Comprehensive Examination

Comprehensive examinations are required of Master of Science - Aviation candidates only for the non-thesis independent study option. Special permission is required in that case.

The MS-Aviation Comprehensive Exam consists of four questions in the following format:

• 3 short essay questions: AVIT 501, AVIT 502, and an elective course
• 1 long essay question: Combined AVIT 503/504

The comprehensive exam format is a take-home online written examination. Students will provide short essay answers to three questions derived from the course content of AVIT 501 (general), AVIT 502 (economics), and one of the student's elective courses (5xx). The exam will be available to the student via instructions from the proctor.

The exam is limited to 3 days (72 hours) to begin on an agreed-upon date and time by the student and the proctor. The 3 short essay question answers shall each be between 1500 words and 2000 words (about 3-4 pages, double spaced) and require at least 3 scholarly, peer-reviewed references each. The long essay question answer shall be between 2500 and 3000 words (about 5-6 pages, double spaced) and requires at least 6 scholarly, peer-reviewed references.

The exam is evaluated by several faculty members, with each question evaluated as a Pass, Low Pass, or Fail. If the student does not achieve an overall passing evaluation he/she may re-take the exam once. A low pass may be earned on one of the three questions and the student will still pass the exam overall; however, if a student receives a low pass on two or more questions, the exam is an overall failure.