Comprehensive exams in Security Studies entail a written and oral examination, subdivided into a general field and a special field. The written component of the general field examination is one closed-book, 8-hour exam in the History of International Security, and one closed-book, 8-hour exam in the Politics of International Security (usually, these two exams will occur on successive days or two out of three days).

An interdisciplinary Exam Committee of KSU Security Studies faculty, which may vary from year to year, will determine the precise format and administer the written general field exam. 

The student will be allowed to consult the history and political science reading lists in hardcopy form but will not be permitted to have any notes or other resources available during the examination.

Students should regard the reading lists as indispensable tools to help prepare them to be knowledgeable and independent thinkers. However, examiners also may pose questions on important Security Studies issues not specifically included in the readings. 

A successful exam does not merely summarize the findings of other scholars; it presents clear and well-argued theoretical arguments supported by the literature but rooted in the student’s own ideas.