English PhD

Foreign Language

1. 12 sh of appropriate undergraduate-level classes, or
2. 6 sh of graduate-level French for Reading, or
3. Dept. FLPE

Please note that the Departmental Foreign Language Proficiency Exam (FLPE) will be the final exam for the second course in the French for Reading sequence.

Residency Requirements for the PhD

Generally, the PhD in English is sought by those who wish to teach English on the college level; therefore, we require that you have teaching experience before you complete your degree. You may fulfill this requirement as a teaching assistant in our program for at least one academic year, or you may substitute teaching in another setting (such as at a community college, high school, or other academic institution) by making the request to the department in writing as part of your application to the program. If you cannot serve as a teaching assistant and have no teaching experience, you must consult with and make special application to the Director of Graduate English Studies to be considered for the doctoral program.

Residency Requirements

You must complete a residency. The purpose of the residency is to provide you with access to faculty mentoring and instruction. You may satisfy residency requirements in two ways:

1. You must teach as a teaching assistant for at least one academic year (carrying at least the minimum course load to maintain the assistantship) and must successfully complete Eng 675. As a teaching assistant, you will be mentored and observed in both the Writing Center and in your classroom. In addition you will be expected to observe others as they tutor and teach. You will be expected to participate in the annual conference English Graduates for Academic Development as well as encouraged to submit and present papers for presentation in regional and national conferences. You will be expected to attend meetings of Junto (the graduate student organization for professional development), held once a month during regular semesters. You will be expected to be advised and to maintain contact with the Graduate Director of English Studies periodically to make sure you are on track to complete your degree.

Or

2. Without the one-year teaching assistantship and 675, you are required to take no fewer than four classes each academic year for two years, and you must do so by enrolling in both the fall and spring semesters as well as at least one summer session. At least one of those courses must focus on pedagogy.

In addition, if you do not serve as a teaching assistant, you must maintain a portfolio of “residency activities” that contribute to professional development in your area of focus for each academic year prior to the completion of the comprehensive exam. The portfolio should document that development; in particular, the portfolio should be prefaced by a brief (2-3 pages) reflective analysis of the activities for that year.

Examples include:

• Conferences and workshops (attendance, participation, organization, etc.)
• Lectures and presentations
• Professional development activities
• Departmental academic advisement
• Development of multimedia resources
• Participation in student organizations (e.g. Junto, Doctoral Students Association, EGAD, etc.)
• Interaction with scholars via the Internet, email, etc.

The faculty will evaluate your portfolio as part of your annual review of academic progress. If professional development activities are judged inadequate, you will be informed within two weeks of the evaluation and asked to meet with the Director of Graduate English Studies to make a plan to enhance the portfolio to meet the faculty’s requests.

Examinations

In addition to the coursework, foreign langauge, and residence requirements, doctoral students must take a qualifying examination. An examination, consisting of both written and oral portions, is required at or near the completion of course work and before officially beginning work on the dissertation. Consult the Director of English Graduate Studies for details about timing and structure of the PhD examination.

Dissertation

Requirements for the dissertation are as follows:

1. Student writes a dissertation in the area of concentration under the direction of an adviser and two other committee members from the department, plus one member from another department.
2. The dissertation process requires a written proposal and oral defense of the proposal before the committee. The proposal defense is open to the university community.
3. The dissertation requires a final oral defense after completion. The oral defense is open to the university community.

Additional details regarding qualifying exams and the doctoral dissertation