Introductions

The exact form that comps takes varies slightly depending on circumstance, though the timing is fairly consistent with it being offered at least in fall and winter semesters depending on interest. Typically, two faculty members work together to decide on the number of questions test takers will respond to, as well as write the questions and grade the responses. Faculty try to take turns in these roles and not work in the same pairs multiple times, and thus the combination of who is leading comps is essentially random though once you express an interest in taking a session of comps the faculty will likely tell you who is writing the questions for your session. You will also need to express the interest in comps to the office staff (as of writing: Robin Decker and or Colleen Craft), though they often send out mass emails asking who is interested in taking a comps session ahead of time and thus they’ll likely reach out to you before you have to reach out to them.

The comps writing faculty will determine how many questions participants will answer—typically either four or six. In order to pass comps you must correctly answer every question, however you are “allowed” to “fail” a certain number of questions, sort of. Comps is broken down into two sections/attempts: the first is the typical in person long form essay questions with no assistance discussed thus far, however the second section is rewrites. Rewrites essentially gives participants a retry on questions they failed previously, though only if they passed a certain amount—typically above 60%—of the questions they responded to from the first attempt. If you fail to reach the rewrites threshold then you fail comps and must wait until the next session of it is available. Rewrites still consists of long form essay questions, the exact same ones the participants failed previously, with some major changes in how the test is organized and what's expected. 

During rewrites you are allowed to use notes or almost any other resources to help you understand and answer the questions, including asking the comps writing faculty for guidance on what citations may be useful, and you may also receive written comments on your previous and unacceptable comps answers to help nudge you in the right direction as well. Rewrites also take place over two to three weeks and thus you have far more time to write a response to the questions that you previously failed. These changes aren’t all in your favor however, because while you are given a great deal of additional help and time, you are also expected to write higher quality and longer responses than would have been needed in the first section of comps. Also note that if you fail rewrites then you will have to retake comps in a later semester. To help break down the sections of comps and their expectations, please see the table below:

While comps is a grueling process, typically being broken up into two days which split the test in half, each day hosting their own five hour test taking session, there is typically some flexibility in which questions a participant can answer. Comps is typically broken down into four sections of questions: Industrial (Personnel) Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Research Methods, and Ethics/General, and within each section you will usually have a choice as to what questions you answer. The Research Methods section has been known to be more strict with no options in which questions you respond to, but in all of the other sections you will likely have a choice to answer one of two questions (or some other fractional equivalent) presented in it. The two test days are typically split up with I and O psych being on the first day and Research Methods and Ethics/General being on the second. Ethics/General, as one might expect, typically consists of questions which either have to do with ethical behaviors of I/Os and or broad subject matter in our field. To better grasp the subject matter of the question sections please see the example questions listed in the example question tab of the website.

One aspect of comps which cannot be ignored is the requirement to support your answers with in-text cited sources (ie. Tett & Christiansen, 2007). The exact amount needed will vary slightly depending on the specificity of the question and the faculty grading comps, but it is generally recommended that each answer have ten different sources to support the arguments being presented in answers (with a slight increase for rewrites). You are not asked for full citations of your sources, merely in text citations which follow current APA rules. This requirement for knowledge of citations--without any external help or notes during the exam--is one of the exam's primary sources of difficulty, hence why studying from provided reading lists is so essential.

Once you have finished your initial attempt at comps, you can typically expect an official response from the department regarding your performance in two weeks. If you passed, then you're done! If you failed to meet the rewrites threshold, then you'll have to wait until another semester to try again. If—as is most likely—you are in for rewrites, you'll typically have another two to three weeks to submit your rewritten answers. After submitting your rewrites you should hear back within another two weeks, with either an unfortunate notice that you failed or a congratulatory notice of your success!

Summary:

1. Comps is a long form essay question-based exam in which you will answer questions that cover the entirety of our field. It is typically offered at least twice a year and is necessary to proceed in the Ph.D. program and begin work on your dissertation.

2. Who writes and grades comps will vary from year to year, though you should be able to find out who is leading it fairly easily.

3. Comps is broken up into two segments: comps and rewrites. You must correctly answer every question you respond to on comps, but if you fail a small number of questions in the first attempt you may be eligible to rewrite some answers during rewrites.

4. Comps questions are broken down into four different broad topics: Industrial Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Research Methods, and Ethics/General.

5. All of your comps answers will require APA in-text citations of research/sources in order to be considered valid. Because of this, you will spend a great deal of time examining materials suggested by the most recent reading lists.

6. Expect to wait two weeks to hear back about your performance.