The Program of Study For College and Language Learners

Transcription

1 Department of English Bachelor Hall Handbook for Graduate Students and Faculty

2 Preface The Handbook for Graduate Students in English describes the current graduate programs and offerings, defines the procedures and requirements of each of those programs, and publishes other information that will assist graduate students to meet their obligations as students and, in many cases, teachers in the department and University community. The Handbook is a supplement to The Miami Bulletin: A Handbook for Graduate Students and Faculty, available online. Students are urged to read carefully both handbooks, but they are also invited to discuss problems or concerns about the program with the Director of Graduate Studies. Once a doctoral student s advisory committee has been established, the student should consult with the chair of that committee for guidance. Our master s and doctoral students select from a range of courses in English and American literature, creative writing and writers, composition and rhetoric, professional communication, and literary theory. Options combining course work in these fields have put our graduates in a good position to compete in today s job market. Masters and doctoral students prepare works related to their own areas of interest with a faculty of active researchers, some with very distinguished national reputations. The doctoral program Course of Study enables students to integrate their course work in literature or in composition and rhetoric with their individual plans for the comprehensive examination, dissertation research, and teaching interests. Seminars offered by the graduate faculty embody a variety of perspectives and research and writing interests.

3 Table of Contents SECTION 1 APPLICATION AND ADMISSION APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID: DEPARTMENTAL POLICY AND PROCEDURES... 5 SECTION 2 MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH PROGRAMS AND REQUIREMENTS B.A./M.A. COMBINED BACHELOR S/MASTER S DEGREE M.A. WITH GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP, ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS M.A. WITH CONCENTRATION IN COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC M.A. WITH CONCENTRATION IN CREATIVE WRITING: FICTION OR POETRY M.A. WITH CONCENTRATION IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE, WITH THESIS M.A. WITH CONCENTRATION IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE, WITH WRITTEN EXAM SECTION 3 MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING...16 SECTION 4 MASTER OF TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION 16 SECTION 5 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH RECOMMENDED TIMELINE FOR PH.D. STUDENTS FIRST-YEAR ADVISOR COURSE OF STUDY PERMISSION TO PROCEED RESIDENCE PH.D. IN LITERATURE PH.D. IN COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC LANGUAGE OR COGNATE REQUIREMENT PH.D. ADVISORY COMMITTEE THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION AREA OF CONCENTRATION AND READING LIST SPECIAL TOPIC READING LIST FORMAT AND SUBMISSION PROCEDURE COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION FORMAT AND PROCEDURE PH.D. ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROCEDURES FOR COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE THE DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS APPLICATION FOR DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP THE DISSERTATION THE FINAL EXAMINATION (DISSERTATION DEFENSE) DEPOSITING THE DISSERTATION SECTION 6 DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS: ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS...27 SECTION 7 ACADEMIC PROCEDURES GUIDELINES FOR INCOMPLETE GRADES CREDIT/NO CREDIT OPTIONS INDEPENDENT STUDY (ENGLISH 751/752 SPECIAL PROBLEMS ) ZERO CREDIT-HOUR COURSE (ENGLISH 701.Z)

4 SECTION 8 GRADUATE ASSISTANTS (M.A.) AND TEACHING ASSOCIATES (PH.D.) IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ENGLISH 731: THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TEACHING COLLEGE COMPOSITION TEACHING APPOINTMENTS GA/TA REVIEW PROCEDURE MENTORING SECTION 9 TEACHING AND PROFESSIONALIZATION OPPORTUNITIES ADDITIONAL TEACHING OPPORTUNITIES LITERATURE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM OTHER ASSISTANTSHIP OPPORTUNITIES ASSESSMENT, EDITING, PUBLISHING UNIVERSITY POLICY REGARDING G.A.S AND T.A.S SECTION 10 FUNDING FOR GRADUATE STUDENT ACTIVITIES THE GRADUATE EDUCATION ENRICHMENT FUND (GEEF) ENGLISH DEPARTMENT DOCTORAL PROGRAM JOB INTERVIEW TRAVEL GRANTS GRADUATE SCHOOL/GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION TRAVEL FUND GRADUATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS GRADUATE SCHOOL THESIS AND DISSERTATION RESEARCH SUPPORT CENTER FOR ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING AND TEACHING AND UNIVERSITY ASSESSMENT (CELTUA) STUDENT-FACULTY DISCOURSE FUND ( POPCORN FUND ) SECTION 11 DEPARTMENT GRADUATE COMMITTEES AND ORGANIZATIONS STUDENT REPRESENTATION ON DEPARTMENT COMMITTEES GRADUATE COMMITTEE MIAMI ENGLISH GRADUATE AND ADJUNCT ASSOCIATION (MEGAA) SECTION 12 DEGREE COMPLETION TIME LIMITS FOR M.A. AND PH.D. DEGREES GRADUATION PROCEDURES ACADEMIC JOB PLACEMENT APPENDIX

