice and practice to theory, and (c) the skill to select correct methods and approaches to address research and organizational issues. A doctoral-level performance will also require sufficient evidence from the literature for the statements, conclusions, and perspectives proposed in your responses.

Responses must be complete for the question posed but should not try to cover every aspect of every possible interpretation of the question. Indeed, a primary competency is to be able to state a problem clearly, frame a response, and stay on topic. Responses of specific lengths are not required for any question. If the length of a response is mentioned at all (e.g., 7-10 pages), this is meant to provide general guidelines for typical responses. You will not be evaluated at a lesser assessment level for going under (or over) the guidelines presented. You will be critiqued on the completeness and clarity of your response. In some instances, "less could be more."

For purposes of the official comprehensive examination, students in the DBA program must successfully complete four question responses. One question will come from each of the four topical areas:

Individual Organizational Behavior

Group and Team Behavior

Organizations, Leaders, and Global Environments