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About the Program |
Overview |
Transfer Credits |
M.A. Option
Required Courses |
Language Examination |
Preliminary Examination
Dissertation |
Job Placement |
Financing Opportunities |
Reasonable Academic Progress
The Ph.D. in English Literature
The Department of English houses a doctoral program to which applicants with a B.A. are admitted directly, that is, without first earning master's degree. Applicants are required to declare an intention to proceed toward the Ph.D., although they can still receive an M.A. along the way or choose to stop at the M.A. (see the M.A. option below). The Department also accepts applications to the doctoral program from applicants who have earned an M.A. elsewhere.
About the Program
The doctoral program provides options for intensive study in critical theory, cultural theory, film theory, women’s studies, minority literatures, and in interdisciplinary methods. Traditional areas of study include renaissance, eighteenth century, nineteenth century, modern and contemporary literature, and rhetoric and composition. Students are also encouraged to engage in serious interdisciplinary projects and to work closely with a faculty engaged in research and publications projects that take them regularly into the areas of history, psychology, philosophy, the arts, and non-print media.
Overview
The Ph.D. program guides students through a series of stages calling for increasing amounts of independent scholarship. Beginning with coursework and a foreign language requirement, students then proceed to their preliminary examinations, and dissertation. Temple offers financial support to eligible students during the program. The Department's placement service helps students to locate professional positions once the program is complete.
The curriculum for full-time students lasts approximately 6 years. The course work and foreign language requirements are typically completed within 3 years, the preliminary exams and the dissertation prospectus within 1 year, and the dissertation within 2 years. Students with master's degrees from other institutions can complete the curriculum in 4 years. The university allots all matriculated doctoral candidates a maximum of 7 years to complete degree requirements (maximum 5 years for students with master's degrees from elsewhere); thereafter a request for an extension of time must be submitted (see guidelines on Reasonable Academic Progress).
Transfer Credits
Students who have earned graduate credits or a master's degree at another institution can transfer a maximum of 15 credits toward the course work requirement for the Ph.D. All transfer students must take 505 unless they have taken comparable courses elsewhere.
M.A. Option
Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program have the option of terminating their degree with an M.A. once they have completed the requirements for the M.A. program. For a master's degree in literature, students complete 24 hours of course work, including at least one 800-900 level seminar. A maximum of six graduate credits can be transferred from another program. Students must also write one qualifying paper, typically a substantial revision of a paper submitted for a course, and demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language.
Required Courses
Students are required to take at least 48 credits of course work, including 42 credits of literature courses and a minimum of 6 credits of Dissertation Research. Courses are structured as follows:
- English 505: Criticism, Theory, Culture.
- 9 courses in concentrated textual analysis, periodization, genre studies, critical methodologies, rhetorics, pre-1800 literature, and advanced research.
- 4 elective courses.
- 6 credits of dissertation research.
Language Examination
Students must demonstrate either a reading knowledge of 2 foreign languages or superior knowledge of one.
Preliminary Examination
Following the completion of coursework, students must pass a preliminary examination, before proceeding to the dissertation stage. The exam is usually taken within one year of the completion of coursework. It covers two distinct areas of research related to the student's interests. The subject areas are determined, in advance, by the student and the Dissertation Committee. The examination is done in written format and given in two separate parts on different days. It is read and evaluated by the student's Dissertation Committee.
Dissertation
The Dissertation Committee oversees the student's doctoral research and is comprised of at least three Graduate Faculty members. The Committee Chair is responsible for overseeing and guiding the student's progress, coordinating the responses of the Committee members, and informing the student of his or her academic progress.
The dissertation itself should demonstrate the ability to conceive, research, and write a scholarly project of at least 150 pages. At the beginning of the process, the student (in consultation with the Dissertation Committee) writes a dissertation proposal that identifies the key issues to be investigated, demonstrates an awareness of the relevant scholarship in the field, and supplies a detailed outline of the proposed dissertation.
When the dissertation is complete, the Dissertation Committee conducts a dissertation defense, in which it questions the student about the dissertation in an open forum. The Committee will vote to pass or fail the dissertation and the defense at the conclusion of the public presentation.
Job Placement
The majority of graduates from 2000-2005 hold tenure-track positions at colleges and universities. A smaller number are non-tenure track faculty, and some work in publishing, foundation, or corporate positions. Graduates tend to find placement in the Northeast, in a way that shows the program continuing to serve and enrich the region, as it has traditionally done. But increasingly, the program's graduates have taken jobs outside the region: California, Ohio, New York, and Wisconsin. (Figures are accurate as of April 2005).
Students are encouraged to engage in serious interdisciplinary projects and to work closely with a faculty engaged in research and publications projects that take them regularly into the areas of history, psychology, philosophy, the arts, and non-print media.
Study Abroad:
Financing Opportunities
Students are encouraged to apply for teaching awards, which include a tuition waiver and a stipend for the nine months of the academic year. Conditions of the award are determined by the graduate student union contract with Temple University and currently require recipients to do a combination of teaching and other assignments. Applications are submitted along with admissions applications. The department makes funding offers on or before March 31.
Reasonable Academic Progress
Student progress will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Graduate Executive Committee during the student’s third or fourth semester in the doctoral program. The review committee will look at the evaluations of students which faculty submit after each graduate course and may also request that the student submit papers produced for graduate classes at Temple. The results of this review will be communicated to students by the Director of Graduate Studies. Students maintain reasonable academic progress when they complete course work and the foreign language requirement within the first three years, the preliminary examinations and the dissertation prospectus within the next two years, and the dissertation within the final two years. Students who have a dissertation well under way when they reach the seven-year limit for doctoral study may petition for additional time if necessary. Part-time students must arrange a detailed schedule with the Director of Graduate Studies. Students who elect the M.A. option must complete degree requirements within three years. According to Graduate School regulations, leaves of absence will be counted as time elapsed towards the time limit for the degree
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