Graduate Program
Doctoral Programs
Overview
2011-12 English Department
Graduate Handbook
- Graduate Handbook | 645 KB PDF file
- 2010-11 Graduate Handbook | 577 KB PDF file
- 05-08 Graduate Handbook | 135 KB PDF file
The program requires 60 semester hours of study with an M.A. All Ph.D. students must earn at least 60 graduate credit hours (including Dissertation Research) beyond the master’s degree, at least 48 of which must be earned on the Oxford campus. The required credit hours must be earned at the 600 level and above. A minimum of 30 credit hours in courses must be earned on the Oxford campus before the comprehensive examination and admission to candidacy. The student will register for Dissertation Research (ENG 850) for a minimum total of 16 credit hours of the 60 required.
Recommended Timeline for Ph.D. Students
- Completion of all course and foreign language/cognate requirements by Summer IV of the second year
- Submission of a preliminary Course of Study to the Graduate Committee for initial review by the end of the second semester
- Submission of a Course of Study to the Graduate Committee for approval by the end of the third semester
- Submission of an area of concentration, a reading list, and special topic to the Graduate Committee by the end of Summer IV of the second year
- Comprehensive exam taken by the end of the fifth semester
- Dissertation prospectus submitted to the dissertation committee by the end of the sixth semester
- Dissertation defense in the fourth year
Course of Study
A Ph.D. student who intends to write a dissertation in literature or in composition and rhetoric defines a course of study in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, his/her First-Year Advisor, and his/her Ph.D. Advisory Committee. The Course of Study integrates the student’s doctoral coursework with plans for the comprehensive examination, the dissertation research, and teaching interests.
For Ph.D. students in literature, the coursework comprised in a Course of Study might observe period distinctions or, where appropriate, cut across those in order to achieve historical range. It might emphasize study of a single genre or aim to achieve a representative balance of genres in focusing on a particular movement at a particular time. It might focus entirely on a single national, ethnic, or cultural tradition or traverse such boundaries. The Course of Study must take into account the historical distribution requirement and other course requirements, and it may include more than one composition and rhetoric course.
For Ph.D. students in composition and rhetoric, the coursework comprised in a Course of Study might center on any one of the subfields in the discipline, such as composition theory, composition pedagogy, digital media studies, ethnic rhetorics, historical rhetorics, linguistics, literacy studies, technical and scientific communication, writing center study, women’s rhetoric, or any devised interdisciplinary field. It might focus on a single historical period or cut across them in order to achieve historical range. It might use any of a variety of research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative research.
Details about specific course requirements and other degree program requirements are provided on the Composition and Rhetoric and Literature web pages, and in the English Department Graduate Handbook.