Doctor of Philosophy in Literature and Criticism
The comprehensive examinations may be taken only after all coursework has been completed. Well prior to the time planned for the exam, the student should select three areas in which to be examined. These areas are:
- Literary theory and practice as applied to a general list of authors and texts
- A broadly defined area of literature (for example, Romanticism, Nineteenth-Century English Fiction, Twentieth-Century American Poetry)
- A narrowly focused field of study (for example, the novels of Henry James, the major Metaphysical Poets, non-Shakespearean drama of the sixteenth century). We recommend that the third comprehensive examination be relevant to the dissertation topic.
The student should then select and contact three faculty members with expertise appropriate to the three areas chosen to serve as examiners. Each area exam will be based on a reading list prepared by the student and the individual examiners and approved by the director of Graduate Studies in Literature. After the three areas and the examiners are chosen and the reading lists for the exams approved by all committee members and the director of Graduate Studies in Literature, the student should obtain a comprehensive exam application, approval, and tentative scheduling form from the Director of Graduate Studies in Literature, making sure that the completed, signed form is on file in the English Graduate Office.
On the days of the examination, the student will have three hours to write each exam. Upon completion of the written exams, the student will present a single oral defense of the written comprehensives before a committee composed of the three examiners. Examinations will test the student’s ability to recall significant features of subject matter, to know and apply critical scholarship pertinent to the topic, and to organize and articulate this critical knowledge in effective written and oral performances. If any or all of the examinations are failed, they may be taken a second time, generally no earlier than one semester and not later than one year after the first attempt. Students must be reexamined in the same area as the original examination. Selection of a different area in lieu of the failed examination is not permitted. Failure to pass all exams after two attempts will result in dismissal from the program. A more detailed information sheet on the exams is available in the English Graduate Office.