5 Section 1 Application and Admission 1.1 Application Requirements Applications for admission to degree programs are available from the Dean of the Graduate School, 102 Roudebush Hall, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio or via the Graduate School website at Applicants to all programs must submit an application form and fee, and transcripts of all previous academic work to The Graduate School. GRE scores are not required, but may be useful for applicants being considered by the Graduate School for Academic Achievement Awards. English Department degree programs also require additional materials, as described below, for a complete application file. All required M.A. and Ph.D. application materials must be received by January 10 in order for the applicant to be given full consideration for a teaching assistantship. Late applications for these programs will not be accepted. 1.1a Master of Arts in English: Students with a bachelor s degree from an accredited college or university who meet the requirements described in the current Graduate Bulletin may be admitted to a degree program with the approval of the departmental Admissions and Awards Committee. Applicants for the M.A. must submit a writing sample, a 2-3 page personal statement of aims in relation to graduate studies, three letters of recommendation from faculty with recommendation forms, a writing sample appropriate to their chosen area of concentration, and copies of all transcripts. Composition and Rhetoric or Literature Concentrations: Applicants should submit a page analytical paper, such as a major paper written for an upper-level English seminar. Creative Writing Concentrations: Applicants should submit a writing sample that best demonstrates their skills as a writer in their chosen genre of specialization (fiction, creative non-fiction, or poetry): 25 to 40 pages of prose or poems. Manuscripts will be read by the creative writing faculty and will heavily influence their decision on admission. More detailed information about application requirements and guidelines for submission are available on the Department of English Graduate Studies website at 1.1b Master of Arts in Teaching: Ohio public school certification is a prerequisite for admission. Application procedures and materials required are listed on the Ohio Writing Project website at 1.1c Master of Technical and Scientific Communication: The MTSC program is not currently accepting students. See the Appendix for a description of the degree requirements. 1.1d Combined Bachelor s/master s Degree Full-time Miami undergraduate students in their junior year who have completed 80 hours and half of the departmental hours required for their major may apply to the BA/MA in English. To be eligible, students must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.25 and a 3.5 major GPA. 4

6 Application should be made to the English department and the Graduate School. See the Graduate School web pages at Also see the Admissions information on the English department Graduate website at for general information about graduate programs. Follow the directions for submitting materials to the Creative Writing program, but application materials for the Combined Bachelor s and Master s Degree Program do not need to meet the Jan. 15 deadline. We will begin reviewing application materials for the BA/MA after Feb e Doctor of Philosophy in English Students who have met the requirements for the Master of Arts in English, in either a thesis or non-thesis plan, may apply for admission into the doctoral program. Students whose master s degree is in another field are also welcome to apply for admission. Only those applicants who can be funded with a graduate teaching appointment will be eligible for admission. The departmental Graduate Admissions Committee takes into consideration courses, grades, foreign language preparation, the applicant s 2-3 page personal statement, the three letters of recommendation with recommendation forms from faculty, and a writing sample. The writing sample should be a page analytical paper appropriate to the concentration area in which the applicant plans to specialize that demonstrates his/her scholarly abilities and orientation to the field. Generally, a student accepted with an M.A. earned elsewhere will be admitted to graduate study at the doctoral level. 1.2 Admissions and Financial Aid: Departmental Policy and Procedures The Graduate Committee has approved the following policies and procedures on admissions and financial assistance: (1) The Graduate Admissions Committee will be a representative group, with members drawn from the programs in literature, composition and rhetoric, and creative writing. (2) Applications for graduate study will initially be read by members according to field, i.e., members in literature will read literature applications, those in composition and rhetoric will read the applications from their field, and creative writing members will read applications to the writing program. Members may, if they wish, caucus with others in their fields to arrive at the recommendations they will make to the full committee as to which applicants should receive Graduate Assistantships and Teaching Associateships. (3) No field within the department will be allocated in advance a set number of graduate awards. Rather, committee members representing the three fields creative writing, composition and rhetoric, and literature will forward to the full Graduate Admissions Committee the 10 highest-ranked applications in each field. The Director of Graduate studies in consultation with the Graduate Admissions Committee will balance the needs of individual programs and the relative strength of these applications, in awarding the available Graduate Assistantships and Teaching Associateships. (4) As soon as possible after the application deadline of January 10 the Graduate Admissions Committee and Director of Graduate Studies will decide on its offers of Graduate Assistantships and Teaching Associateships. No offers will be made, and no decisions reached, until all on-time applications have been evaluated. Applications for admission received after January 10 will not be considered. 5

7 (5) Regarding admission without financial aid, the subcommittee may admit highly qualified, but unfunded M.A. students. However, it will be made clear to these students that an English Department assistantship probably will not be awarded at a later date i.e., that their M.A. study will remain unfunded throughout. For Ph.D. applicants, the subcommittee, recognizing the integral role that teaching plays in our doctoral program, will admit only those whom it can support with a departmental teaching appointment. In exceptional cases, it may consider for admission an applicant who will obtain acceptable teaching experience and training on another campus while in the Ph.D. program at Miami. (6) Dissertation Fellowships will be awarded annually by a Dissertation Fellowship Committee appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. The DF Committee shall be composed of the Director of Graduate Studies and two graduate faculty in literature and two in composition and rhetoric, if possible faculty who are not directing any of the doctoral committees under consideration for a fellowship. The Graduate School provides one fullyear fellowship for an eligible fourth-year doctoral student. The department s Academic Challenge and Sinclair Dissertation Fellowships may be awarded as one-semester or fullyear fellowships for eligible doctoral students in their fifth year or beyond. 6

