Candidates for all graduate degrees at A&M-Central Texas must satisfactorily pass a comprehensive examination, thesis, or designated culminating project. A graduate student must be fully admitted to the respective graduate program before he/she will be allowed to take the comprehensive examination. Students are required to complete program culminating comprehensive examination  experiences (i.e., thesis courses, comprehensive exams, capstone courses, or courses that include a culminating project) at A&M-Central Texas.  Such courses will not be accepted as transfer without prior approval from the dean of the Graduate School.  Any requests for exception must be made at least 6 months prior to enrollment in the course in question.

The policies and procedures for the comprehensive examinations are available in the program office of the student's major field of study. Early in their degree program, graduate students should review the requirements for taking the examination. Comprehensive examinations require written examinations, which must be scheduled early in the semester in which they are to be administered. Consult the university calendar for deadlines for submission of comprehensive examination results to the Graduate School.

The oral examination, when required in addition to the written examination, is conducted by the student's advisory committee. A representative of the Graduate School may be invited to participate in this examination.

Students whose performance on the comprehensive examination is unsatisfactory may reschedule an examination at the next regular administration or (at the discretion of the advisory committee, graduate coordinator, and department chair involved) at an earlier date. Unless departmental requirements are more limiting, students who attempt the comprehensive examination three times and are not successful will be dropped from the graduate program. No appeal exists beyond the three attempts to pass the comprehensive examination. Students are urged to drop the course prior to the scheduled examination date if they do not intend to sit for the examination, as a No Show will be considered a failed attempt.