Department of English
Ph.D. Literature and
Environment Emphasis

Specific Requirements

The Ph.D. Literature and Environment emphasis is designed for students seeking advanced work in literature concerning the relationship between human beings and the natural world in order to pursue careers as scholars, teachers, and writers. The emphasis is designed to provide students with substantial training in environmental literature and ecocriticism while also retaining the flexibility to allow individual Ph.D. students to pursue interdisciplinary projects.

1. General Requirements. See the section above on general doctoral degree requirements.

2. Course Requirements.

a) Research Methods. English 711, Introduction to Graduate Study, is required and must be taken at the first opportunity; it is customarily taught each fall semester. Students who have had a graduate-level research methods course at another university should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies to see whether that course fulfills this requirement.

b) Ecocriticism and Theory. English 745, Ecocriticism and Theory, is required and must be taken at the first opportunity.

c) Internship. Students must complete an internship related to literature and the environment. The student should discuss internship plans with his or her advisor and should register for English 736 (1-4 credits).

d) Literature and Environment Electives. Students must take at least three courses from the current list of approved electives (available from the Director of Graduate Studies). Note: English 745 does not count as an elective.

e) Other Electives. Beyond the courses listed above, the Ph.D. Literature and Environment emphasis does not require a specific core of courses. Rather, the student and his or her advisory committee plan a course of study, considering the student's prior course work, primary areas of interest, planned examination fields, and long-term professional aspirations.

3. Literature and Environment Retreats. Participation in an orientation retreat, held each August, is required of students just prior to their first semester of doctoral study. Participation in a professionalization retreat, held each spring, is also required of students in their first year of study.

4. Foreign Language or Auxiliary Training Requirement. High competence in a single foreign language, competence in two foreign languages, or competence in one foreign language and (in the Literature and Environment emphasis only) auxiliary training in the discourse of a cognate discipline is required. The auxiliary discipline option is met by passing at least two graduate-level courses in such departments as History, Geography, Anthropology, Philosophy, or Biology with grades of B or better. Each student is expected to discuss his or her plans for meeting this requirement with the Director of Graduate Studies by the end of the first semester in the program. Students opting for the auxiliary training requirement must explain how their choice of courses makes a coherent, logical contribution to their program.

5. Portfolio. Annually, normally in the spring semester, each student will assemble a portfolio that demonstrates the student's professional activity. The portfolio should begin with a list of contents, followed by a cover letter to the faculty review committee introducing the student (his or her activities and goals) and the materials in the portfolio. Portfolios should contain a curriculum vitae and may contain other materials such as syllabi designed by the student, conference papers, book reviews, writing samples, articles published or currently under consideration, materials from relevant professional activities, and letters of application for jobs or fellowships. After submission of the portfolio, the student meets with the committee to discuss its contents and to formulate plans for future work.

6. Comprehensive Examination (written). Following the completion of all course work, the student will take four four-hour written examinations based on reading lists agreed upon by the student and his or her advisory committee. One of these exams will cover environmental literature--that is, primary literature that concerns the relationship between humans and the natural world. Another of these exams will cover ecocritical theory and practice. Two other exams will be selected from five areas--period, genre, topic, region, and major author. See the detailed description of period, genre, and topic exams under the Ph.D. Literature emphasis above.

7. Comprehensive Examination (oral). After the student has completed the portfolio and passed the comprehensive written examinations, the advisory committee will conduct an oral review of both the portfolio and the exam, not to last more than two hours. The student must register for English 795, Comprehensive Examination, one credit, the semester he or she will be completing the oral exam.

8. Dissertation Defense (final oral examination). After the dissertation has been accepted by the candidate's advisory committee, the committee will conduct an oral examination dealing with the dissertation and related topics. The defense will be approximately one and one-half to two hours in length. The defense may be a public event attended by interested members of the university community.