8 Section 2 Master of Arts in English Programs and Requirements 2.1 Combined Bachelor s/master s Degree Full-time Miami undergraduate students in their junior year who have completed 80 hours and half of the departmental hours required for their major may apply to the BA/MA in English. To be eligible, students must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.25 and a 3.5 major GPA. Students accepted to the English BA/MA program take graduate courses while completing their undergraduate degree. A maximum of 6 hours can be double counted for the Bachelor s and Master s degrees, but the full number of hours required for the Master s degree must be taken. Students remain classified as undergraduates until they have completed 128 hours. At the time, the Graduate School will reclassify them as graduate students, if they have maintained a GPA of 3.25 in undergraduate and at least a 3.0 in graduate work. Students in the combined program are eligible to apply for a non-teaching graduate assistantship or graduate grant-in-aid upon being classified as graduate students. See particular MA programs for course requirements. 2.2 M.A. with Graduate Assistantship In addition to the requirements listed for the Master of Arts degree concentrations offered by the English Department, ENG 731 (The Theory and Practice of Teaching College Composition), ENG 606 and 607 (Teaching Practicum I and II) are required for all Graduate Assistants and Teaching Associates teaching in the College Composition program. For the M.A. with concentration in Composition and Rhetoric and with concentration in literature, these courses count toward total credit hours but not toward core requirements. 2.3 M.A. with Concentration in Composition and Rhetoric 36 hours, including: 16 hours of core coursework in composition and rhetoric (excluding ENG 731, ENG 606, ENG 607) Courses may include 601, 720, 730, 732, 733, 734, 735, 736, 751, 760, elective graduate courses in English, that comprise a defined area of study to be selected in consultation with faculty advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. With permission of advisor and Director of Graduate Studies, one elective may, in special circumstances, be in a department other than English. ENG 605: Issues of the Profession (2 hrs.) ENG 700: Research for Master s Thesis (6 hrs.) Additional degree requirements: A reading proficiency in a language other than English, demonstrated by (a) completion of two years of undergraduate study of a foreign language or ASL; (b) completion of 6l7/6l8 in a language department at Miami; (c) taking a language examination given by a foreign language department at Miami University; or (d) presenting a language, other than English, which is the candidate s native language. The M.A. student in composition and rhetoric must serve as a Graduate Assistant for at least two semesters and thus enroll in ENG 731, ENG 606, and ENG 607. Some portion of this teaching requirement may be waived for students with high school or junior high school teaching experience. 7

9 A final oral examination of two hours on the thesis and the approved reading list. Thesis and Oral Examination Committee Students working toward the M.A. with thesis and oral examination for the degree may take their examinations during the semester in which they are completing classroom requirements, or thereafter. The student forms an M.A. thesis committee of three faculty members by the beginning of the second year in the master s program. Two members of the thesis committee will be faculty working in composition and rhetoric; the third member may come from outside that field. The chair must have Level A graduate faculty standing; other committee members must hold Level A or Level B graduate faculty standing. Thesis Prospectus: Rationale and Reading List The Master s Thesis in Composition and Rhetoric requires the student to undertake a sustained intellectual engagement with an issue related to the student s self-defined area of study. The thesis project should be research-based and culminate in a final product, but it is purposely flexible to offer a range of options. Theses projects may take many forms, including but not limited to, traditional research and critical study of an issue, theory, practice; classroom or community-based research with problem, description, results and discussion; a presentation of innovative pedagogy in the form of a detailed teaching portfolio with research and reflection; a workplace based internship and researched report; research and design of web pages for the Internet. M.A. students in composition and rhetoric will work with their thesis committee to produce a reading list of 20 to 25 works, including secondary material, in the field in which the subject of the thesis is embedded as a specialized interest. [A work is defined as a book-length production or its equivalent. Three short works (e.g., critical essays) count as the equivalent of a work. ] Reading List format and submission procedure The field of the thesis should be clearly identified by name, and the list itself supported by a persuasive rationale. Works on the list should be cited in standard bibliographical style. The student should also name the faculty members serving on the committee, and secure their signatures on the cover-sheet form submitted along with the list. Along with the signed cover-sheet form, the list will be submitted to the Graduate Committee for review and must be approved by the Graduate Committee at least three months before the final examination for the M.A. degree. The Graduate Committee may require alterations in the reading list. The chair of the student s examination committee, but not the student, will be present for the meeting with the Graduate Committee. Examination procedure Examinations may be scheduled at the convenience of the student and the examination committee. Two hours will be allowed for the examination. The final examination will be an oral examination consisting of (a) questions on the thesis itself and (b) questions on the approved reading list. No materials other than the approved reading list and the thesis may be consulted during the M.A. exam. Two of the three committee members must approve for the examination to be passed. Students who fail the final examination may be given a second examination to be taken no earlier than the next semester or summer session. No third attempt is permitted. 8

