Comprehensive Exam Nightmare

by Kareem Carr

I was recently reading about a case involving a PhD student in mathematics that seemed to raise some interesting questions. According to the article,

A University of Manitoba assistant math professor who is suing the school over a degree granted to a student who failed an exam is adamant the fight is in the best interest of the institution.

The article also writes that:

The university’s dean of graduate studies waived a failed comprehensive exam for the doctoral candidate, who said after the fact that he had acute exam anxiety.

The university argues it was accommodating the legitimate disability of an otherwise exceptional student, but Lukacs argues it reflects poorly on the school’s reputation.

He wasn’t the only faculty member to object, but he was the one who went to court to fight the decision.

For any graduate student, this sounds like a nightmare scenario. If you are having anxieties about your comprehensive exams, hopefully it’s not this bad!

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