Department of English
Ph.D. Program

General Information and Requirements

The Department of English offers three areas of emphasis within its Ph.D. program: literature, rhetoric and composition, and literature and environment. Students in each emphasis design their specific programs of study following departmental guidelines and in consultation with their advisory committees. Specializations are available in a variety of fields within each emphasis.

Applicants to the Ph.D. program must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and should have an M.A. in English. Potential applicants without an M.A. in English should talk with the Director of Graduate Studies to determine whether their graduate work in a related field is comparable to that expected. Detailed information on applying to the Ph.D. program is found at the end of this bulletin in the section "How to Apply for Admission."

Ph.D. admissions are entirely separate from M.A. admissions; completion of the M.A. program at the University of Nevada, Reno does not ensure admission to the Ph.D. program.

The following general requirements apply in all emphases within the Ph.D. program, except where clearly stated in the specific descriptions which follow.

1. Time Limit. All requirements must be satisfied during the eight calendar years immediately preceding the granting of the degree.

2. Advisory Committee. As soon as practical and in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, a student should choose an advisory committee and complete a Program of Study. The graduate program in English emphasizes a close working relationship between the student and his or her advisory committee. Advisory committees for doctoral students consist of a chair and two other members from the graduate faculty of the Department of English and two members from the graduate faculty in other departments.

3. Residence. A Ph.D. degree requires an absolute minimum of six semesters of full-time work beyond the baccalaureate degree, of which at least two successive semesters (excluding summer sessions) are to be spent in full-time residence at the University of Nevada, Reno. (Full-time residence requires a minimum of nine credits per semester. Teaching assistants taking at least six credits per semester are also considered to be in full-time residence.)

4. Continuous Registration. Graduate School regulations require graduate students to maintain continuous registration of at least three credit hours per semester to remain active in the pursuit of a degree. This means that students studying for comprehensive exams or writing dissertations must, even if they are not in residence, register for at least three credit hours (usually English 799) each semester (summers excluded) until they graduate.

5. Total Credits. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must complete a minimum of 73 graduate credits, including at least 49 credits in course work and 24 dissertation credits beyond the baccalaureate degree. Students are required to take at least eight courses in residence, for a minimum of 24 credits. No more than 4 credits of Internship and 3 credits of Special Topics may be counted toward the degree.

6. Transfer Credits. A maximum of 24 credits in graduate courses with grades of B or higher may be transferred from another university and applied toward requirements for the Ph.D. A master's degree in English from another university can thus transfer as 24 credits, at most. Transfer credit requests must be approved by the student’s committee chair, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Graduate School. Whether courses taken elsewhere may substitute for specific course requirements at Nevada will be determined by the Director of Graduate Studies and/or the student's advisory committee.

7. Seminar Requirement. A total of 31 credits is required in courses numbered 700 or above, exclusive of dissertation credits. This includes, beyond the master's degree, a minimum of 19 credits in the literature and literature and environment emphases, or a minimum of 13 in the composition and rhetoric emphasis.

8. Foreign Language Requirement. Students may meet the foreign language requirement in one of three ways: 1) high competence in one foreign language, 2) competence in two languages, or 3) competence in one language plus additional course work in linguistics and the nature of language. The choice of languages and course work is left to the student in consultation with his or her advisory committee; preference should go to those languages which would prove most useful to the student over a lifetime of reading and research.

Competence in a language is defined as completion of the equivalent of four semesters of college level work in the language with a grade of B or better in the final semester. High competence is defined as completion of the equivalent of six semesters of college level work with a grade of B or better in the final semester. The requirement at both levels is considered satisfied when a college transcript shows a B in the appropriate final course (whether the earlier courses are shown or not), or when the student has passed at the appropriate level a test administered by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. As an alternative to the second language in a two-language program, the student's advisory committee may allow her or him to substitute a three-semester sequence of specified graduate courses in linguistics, language, and language-related topics from other disciplines, such as psychology or anthropology. For the Ph.D. Literature and Environment emphasis only, the foreign language requirement may be met by competence in one foreign language and by completion of two graduate-level courses in a cognate discipline with a grade of B or better.

9. Comprehensive Examination (written). After completing course work and the foreign language requirement, the Ph.D. student must pass a comprehensive examination, consisting of a written test and an oral review. The options for Ph.D. exams in each program emphasis are detailed below. The student's advisory committee is responsible for the evaluation of the exam. Graduate School regulations stipulate that if more than one negative vote is cast, the examination is failed. If this happens, the student may be allowed to repeat specific areas of the exam, or the entire exam. However, no part may be retaken more than once, and three months must elapse between attempts. A student may appeal a decision to the Department of English Graduate Committee. In such a case the Graduate Committee may review the examination, but it can offer only an opinion. The final decision remains with the student's advisory committee.

10. Comprehensive Examination (oral). After passing the written exam, the student must also pass an oral examination, administered by his or her advisory committee and lasting approximately two hours. The oral exam will review the written exam and--in the composition and rhetoric and literature and environment emphases--the student's writing portfolio (described below). As with the written examination, a failed oral exam may be retaken only once. Students who have completed all course work, finished the foreign language requirement, and passed both the comprehensive written and oral exams are formally admitted to Ph.D. candidacy. The student must register for English 795, Comprehensive Examination, one credit, the semester he or she will be completing the oral exam.

11. Dissertation. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must present a dissertation which makes a significant scholarly or critical contribution to knowledge. A dissertation prospectus must be submitted to and approved by the candidate's advisory committee before work begins on the dissertation. Typically this prospectus will include a bibliography and an extensive description of contents. Since the dissertation requires close and constant supervision by the chair of the advisory committee, the candidate should develop the dissertation in residence. When considerable progress has already been make, the candidate may be permitted to complete the dissertation elsewhere, under such arrangements as his or her advisory committee may specify and the Graduate Dean approve. In the process of working on the dissertation, each candidate must register for at least twenty-four credits of dissertation under English 799.

Documentation and bibliography should follow the current MLA Style Manual. The Graduate School has a handout specifying additional strict regulations governing the format and submission of the dissertation. Students doing research involving human subjects must check with the Office of Human Subjects Research in Ross Hall regarding necessary protocols and review procedures.

12. Dissertation Defense (final oral examination). After the dissertation has been accepted by the candidate's advisory committee, an oral examination specifically covering the dissertation and related topics will be administered. The student must pass this oral exam with not more than one dissenting vote of his advisory committee. The oral exam may be repeated once, but at least three months must elapse between attempts.

13. Graduation. To graduate in any given semester, the student must file an Application for Graduation by the dates specified for that semester in the university catalog and meet that semester’s deadlines for submission of the notice of completion and the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate School. Students should be aware that graduation application dates at the University of Nevada, Reno are unusually early: the deadline is generally at the beginning of the last month of the semester prior to graduation.

14. Paperwork. The student is responsible for a knowledge of the degree requirements and for the timely submission of all Graduate School forms. Early in their graduate careers, students should become familiar with the most important of these forms: the Graduate Credit Transfer Evaluation Request, the Program of Study, the Admission to Candidacy/Comprehensive Examination Report, the Notice of Completion, and the Application for Graduation. Most Graduate School forms are available on the web at www.unr.edu/grad/forms/index.html. The Application for Graduation must be purchased from the Cashier in the Student Services building.