10 Depositing the thesis In the early stages of preparing the final copy of the thesis, the student must obtain the Guide for Writing Theses and Dissertations from The Graduate School or on line ( The student must prepare the thesis in accordance with the instructions in this guide. Students should make an appointment with a member of the Graduate School for a preliminary format check of a sample chapter before proceeding with the final version of the thesis. All students will submit their work electronically. A corrected, final pdf version of the thesis must be approved by the Graduate School and deposited electronically at least 10 business days before graduation. Requests may be made to the Graduate School for Delay of Publication of one to five years. Commencement dates and the deadlines for application for commencement are published each year on the Commencement Office website. 2.4 M.A. with Concentration in Creative Writing: Fiction or Poetry 40 hours of credit, including: Four courses from ENG 650 (Graduate Fiction Workshop) or ENG 651 (Graduate Poetry Workshop) (16 hrs.) ENG 652: Issues in Creative Writing (4 hrs.) or ENG 652 Graduate Creative Nonfiction Workshop (4) when offered ENG 605: Issues of the Profession (2 hrs.) Three literature seminars numbered above 600, which may include ENG 603; ENG 652 (Graduate Creative Nonfiction Workshop) may substitute for one literature seminar with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies (12 hrs.) ENG 700: Research/reading hours for Master s Thesis (6 hrs.) The thesis will ordinarily be a novella, a novel, or a collection of stories or poems. Additional degree requirements: A reading proficiency in a language other than English, demonstrated by (a) completion of two years of undergraduate study of a foreign language or ASL; (b) completion of 6l7/6l8 in a language department at Miami; (c) taking a language examination given by a foreign language department at Miami University; or (d) presenting a language, other than English, which is the candidate s native language. For poetry, a one-hour oral qualifying exam on the standard list in poetry, to be taken after the end of the second semester and before submitting the reading list. The exam should take place no later than the midterm of the third semester. Poetry Qualifying Examination Students must pass a qualifying examination on the standard list in poetry which can be found on the English Graduate Programs Blackboard site. The qualifying examination must be passed before the student s own reading list may be submitted for approval to the graduate committee. The qualifying exam is a 1-hour oral examination on the standard M.A. reading list in poetry, to be taken after the end of the student s second semester and no later than midterm of the student s third semester. Students who fail the qualifying exam may retake it before Thanksgiving break of the same semester. No third attempt is permitted. Any two available poetry M.A. faculty can serve as examiners for the qualifying exam. 9

11 A final two-hour oral exam on the thesis and the approved reading list. Examination Committee Students working toward the M.A. with thesis and oral examination for the degree may take their examinations during the semester in which they are completing classroom requirements, or thereafter. The student forms an M.A. thesis committee of three faculty members by the beginning of his/her second year in the master s program. Two members of the thesis committee will be faculty working in the student s primary genre. The third member of the committee will be faculty working in another genre or area, from any of the English Department s programs, or from another department. The chair must have Level A graduate faculty standing; the other committee members must hold Level A or Level B standing, unless he/she is from another department; in that case, the faculty member must hold Level A standing. Reading list An M.A. student in fiction will work with her/his thesis committee to construct a reading list of 25 works that are deemed useful in the writing of the thesis; the student and committee may chose books from the list posted on the English Graduate Programs Niihka site, but they are not limited to this list. An M.A. student in creative nonfiction will work with her/his thesis committee to construct a reading list of 25 works that are deemed useful in the writing of the thesis; the student and committee may choose books from the list posted on the English Graduate Programs Niihka site, but they are not limited to this list. An M.A. student in poetry will work with her/his thesis committee to construct a reading list of 25 works that are deemed useful in the writing of the thesis. The student will also be responsible for the standing list in poetry. The student s examination will take place in two parts: Part 1 is a 1-hour oral examination on the standard poetry list, to be taken before the end of Summer III after the student s first year. Part 2 is a 1.5-hour oral examination on the student s creative MA thesis and reading list. (See Examination Procedure below.) The poetry reading list can be found on the English Graduate Programs Blackboard site. [A work is defined as a book-length production or its equivalent; thus a group of plays or a collection of poems or essays might be counted as a single work in a literary field, while three critical essays will count as the equivalent of a work.] Reading list format and submission procedure The list should clearly identify the area and title of the thesis by name, with the list itself supported by a persuasive rationale. Works on the list should be cited in standard bibliographical style. The student should also name the faculty members serving on the committee, and secure their signatures on the cover-sheet form submitted along with the list. Along with the signed cover-sheet form, the list will be submitted to the Graduate Committee for review and must be approved by the Graduate Committee at least three months before the final examination for the M.A. degree. The Graduate Committee may require alterations in the reading list. The chair of the student s examination committee, but not the student, will be present for the meeting with the Graduate Committee. Examination procedure For the M.A. in poetry, the examination will occur in two parts. Part 1 is a 1-hour oral examination on the standard M.A. reading list in poetry, to be taken at the beginning of the 10

