The first two years will consist of coursework. Each PhD student must take three courses – of four credits each – per semester. This will allow students to study a wide range of theories and texts as they move towards formulating their dissertation topic.
Year 1:-
Monsoon Semester
Mandatory Courses – Introduction to Literary Theory
Elective Courses – Two elective courses, at the 4000 level; classes at any other level will require special permission from the professor
Spring Semester
Mandatory Courses – Research Methods and Ethics
Elective Courses – One elective course at the 4000-level; classes at any other level will require special permission from the professor
Teaching Requirement – Pedagogy Seminar: TA for one undergraduate class
End of Summer 1 / Beginning of Year 2: Written Qualifying Exam based on a mandatory list of tests. The list for this exam will involve literature stretching from 800 CE to the present. You will be provided with a list of 100 texts from among which you should pick 25, with the stipulation that at least half the texts should date from before 1800.
Year 2:-
Monsoon Semester
Elective Courses – Three elective courses, including, preferably, a seminar in Advanced Theory
Teaching Requirement – A Pedagogy Workshop and GA for the ASP Proseminar
Spring Semester
Elective Courses – Three elective courses, including, preferably, a seminar in Advanced Theory
Teaching Requirement – GA for the ASP Proseminar
Second week of the fifth semester in Year 3: Oral Qualifying Exam
PhD students must select at least 7 of their 9 elective courses from the department’s 4000-level graduate seminars. With the permission of the DGS, students can take two of their electives in the form of an ISM, an upper-level UG course, or a course in another department.
The maximum number of courses you can take in other departments is three across two years. The PhD Director can provide for exceptions to this rule under compelling circumstances.
Year 3:-
End of third year: Defend a 10-12 page dissertation prospectus which will allow students to advance to the dissertation-writing stage of the PhD program. This prospectus will include a rationale for, and an outline of, the stakes of the proposed dissertation.
Years 4 and 5:-
The fourth and fifth years will be spent in researching and writing the thesis.
Teaching Requirement – Teach one Critical Thinking Seminar in one semester of your fourth or fifth year
End of fifth year: Dissertation submission and defense.
