Graduate Rhetoric and Composition :: Degrees

The PhD is designed to produce teacher-scholars who have a good general knowledge of critical theory, literature, and composition, as well as a specialized knowledge in their field of concentration.

The PhD in English involves a minimum of 30 hours of course work beyond the MA degree, exclusive of credits devoted to the foreign language and tools-of-research requirements and the doctoral dissertation. A minimum of 90 hours after the BA degree is required. Included in these required hours must be (if not already taken at the MA level):

• ENC 6319 Scholarly Writing for Publication
• ENG 6009 Bibliography for English Studies
• ENG 6018 Studies in Criticism and Theory I
• ENG 6019 Studies in Criticism and Theory II

Additional requirements:

• A doctoral seminar credit (ENG 7939) attached to two 6000-level courses
• LAE 7376 Problems in Advanced Composition Instruction
  OR
  LAE 7390 Problems in Advanced English Instruction and Scholarly Research (this requirement may be waived for students who have extensive teaching experience)
• Demonstrated proficiency in two foreign languages; or one foreign language and one tools-of-research area
• A PhD qualifying exam
• A minimum of 10 dissertation hours (no maximum).

Doctoral Seminar Requirement

PhD students are required to take two 6000-level courses in their chosen field of specialty as doctoral seminars. By the second year of PhD coursework, the student should identify the courses to be applied to the seminar requirement. He or she will register for the regular three credit course; additionally the student will register for a one-credit seminar hour that will be taken in conjunction with the approved course. The student should take this 6000-level course in his or her dissertation area with one of his or her major professors. The student should meet with the instructor as soon as he or she has identified this course as a seminar course, and the two should agree in writing on the details of the work to be done for the seminar hour. The graduate program assistant will manage registration for seminar hours. While taking the 6000-level course, the seminar student is expected to do extra work in preparation for writing a dissertation. Namely, he or she would be responsible for teaching or leading a portion of a class on a particular work and writing a 25-30 page essay based in research on material from the class, which would substitute for one of the writing assignments in the 6000-level course. Satisfaction of this requirement must be approved by the instructor and the Graduate Director.

Foreign Language/Tools of Research Requirement

Before taking the PhD qualifying examination, a student must fulfill this requirement by demonstrating a reading knowledge of two foreign languages. English may not be used to fulfill this requirement even for those students for whom it is not a first language. Competency in a foreign language will normally be demonstrated in one of the following ways:

• Place beyond level IV in a language placement test (administered by the World Languages Department)
• Earn a “B” or better in the special courses Reading for French or German offered for graduate students;
• Earn a “B” or better in two semester courses of an intermediate foreign language (i.e., Spanish III and Spanish IV);
• Earn a “B” or better in a fourth semester foreign language course (i.e., Spanish IV)
• Earn a “B” or better in a second semester Latin course (Beginning Latin II)
• Alternatively, a student may meet this requirement by demonstrating competence in one foreign language and by demonstrating competence in an additional tool-of-research related to the student's area of specialization. This competency may be demonstrated by completing nine hours of coursework in a second academic discipline. The additional work may be in computer science, history, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, or other approved fields. Since the courses available in these disciplines may vary from time to time, students must obtain the advance approval of the Graduate Director to ensure that the particular courses they intend to take will fulfill the requirement. With the approval of the Graduate Director, students may also fulfill this requirement by attending seminars or special courses at other universities.

Qualifying Exam

After completing 30 hours of coursework, the language and tools-of-research requirements, and all incomplete grades, a student may take the PhD examination. The exam will consist of three, three-hour written sections, the content of which depends on the student's specialization.

Dissertation

A student may not register for dissertation hours until officially admitted to candidacy.  In order to be admitted, the student must have successfully completed the following steps: finished all class work, fulfilled language and tools-of-research requirements, passed the qualifying exam, and established a PhD dissertation committee that has been approved by the Department, College, and Graduate School. This committee should consist of one major professor and three additional members.