12 student s second year. Any two available poetry M.A. faculty can serve as examiners. Part 2 is a 1.5-hour oral examination on the student s creative M.A. thesis and reading list, to be taken during or after the student s second year. Examinations may be scheduled at the convenience of the student and the examination committee. However, students who hope to take the exam during a summer term are responsible for ensuring in advance that all committee members will be available. The final examination for fiction and creative non-fiction will be an oral examination of two hours consisting of questions on (a) the thesis itself and (b) the approved reading list. No materials other than the approved reading list and the thesis may be consulted during the M.A. exam. Two of the three committee members must approve for the examination to be passed. Students who fail the final examination may be given a second examination to be taken no earlier than the next semester or summer session. No third attempt is permitted. Depositing the thesis In the early stages of preparing the final copy of the thesis, the student must obtain the Guide for Writing Theses and Dissertations from The Graduate School or online ( The student must prepare the thesis in accordance with the instructions in this guide. Students should make an appointment with a member of the Graduate School for a preliminary format check of a sample chapter before proceeding with the final version of the thesis. All students will submit their work electronically. A corrected, final pdf version of the thesis must be approved by the Graduate School and deposited electronically at least 10 business days before graduation. Requests may be made to the Graduate School for Delay of Publication of one to five years. Commencement dates and the deadlines for application for commencement are published each year on the Commencement Office website. 2.5 M.A. with Concentration in English and American Literature, with thesis 36 hours of credit, including: ENG 603: Theories and Their Histories (4 hrs.) ENG 605: Issues of the Profession (2 hrs.) Four 4-hour seminars satisfying the distribution requirement (16 hrs.) One course each from two of these fields (8 hrs.) English Literature to 1500 Renaissance English Literature Restoration and Eighteenth-Century English Literature Nineteenth-Century English Literature One course each from two of these fields (8 hrs.) Twentieth-Century English Literature American Literature to 1900 Twentieth-Century American Literature Two elective literature seminars Research/reading hours (6 hrs.) Additional degree requirements: A reading proficiency in a language other than English, demonstrated by (a) completion of two years of undergraduate study of a foreign language or ASL; (b) completion of 6l7/6l8 11

13 in a language department at Miami; (c) taking a language examination given by a foreign language department at Miami University; or (d) presenting a language, other than English, which is the candidate s native language. Thesis and oral examination, as described below. Thesis Committee Students working toward the M.A. with thesis and oral examination for the degree may take their examinations during the semester in which they are completing classroom requirements or thereafter. The student forms an M.A. thesis committee of three faculty members by the beginning of his/her second year in the master s program. Two members of the thesis committee will be faculty working in the specific area or literary field of the thesis; it is recommended that the third member work in another literary field or another degree concentration. The chair must have Level A graduate faculty standing; other committee members must hold Level A or Level B graduate faculty standing. Reading list The M.A. student in literature who chooses to write a thesis will work with her/his thesis committee to produce a reading list of 20 to 25 works, including secondary material, in a literary period, genre, or other field in which the subject of the thesis is embedded as a specialized interest. [A work is defined as a book-length production or its equivalent; thus a group of plays or a collection of poems or essays might be counted as a single work in a literary field, while three critical essays will count as the equivalent of a work.] Reading list format and submission procedure The field of the thesis should be clearly identified by name, and the list itself supported by a persuasive rationale. Works on the list should be listed in standard bibliographical style. The student should also name the faculty members serving on the committee, and secure their signatures on the cover-sheet form submitted along with the list. Along with the signed cover-sheet form, the list will be submitted to the Graduate Committee for review and must be approved by the Graduate Committee at least three months before the final examination for the M.A. degree. The Graduate Committee may require alterations in the reading list. The chair of the student s examination committee, but not the student, will be present for the meeting with the Graduate Committee. Examination procedure Examinations may be scheduled at the convenience of the student and the examination committee. The final examination will be an oral examination of two hours consisting of questions on (a) the thesis itself and (b) the approved reading list. No materials other than the approved reading list and the thesis may be consulted during the M.A. exam. Two of the three committee members must approve for the examination to be passed. Students who fail the final examination may be given a second examination to be taken no earlier than the next semester or summer session. No third attempt is permitted. Depositing the thesis In the early stages of preparing the final copy of the thesis, the student must obtain the Guide for Writing Theses and Dissertations from The Graduate School or online ( The student must prepare the thesis in accordance with the instructions in this guide. Students should make an appointment with a member of the Graduate School for a preliminary format check of a sample chapter before proceeding with the final version of the thesis. 12

