Frequently-asked questions about the Health Physics Comprehensive Exam

1. Who needs to take it?
   A. Anyone who wishes to complete the Master's in Health Physics must take the exam except for students who pass either Part I or Part II of the American Board of Health Physics's Certification Exam while they are enrolled in our program.
2. What does the exam consist of?
   A. The exam is a combination of multiple choice and calculation/essay questions, so it resembles a shorter version of Parts I and II of the ABHP exam. The current version is a three-hour exam, although that may vary from semester to semester.
3. When can I take the Comprehensive exam?
   A. You can take it in any semester in which we're offering it and you feel you're ready. We usually offer it in the fall and spring, and occasionally we've even offered it in the summer. Generally we offer it about five weeks before the end of the semester. Typically students take it when they have completed nine or ten of the eleven courses in our program. That enables you to re-take it in a semester in which you're still enrolled in classes.
4. What happens if I fail the exam?
   A. You're allowed to re-take it.
5. How many times can I re-take it?
   A. There is no formal upper limit.
6. How does it work if I take the exam after I've completed all the coursework in the program?
   A. If you take it after you've finished all your other coursework, you need to sign up for one credit hour of physics 600 ("Continuation") so that you can be classified as an active student when you do it. You'll therefore be responsible for one additional credit-hour of tuition payments. If instead you take it in a semester in which you're enrolled in something else, you don't have to do that.
7. Is there a mechanism for dealing with situations in which a student has failed the exam repeatedly?
   A. We have been able to offer an oral version of the exam. We are willing to do so again, but only at the discretion of the Program Directors, and only for students who have not passed on their second attempts. Not all the students who have taken the oral have passed, incidentally.
8. How is the exam administered?
   A. With your proctor. It's run just like a course exam, except that it's three hours long. It is a closed-book exam, and for most versions we have provided a calculation or formula sheet.
9. How should I study for this exam?
   A. Because the exam imitates the ABHP exams, the ABHP study materials on the Health Physics Society website should be useful to you. Of course, going over your course notes and textbooks from the IIT MHP program will be useful as well.
10. How do I sign up to take the exam?
    A. Simply alert Dr. Friedman or Prof. Howard that you want to take it, preferably in the first eight weeks of the semester in which you take it. We'll get the exam to the IIT Online office and they'll send it to your proctor.