The purpose of the comprehensive exams at the master's level is to assess student's general understanding and competencies of the core principles in TESOL. These understandings and competencies cover a broad range of areas within TESOL, including teaching strategies, theoretical concepts, and practical applications.

 

The comprehensive exams are typically taken in the middle of the students' third semester of the program.  They cover three courses that the students have already completed, including two core courses and one elective course. The selection of the two core courses are predetermined by the department; while the elective course is chosen by students themselves from a list.

 

All three exams are taken consecutively, in succession, at the university. As this is a closed-book examination, no notes, textbooks, or other materials/devices are allowed in the exam room. An hour is allotted for the completion of each exam, so students should be aware of this time restraint and plan/write their exams accordingly.

 

Upon completion of all comprehensive exams, student names on the exam papers are masked to ensure an impartial evaluation by faculty. With regards to grading, each course exam is given a numerical mark from 0-100%; the pass mark for each exam is 70%. Students who fail any of the course exams will be required to retake the failed course exam in the following (fourth) semester. Passed exams are simply recorded and stored within the department's archives.

 

 

Foreign Language Exam and Comprehensive Exam Qualification for application

1. Foreign Language Exam (English): those who have completed more than two full-time semesters are eligible to take the foreign language exam.

2. Comprehensive Exams: those who have completed more than two full-time semesters, taken more than 14 credits, and have registered for their third semester or more are eligible to take the comprehensive exams.

 

Exam Dates
The exams are offered in April and October.

 

Number of Subjects
One Foreign Language Exam: English
Three Comprehensive Exams: two core subjects + one major-related elective subject.

 

Minimum Passing Grade
The minimum passing grade for both the comprehensive and English exams is 70%. Students who receive less than this minimum grade must retake that particular exam again before graduation; otherwise, they are not eligible to submit a thesis or portfolio.

 

Substitution of Foreign Language Exam
The foreign language exam may be substituted with other official English proficiency tests as follows: TOEIC 900, TOEFL (IBT: 95, PBT 600, CBT: 250), FLEX 700. Official test documents must be submitted to the Graduate School of TESOL Office, and scores are only valid for two years from the test date.

 

Major	Comprehensive Exam
	Core Subjects	Electives
ELT	TESOL 1: Theory and Practice Lesson Design or Course Design	Teaching Listening & Speaking Teaching Reading & Writing Testing & Assessment
ELT MT	Lesson Design or Course Design MALL	Introduction to LMS ELT Textbook and Instruction or ELT Materials Development Web Contents in English Education

* Graduation candidates are required to take all core subjects and one elective from their respective major.