14 All students will submit their work electronically. A corrected, final pdf version of the thesis must be approved by the Graduate School and deposited electronically at least 10 business days before graduation. Requests may be made to the Graduate School for Delay of Publication of one to five years. Commencement dates and the deadlines for application for commencement are published each year on the Commencement Office website. 2.6 M.A. with Concentration in English and American Literature, with written examination 36 hours of credit, including: ENG 603: Theories and Their Histories (4 hrs.) ENG 605: Issues of the Profession (2 hrs.) Four 4-hour seminars satisfying the distribution requirement (16 hrs.) One course each from two of these fields (8 hrs.) English Literature to 1500 Renaissance English Literature Restoration and Eighteenth-Century English Literature Nineteenth-Century English Literature One course each from two of these fields (8 hrs.) Twentieth-Century English Literature American Literature to 1900 Twentieth-Century American Literature Two elective literature seminars Research/reading hours (6 hrs.) Additional degree requirements: A reading proficiency in a language other than English, demonstrated by (a) completion of two years of undergraduate study of a foreign language or ASL; (b) completion of 6l7/6l8 in a language department at Miami; (c) taking a language examination given by a foreign language department at Miami University; or (d) presenting a language, other than English, which is the candidate s native language. A final written and oral examination on the approved reading list. Examination Committee Students working toward the M.A. in literature with written and oral examination may take the examination for the degree during the semester in which they are completing classroom requirements, or thereafter. The exam writer forms an M.A. examination committee of three faculty members by the beginning of the student s second year in the master s program. The M.A. student in literature chooses two literary periods on which to be examined, and selects one faculty member to represent each of those periods on the examination committee; it is recommended that the third member work in another literary field or another degree concentration. One faculty member will be designated as chair of the M.A. examination committee, to be responsible for coordinating meetings, preparing the written exam, and convening and chairing the oral examination. The chair must have Level A graduate faculty standing; other committee members must hold Level A or Level B graduate faculty standing. 13

15 Reading List In literary fields, the M.A. written examination should encourage students to think about the relationships between literature and the larger cultural context. Toward this end, students work with their M.A. examination committees to generate reading lists in the areas they have chosen to prepare for the examination. The two lists, one for each area, should be broad enough to accommodate both the student s specialized interests and the committee s sense of the period in which those interests are embedded. To achieve that breadth, students should form lists of 20 to 25 works each, including criticism currently of significance. [A work is defined as a book-length production or its equivalent; thus a group of plays or a collection of poems or essays might be counted as a single work in a literary field, while three critical essays will count as the equivalent of a work.] Students should be prepared to answer questions about the relationships among works and about the periods they represent. Areas that may be represented on the exam are: English Literature to 1500 Renaissance and Seventeenth-Century English Literature Restoration and Eighteenth-Century English Literature Nineteenth-Century English Literature American Literature to 1900 Twentieth-Century English Literature Twentieth-Century American Literature Devised fields In addition, a student may, in consultation with both the Director of Graduate Studies and her/his M.A. examination committee and with the approval of the Graduate Committee, devise a field not included on the above list. The Graduate Committee encourages students to incorporate the rationale for a devised field in the reading lists that they submit, rather than make the proposal for a devised field a separate stage of the process. The devised field can cut across or modify the standing literary historical fields listed above. In recent years, for example, the Graduate Committee has approved a devised field in nineteenth- and twentieth-century African American literature and another in nineteenth- and twentieth-century American women s writing. Students should note, however, that even devised fields with a specific content-based focus must cover an historical range roughly equivalent to the standing fields that they cut across. And, as for lists submitted for standing fields, students should give careful attention to including works of fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fictional prose in order to achieve a representative balance of genres in the devised field. Alternatively, rather than study the literature of a discrete historical period or the literary production of a particular group, a student might devise a field that emphasizes a particular genre: fiction, poetry, drama, or non-fictional prose. Such a field could range across national or chronological boundaries: e.g., the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English novel, postcolonial theory and fiction, narrative poetry, or autobiography of the Americas. Since every devised field must include both historical range (as described above) and formal diversity (even within a genre), a student should make sure that her/his rationale specifically addresses the ways in which a proposed field fulfills this requirement. Reading list format and submission procedure Each field represented on a list should be clearly identified, and the list itself supported by a persuasive rationale. Works should be cited in standard bibliographic style. The student should also name the faculty members serving on the committee, and secure their 14

