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Competency & Comprehensive Exams

All PhD students must pass one comprehensive examination in the area (field) of specialization in which they plan to write a dissertation. They must also demonstrate competence in elementary logic.

Futher details, including study materials, can be found below.

Logic Competency Examination

The Philosophy Department at Western University requires PhD students to demonstrate competence in logic and should aim to do so during their first year. This requirement may be met in several ways:

1. Passing the PhD Logic Competence Exam.
2. Auditing PHIL 2020, 2250, or 2252 and obtaining a grade of 80% or higher.
3. Showing proof of having obtained a grade of 80% or higher in a course at least equivalent to PHIL 2020.

Topics
Sentential Logic
Translations
Truth Tables
Derivations
(Truth Trees, optional)
Predicate Logic
Identity

Concepts: truth-functional (t-f), truth-value assignment, t-f true/false/indeterminate, t-f equivalence, t-f consistency, t-f validity, interpretations in predicate logic, theorem, quantificationally (q)-true/false/indeterminate, q-equivalence, q-consistency, q-validity, soundness/completeness of a formal system.

Students should be able to define all of the above terms and show of a sentence or set of sentences whether one of these properties holds. No knowledge of the formal semantics of predicate logic is required. 

Preparing for the PhD Logic Competency Exam
You may prepare using any text that covers the topics listed above. A recommended text is The Logic Book (Bergmann, Moor, Nelson), chapters 1-3, 5, 7, 8 (sections 8.1-8.4), 10. Chapters 4 and 9 cover truth trees and are optional. Chapters 6 and 11 are not required beyond being able to explain in a few sentences the soundness and completeness of a formal system.

Area Chair
Chris Viger (Email)

Area Comprehensive Examination

Reading List

Students should aim to have a supervisor by May 15 of the year they are supposed to finish their coursework (their first year if in the four-year program and their second year if in the five-year program). In consultation with their supervisor, students must create a reading list for their comprehensive exam based on the master list for their area. The list should include about 2000 pages of material. Up to 10% of these pages may be material from outside the area's master list.

Students should submit their proposed reading list to the area chair by June 15 of the year they are supposed to finish their coursework. The area chair may suggest modifications to the reading list. In order for the reading list to be considered approved, it must be approved by the area chair (who may consult the area committee as appropriate). 

Scheduling

Area Comprehensive exams are offered three times a year: the last week of August, the second week of January, and the second week of May. 

Students should contact their area chair in order to have their exam scheduled. 24-hour take-home exams (see below) are scheduled and arranged by area chairs. Four-hour sit-down exams (see below) are scheduled and arranged by the graduate chair and the graduate program coordinator, in consultation with area chairs. 

Students may consult with the graduate chair with any questions or concerns at any stage of the process.

All reading list materials on the master lists are available via Western Libraries. Students should email coursereadings@uwo.ca to request access to their area’s reading list.

Area Chairs should notify coursereadings@uwo.ca of any changes to reading lists.

Exam Type

Students may choose between two exam types:

1. A four-hour sit-down exam, written on campus.
2. A 24-hour take-home exam, followed (normally within a week) by an oral exam of approximately 45 minutes. The oral exam will focus on the candidate’s answers, but examiners may refer to other material on the candidate’s reading list in their questions.

In either type of exam, students will be required to answer four out of a list of eight questions. These questions may be subdivided into lists with distribution requirements (e.g., “Answer at least one question from each of sections A and B”). If so, the student will be notified about this format by the time the reading list is finalized.

Written exams, including the written component of the second option, will be evaluated by all the members of the area committee not on leave. The oral exams will be conducted by a subcommittee comprised of at least two members of the area committee.

Expectations

1. It is expected that students writing the four-hour exam will write 1.5 to 2 single-spaced pages per answer (approximately 750–1000 words). A good answer should have a thesis, an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion and will clearly and directly address the question(s) asked. There is no expectation that students will quote directly from the material they are discussing.
2. It is expected that students writing the 24-hour exam will write 3 to 4 single-spaced pages per answer (approximately 1500–2000 words). A good answer will have a thesis, an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion, and will clearly and directly address the question(s) asked. It is expected that the resulting answers will demonstrate substantial scholarly engagement with the material on which the questions are based. Students are encouraged to support their arguments with direct quotations as appropriate and are required to provide references for all sources in footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography.

Outcomes

There are four possible outcomes to the exam. The outcome for candidates who chose the 24-hour take-home plus oral exam option will be based on both components of the exam. For example, to pass, a student must pass both parts.

1. Pass with distinction. Candidate passes all four questions and, in the examining committee’s judgment, displays exceptional insight into and mastery of the material.
2. Pass. Candidate passes all four questions.
3. Conditional pass. Candidate passes three questions and makes a genuine attempt at but fails the fourth. Students who receive a conditional pass will be given the opportunity to earn a pass by re-writing the answer to the question they failed.  They will be given two weeks from the date on which they learn the outcome.  The length of the revised answer should be 1500-2000 words.  It will be evaluated by the entire exam committee and an oral component might be scheduled if the committee deems it necessary after evaluating the written answer.  If the revised answer is not judged to be satisfactory, the student will fail the (whole) exam.  The procedure is the same regardless of whether the candidate wrote the four-hour sit-down or the 24-hour take home exam.
4. Fail. Candidate fails two or more questions.

 Some Tips

1. Be sure you answer the question being asking of you (rather than just discussing the topic and material in which it is situated).
2. Some questions may ask you to evaluate arguments or positions. Your evaluations need not be original and may be tentative.
3. Leave time to proofread your answers.

Note: Students who completed their coursework before the 2019-20 academic year may follow the previous Area Comprehensive Examination format. 

Study Materials & Contacts