Accommodation Requests for Graduate Comprehensive Exams

Graduate students with disabilities may be required to take a comprehensive exam as part of their graduate requirements. Because these exam platforms may vary based on each graduate program, there may be a need for extensive coordination with the department of study. As a result, SDS must be made aware of any particular accommodation requests for a particular graduate comprehensive exam in advance so that an interactive discussion can take place between SDS, the student and the various academic departments as part of the coordination process.

It is the student’s responsibility to request specific accommodations with their assigned disability specialist in Student Disability Services for graduate comprehensive exams by utilizing the Graduate Comprehensive Exam Accommodation Request Form. Because the student may not fully realize the need for accommodations and/or they may not have a sense of what the comprehensive exams entails, SDS recommends that the student should initiate a meeting with their graduate advisor as early as possible in order to obtain information about the comprehensive exam process. Most importantly, the student must initiate early discussions with the academic unit and/or SDS in order to plan for accommodations since the nature and/or implementation of accommodations may vary across departments.