16 signatures on the cover-sheet form submitted along with the list. Along with the signed cover-sheet form, the list will be submitted to the Graduate Committee for review and must be approved by the Graduate Committee at least three months before the final examination for the M.A. degree. The Graduate Committee may require alterations in the reading list. The chair of the student s examination committee, but not the student, will be present for the meeting with the Graduate Committee. Examination procedure For the written examination, the student will answer one question from each of the two fields represented on the approved reading lists. For each field, the student will have a choice of at least two questions. The questions for the written portion of the examination will be given to the student two weeks before the date of the oral examination. The student will return her/his completed essays to the committee chair no more than 72 hours after she/he has received the questions. The maximum acceptable length of the examination will be approximately 3,600 words, divided as evenly as possible between the two essays. In the examination essays, students should employ conventional MLA citation format: i.e., parenthetical references by author s last name and page number. A bibliography is not required, but if the student uses a text not on the reading lists, the full citation should be provided parenthetically. While students are permitted to consult relevant print resources, they may not share a draft of the essay with others for review, editorial suggestions, or proofreading. If they incorporate ideas from conversation with others, these must be fully documented in the essay itself, just as references to print sources would be. An examination essay, whatever its critical or theoretical orientation, will be expected to respond directly to the question asked and to show detailed and accurate command of the pertinent reading. In the days before the oral examination, the M.A. examination committee will read and evaluate the written portion of the examination. No decision to pass or fail will be rendered until both the written and oral examinations have been completed and the student s total performance can be taken into account. Should a student fail the examination in one field, the committee may at its discretion allow the student to retake a portion of the exam. The oral examination will be conducted over a period of 90 minutes, with the time divided equally between a discussion of the examination essays and follow-up questions about them, and a discussion of other works on the reading lists. Students should be prepared to answer specific questions about the works on the lists, about relationships among them, and about the fields they represent. Students should expect that each examiner will not be restricted to questions in a single field, but may well ask questions about either of the student s prepared areas. No materials other than the approved reading list and the written examination essay may be consulted during the M.A. exam. Two of the three committee members must approve for the examination to be passed. Students who fail the final examination may be given a second examination to be taken no earlier than the next semester or summer session. No third attempt is permitted. 15

17 Section 3 Master of Arts in Teaching The Master of Arts in Teaching requires 32 hours of credit. Certification for teaching in the public schools is a prerequisite for admission. Designed for K-12 working teachers, the M.A.T. is overseen by the Ohio Writing Project, a site of the prestigious National Writing Project and the Ohio Board of Regents Early English Composition Assessment program. The curriculum includes a writing core and a literature core, offered as summer workshops and classes on the Miami campus. M.A.T. students may also fulfill requirements with graduate seminars in literature or composition and rhetoric. A final classroom-based research project will be conducted under the direction of faculty advisors and OWP teacher mentors. More information about the M.A.T. program and application requirements is available from the Ohio Writing Project office, Section 4 Master of Technical and Scientific Communication The Master of Technical and Scientific Communication (MTSC) program is currently not accepting new students. Those in the process of completing the MTSC degree can consult the degree requirements in the Appendix to this handbook. (See page 45.) 16

18 Section 5 Doctor of Philosophy in English The program requires 60 semester hours of study with an M.A. All Ph.D. students must earn at least 60 graduate credit hours (including Dissertation Research) beyond the master s degree or its equivalent, at least 48 of which must be earned on the Oxford campus. The required credit hours must be earned at the 600 level and above. A minimum of 30 credit hours in courses must be earned on the Oxford campus before the comprehensive examination and admission to candidacy. The student will register for Dissertation Research (ENG 850) for a minimum total of 16 credit hours of the 60 required. 5.1 Recommended Timeline for Ph.D. Students Submission of a preliminary Course of Study to the Graduate Committee for initial review by the end of the second semester Submission of a Course of Study to the Graduate Committee for approval by the end of the third semester Completion of all course and foreign language/cognate requirements by Summer IV of the second year Submission of an area of concentration, a reading list, and special topic to the Graduate Committee by the end of Summer IV of the second year Comprehensive exam taken by the end of the fifth semester Dissertation prospectus submitted to the dissertation committee by the end of the sixth semester Dissertation defense in the fourth year 5.2 First-Year Advisor Every beginning doctoral student intending to write a dissertation in literature or in composition and rhetoric will be assigned a First-Year Advisor. This advisor will supervise the student s selection of seminars for the first three semesters of doctoral study as part of the evolving process of determining a Course of Study. The First-Year Advisor will be invited to attend both of the permission-to-proceed meetings (see below) in the spring semester at which the student s progress will be discussed. 5.3 Course of Study A Ph.D. student who intends to write a dissertation in literature or in composition and rhetoric must define a course of study in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, the First-Year Advisor, and the student s Ph.D. Advisory Committee, which replaces the First-Year Advisor by the beginning of the fourth semester. In no more than two pages, the Course of Study statement must integrate doctoral coursework with plans for the comprehensive examination, the dissertation research, and teaching interests. A preliminary Course of Study should be submitted to the Graduate Committee for initial review no later than the end of the second semester. The Course of Study must be approved by the Graduate Committee by the end of the third semester. 5.4 Permission to Proceed 1. All first-year doctoral students will be asked to keep copies of all written work produced for their seminars in English. Faculty teaching graduate seminars should retain copies of all written work produced by first-year students whose capacity to complete the doctoral program is, in their view, questionable, as well as any written comments on that work. 2. During the first week of the Spring term, all faculty who taught graduate courses that included first-year doctoral students during the preceding semester and each student s First- Year Advisor will meet with the Director of Graduate Studies. They will discuss whether or not any of these students has produced written work that seems to call into question the student s capacity to complete the doctoral program. Whatever is said at this meeting will 17

