Qualifying papers offer students the opportunity to make their own distinctive intellectual contribution while fulfilling the requirements of the program. The qualifying papers should be seen as a bridge between coursework and the dissertation. As with any set of requirements, students will have questions about how to do a qualifying paper. In the following memo we outline some frequently asked questions about qualifying papers and our answers to these questions.
-- Graduate Program Committee

Should I take an exam or write a qualifying paper?

Exams help a student develop an expertise in a particular substantive area, and students often remark that the process of preparing for and taking an exam does not take as long as the writing of a qualifying paper. The exams do not, however, help you produce a scholarly product like a qualifying paper that can then become a publication and, conceivably, part of your dissertation.

When should I begin thinking about and working on a qualifying paper?

Most qualifying papers begin as course papers, and some students begin working on their first qualifying paper as early as the summer after their first year in graduate school. Other students may not begin working on their first qualifier until sometime during their second year of graduate school or the summer after their second year in graduate school. You do not need to wait until you take the writing seminar to begin working on a qualifying paper!

What is the difference between an analytic, theoretical, and empirical qualifying paper?

Students have to write qualifying papers in two of the three categories. An analytic paper reviews the literature in a particular area and develops new ways of looking at that literature. A theory paper develops a logically interrelated set of propositions or interpretative positions in a particular substantive area. An empirical paper uses data of any kind (qualitative, quantitative, or historical) to advance an argument about a substantive issue.

Why do I have to submit an abstract of the proposal to be signed soon after I begin to work on the paper?

The signed abstract offers both you and your readers an opportunity to discuss and critique the idea for the paper early in the process, before you have put a great deal of time into the paper. These early critiques can save you a great deal of time by raising 'red flags' early in the process. The abstract also serves as an 'implicit contract' between the student and the faculty who work on the paper.

How do I know which course paper to develop into a qualifying paper?

The organizing idea for a qualifying paper should be an idea that you sense can be 'developed' into a significant intellectual contribution in the form of a journal article, a chapter in your dissertation, or both! The faculty can help you decide whether or not a particular idea or course paper should be developed into a qualifying paper.

Who should I choose as readers for the paper?

The two readers for each qualifying paper should be faculty who have a substantive expertise in the general area in which you are writing the paper. One of them may be the professor for whom you originally wrote the paper. If you are having trouble deciding whom to ask to serve as a reader, ask other faculty for recommendations. Don't be shy about asking faculty whom you don't know to serve as a reader. They like being asked! You should have both readers chosen by the time that you prepare the abstract. In general you will probably want to maximize the number of faculty that work with you as readers in order to get to learn from a diverse group of faculty.

How long does it take to complete a qualifying paper?

Qualifying papers can take up to eight months to complete, but students do complete them in much less time as well.

What is the relationship between qualifying papers and the dissertation?

Frequently, the second and/or third qualifying papers serve as 'intellectual springboards' for the dissertation, launching the intellectual inquiry that eventually results in a doctoral thesis. In other words the qualifying papers can serve as 'testing grounds' in which you try out ideas for the dissertation. If the idea for a qualifying paper does eventually become a dissertation, you can use portions of the qualifying paper in your dissertation. Successful qualifying papers come out of good ideas that may or may not be related to your dissertation. It also true that students who only write qualifying papers that become part of their dissertations may end up being overspecialized. For this reason you do not want to wait to begin your qualifying papers until you have a dissertation topic! Qualifying papers also provide you with an opportunity to work with as many as six different faculty. These experiences should prove useful when you have to decide whom, among the faculty, you want to serve on your dissertation committee.