Ph.D. with Comparative Literature Concentration

Requirements for the Doctoral Degree:

1. D. candidates must complete a minimum of 66 hours of graduate course work (including credit taken for the M.A. or M.F.A.) and must attain a 3.00 grade-point average in each of their fields. Part or all of the graduate course work completed at other U.S. institutions or accredited institutions abroad with a grade of “B” or higher and taken within seven years of starting the doctoral program may count towards the 66 hours requirement with the approval of the Program Advisory Committee. However, it should be noted that this course work will not be reflected on the student’s transcript. 
2. CLCS 51903Introduction to Comparative Literature  and COMM 55003 Communication and Cultural Studies  is required of all Ph.D. candidates in the Program in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies.
3. D. candidates must take 24 hours in a main field. The goal is for the student to use this coursework to create a primary field of specialization.
4. D. candidates must complete 18 hours in one of the five doctoral concentrations —traditional comparative literature, cultural studies, interdisciplinary Hispanic studies, translation, and world languages and applied linguistics — as described in detail below.
5. D. candidates must take 9 hours in world literatures and cultures outside their main field, providing historical depth and geographical breadth to their literary and cultural studies.
6. D. students must complete an additional 9 elective credits. They may use these to develop a tertiary field, strengthen primary or secondary fields, or to take courses outside those fields.
7. D. candidates must take 18 dissertation hours. 
8. D. students must declare a concentration by the end of the first year and define a Dissertation Committee by the end of the second year. The committee consists of the student’s research supervisor plus two other faculty members. This committee will administer the candidacy exam, the proposal defense, and the dissertation defense. Additional committee members may participate in the comprehensive exam to evaluate supporting areas in world literatures and cultures.
9. D. students must demonstrate reading proficiency in two languages other than English before being admitted into candidacy. The language requirements may be fulfilled either by completing 12 hours in the target language or by taking the reading exam administered by the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Documented coursework from an accredited institution in which the language of instruction is other than English may be used to substitute for a language exam.
10. Candidacy: Upon completion of coursework and world languages requirements, all Ph.D. students must take a two part candidacy exam.
11. The candidacy examination is based on a set of reading lists based on coursework and areas of concentration, that the student composes with the guidance of their advisor and committee members. The reading list is divided into five areas: two lists comprising the student’s areas of concentration and three lists covering world literatures and cultures.  The primary areas of concentration must include 20-25 primary "texts," interdisciplinarily defined; and the world literature and cultures lists must include 15 to 20 primary "texts," interdisciplinarily defined, of which 10 to 25 % of these lists may be theoretical works.  The candidacy examination has two parts:
    1. A written examination covering the student’s three world literatures and cultures fields;
    2. A written examination covering the two main concentration areas.
       Students may retake only once any examination they fail.
12. Dissertation Proposal: After successfully completing the candidacy examination, the Ph.D. student will submit a dissertation proposal to be discussed and approved in a formal meeting with the Dissertation Committee. This meeting is the proposal defense. A student failing a proposal defense may revise the proposal and retake the defense one time.
13. Dissertations in a language other than English. Students in the Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies Program may request permission to submit their dissertation in a language other than English, with legitimate justification. Valid reasons for submitting a dissertation in a language other than English includes the subject matter, special primary audience, publication venues, academic position in a foreign country, historical or literary value, and the documents to be used, analyzed and interpreted. Limited English writing skills is not a valid justification. Students must request approval of the target language from the dissertation committee, the program advisory committee, the program director and the dean of the graduate school before starting the project. All committee members must be proficient in the target language and approve target language usage. Abstracts must be written in English.
    1. Within the time limits specified by the Graduate School, each student must submit a dissertation acceptable to the student’s dissertation committee.
    2. Each student must pass a dissertation defense administered by the student’s Dissertation Committee, with prior notification to the Graduate School of the time and place of the defense.

 

Requirements for the Comparative Literature Concentration (CLIT): This concentration is for students interested in world literature and the intersections of different literary traditions beyond national borders.  Candidates will complete at least 18 hours in a second world language and literary tradition.