19 be strictly confidential. If faculty agree that a student may have difficulty completing the program, the Director of Graduate Studies will notify the student of that assessment in writing, providing specific information about problems identified by faculty. If deemed necessary, he/she will assist the student in obtaining additional guidance from his/her First- Year Adviser concerning his/her current coursework. 3. After the end of the Spring Semester, the Director of Graduate Studies, each student s First-Year Advisor, and all faculty who taught first-year doctoral students during the Spring Semester will meet to discuss the progress of first-year Ph.D. students. Whatever is said at this meeting will be strictly confidential. Unless explicitly informed to the contrary by the Director of Graduate Studies within 5 working days after this meeting, a student in automatically granted permission to proceed. If faculty agree that a student may have difficulty completing the program, the Director of Graduate Studies will notify the student in writing that he/she is under review, providing specific information about problems identified by faculty. 4. Any student designated for review will be invited to submit written work and/or address faculty concerns in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies within five working days of being informed that he/she is under review. 5. The Director of Graduate Studies will convene a meeting of available members of the graduate faculty and the Permission to Proceed committee, who will then meet for discussion as soon as possible after the student under review has submitted his/her work. This meeting must take place no later than 10 working days after final grades for the spring term are due. At this time, the Graduate Committee will render a decision either to permit the student to proceed, to deny such permission, or to defer permission for no longer than one academic year. It will render its decision as a whole based solely on careful reading and discussion of the student s work. The Director of Graduate Studies will provide specific information in writing about problems identified by faculty to students to whom permission to proceed is deferred or denied. 6. If permission to proceed is deferred, the Director of Graduate Studies will discuss the student s status at the following semester s Permission to Proceed meeting. 7. If permission to proceed in the Ph.D. program is denied, the student has the right of reconsideration. To be reconsidered, the student will submit to the Director of Graduate Studies, the available graduate faculty, and the department chair a written statement and/or other materials within five working days of being informed that permission to proceed has not been granted. 8. If reconsideration is unsuccessful, the student may appeal by filing a grievance in accordance with the Graduate School Grievance Procedure. 5.5 Residence To fulfill the residence requirement the student must, during the period of doctoral studies, be registered for a full academic load in at least two consecutive semesters during the regular academic year. 5.6 Ph.D. in Literature For Ph.D. students in literature, the coursework comprised in a Course of Study might observe period distinctions or, where appropriate, cut across those in order to achieve historical range. It might emphasize study of a single genre or aim to achieve a representative balance of genres in focusing on a particular movement at a particular time. It might focus entirely on a single national, ethnic, or cultural tradition or traverse such 18

20 boundaries. The Course of Study must take into account the historical distribution requirement and other course requirements, and it may include more than one composition and rhetoric course. Course requirements for students who will write a dissertation in a literary field: ENG 603: Theories and Their Histories (4 hrs.) ENG 605: Issues in the Profession (2 hrs.) ENG 606: Teaching Practicum I: College Composition (2 hrs.), required for all Teaching Associates ENG 607: Teaching Practicum II: College Composition (2 hrs.), required for all Teaching Associates ENG 731: Theory and Practice of Teaching Composition (4 hrs.), required for all Teaching Associates Eight 4-hour seminars at the 600-level or above: Of the eight, six seminars in literature are required, one is required in ENG 750, and one is an open elective in English. (See Seminar Requirements below for details.) Historical Distribution Requirements The Ph.D. in literature presupposes a breadth of literary and cultural knowledge. Satisfaction of the 16-hour historical distribution requirement for the Miami MA (see the department s Handbook for Graduate Students and Faculty, Section 2), comprising courses in four fields, is presupposed. Doctoral students admitted from a master s program other than Miami s may, with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, partially satisfy the historical distribution requirement with transferred courses, within the 12-credit limit established by the Graduate School (see the Graduate School s Handbook for Graduate Students and Faculty). The historical distribution requirement for Ph.D. students in literature further requires (a) one course in English or American literature before 1700 and (b) one course in English or American literature between 1700 and Courses used to satisfy the historical distribution requirement for the Miami MA will also fulfill this requirement. Seminar Requirements Eight seminars at the 600-level or above in English are required during the first two years for the Ph.D., not counting ENG 605 (Issues in the Profession), courses in foreign language or in a cognate field, or ENG 603 (Literary Theories and Their Histories) or ENG 731 (The Theory and Practice of Teaching Composition) if they had not been completed for the MA. Of the eight, one is required in ENG 750 (see below) and one is an open elective in English. Cross-listed graduate courses with an ENG prefix are countable. Only when circumstances clearly require it, one and only one independent-study course will be permitted to substitute for a seminar during the first two years of Ph.D. work, and only then by petition to the Director of Graduate Studies. ENG 750 (Histories and Methodologies) will center on a specific area of contemporary theoretical work and critical practice, providing the opportunity for students to integrate its methods with their own areas of interest (for instance, historical, generic). It is required for Ph.D. students in literature, who may take the course a second time when the topic changes. (Moreover, it is recommended for MA students who intend to pursue doctoral work or whose interests coincide with the topic of the course.) 19