Comps or Quals

I’m in the midst of comps. What’s a comp? Well . . . it's a Qual. What's a Qual? A comp (or a qual), according to my good friend Andrew who is an associate professor at Southern Connecticut State University, stands for comprehensive exams (or qualifying exam depending on where you go). It’s one of the final pieces of the PhD puzzle, and now that I’m living it, I have to say it’s among the most stressful pieces. 

Sure, I’ve finished my classes, but that just means part one of the PhD process is over. Part two is writing and completing my research dissertation. 

In between the class part and the dissertation part are the comps. Some people call them “qualifying exams.” I’ve heard them called many things. KSU just calls it “the proposal meeting” or the “committee proposal meeting.” Maybe they do this to make it sound less ominous. It doesn’t work. I’m still quite worried. 

I know I shouldn’t be. Let’s break it down. What is it? The proposal meeting is 30 minutes of me presenting my research proposal and ensuring that I bring up as many aspects of adult learning that I know to convince my dissertation committee that I know what I’m talking about. Then there’s about two to two and half hours where my dissertation committee gets to break down my dissertation proposal and try to knock holes in it. I have to defend my positions or adapt to their requests and suggestions. This is the worrisome part. 

I do like that KSU blends the proposal meeting with the comps. Some schools don’t do that. Some make you do both. One meeting just for comps . . . One meeting to propose your research. KSU brings them all into one meeting. 

Here’s another reason I shouldn’t be too worried. I’m what? 50? Almost? Most of my classmates are in their 30’s. I think about who I was in my 30’s. I hadn’t trained much. I hadn’t spent much time teaching classes or training. I never “presented.” Now I present almost monthly. I travel so much right now not to train as I used to, but to provide presentations on adult learning. For the past few years, most of my presentations have been on adult learning. Dewey experiential learning, Kolb’s learning cycle, the benefits of VR for adult learning and for the contracting community. Guess what? My dissertation is about all of those things. So I’ve been practicing for this for the past few years. 

My good friend J has expressed this same sentiment, just in her own words. She told me “Chill out. Just cool it and when it the meeting happens let all those big words you know flow out of you. All those big words you think impress everyone but really we all think are silly.” So, it wasn’t so much the pep talk I was hoping for, but more of a realism check. Sadly, I can’t take that advice. Every day I’m agonizing. I’m working on a presentation. Do I need a presentation? I don’t know. No clue. I’m guessing I do. I’ve dissected my dissertation proposal, tabbed it out with notes, and Post It’s so I can find information quickly. What information? No clue. I’m in the dark. But I guess it makes me feel better to prepare. 

My major professor Dr. Kang asked me if I wanted a mock proposal meeting this Friday. Do I want a practice session? Of course, I do. So I’ll have some little clue of what’s going on by Friday. What should I do on Friday? No clue. I have a presentation and I guess I’ll script it out and see what happens. 

I think about my classmates again, the 30-somethings, and I realize they don’t have that opportunity like I have had. That’s a good thing. Additionally, what do I care? I’m done with classes, I’ll muddle through this next section of the PhD process as best I can. Alexis for instance, still hasn’t proposed and I’m a year behind her in terms of where we both started. I’m still way ahead of schedule. Let’s get these next two weeks in the rear view and I’ll be golden!