Department of 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 an M.A. in
English or its equivalent from an accredited college or university, and
a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5. 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. Except in the case of required internships,
independent study and internships credits may not be used for
course requirements but may be counted for total number of credits for degrees.
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
students 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 or as completion of the
second semester of a sophomore reading course with a grade of B or
better. 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).
In order to register for 795 (comprehensive exam), a student must:
(1) have filed a completed Program of Study with the Graduate School;
(2) have completed all course work toward the degree for the Ph.D.;
(3) have met the foreign language requirement for the student's degree and area of emphasis;
(4) have met with the student's committee chair to work out plans for completing the written and oral portions of the exams;
(5) have returned the "Approval to Register for Comprehensive Exams" form, completed, to the English department office prior to the end of registration.
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 semesters 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 http://www.unr.edu/grad/forms/.
The Application for Graduation must be purchased from the Cashier in
the Student Services building.
Last Updated: July 14, 2011
