Ph.D. Program
OBJECTIVES
The Ph.D. program in Romance Languages is designed to provide
students with:
-
A thorough familiarity with several fields (a movement,
a genre, a period, a literary problem, etc.);
-
The opportunity to situate the studentıs special interests
in the wider context of Romance languages and literature,
as well as in that of trends inside and outside Western
European culture;
-
The tools necessary to engage literary issues at a high
level;
-
The ability to examine new and challenging literary or
theoretical perspectives.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE Ph.D. DEGREE
I. Coursework
Students must complete at least 20 graduate seminars in
the department (at least 80 credits in all) beyond the B.A.
Ph.D. students must thus take at least 8 graduate courses
(32 credits) beyond the 12 courses (48 credits) required
for the M.A. Only one of these 8 may be satisfied in the form
of an independent study or "Reading and Conference"
course (see Appendix A).
Of the 20 courses (80 credits) 3 (12 credits) must be
taken in a second Romance Language.
Up to 3 of the 20 courses ( 12 of the 80 credits) may
be taken outside of the department, with the authorization
of the advisor, and provided that they bear directly on
the studentıs program of study.
Graduate students admitted to the UO Ph.D. program with
an M.A. in French, Spanish, Italian, or Romance Languages
from the University of Oregon may count toward their Ph.D.
course requirements a maximum of two graduate courses completed
during their M.A. programs, provided that these courses have
not been counted toward fulfillment of the M.A. requirements.
The total number of credits in Romance Languages after the
B.A. must in any case be at least 80.
Graduate students admitted to the UO Ph.D. program with
an M.A. in French, Spanish, Italian, or Romance Languages
from another institution must take a minimum of ten graduate
courses (40 credits) in the Romance Languages Department.
The Graduate Committee will evaluate the courses students
have taken toward their M.A. and will determine whether additional
courses are necessary to fill any gaps in studentsı preparation.
This may result in a studentsı taking more than 10 courses
(40 credits) at the UO, with a required maximum of 17 (68
credits).
Where the M.A. is found to be seriously deficient, or
has been taken in another field, the Graduate Committee
reserves the right to admit the student into the M.A. program
instead. In this case students may petition to transfer
a maximum of three courses towards the 12 courses required
for the M.A. This petition may be filed when the student
has completed four graduate courses in the Romance Languages
M.A. program with a grade of B or better.
II. Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam (oral and written)
Students entering the Ph.D. program should develop, as soon
as possible but no later than the third quarter of course
work beyond the M.A., a field of interest that will form the
basis of their research for the Ph.D. comprehensive examinations
and ideally for the dissertation. This special field of interest
will emerge from their choice of courses, and will shape the
areas of concentration represented on their comprehensive
exams.
The comprehensive exam consists of three exams (two written
and one oral), and will cover different subfields that pertain
to the studentıs special field of interest. The subfields
should be defined and prepared with three members of the RL
faculty who will constitute the Ph.D. exam committee. (One
of these three faculty members should represent the studentıs
second Romance language. A fourth member could be added from
outside the department.) Students create a reading list for
each of the subfields, and these must bear directly on the
special field of interest.
The written exam will take the form of essays that respond
to two questions formulated by two members of the Ph.D. exam
committee. Each written exam will cover one or more of the
subfields and will be a maximum of 20 double-spaced, typed
pages. The student will have two weeks to write each of the
essays.
Two weeks after the successful completion of the written
essays, the student will take an oral exam. The oral exam
will attempt to integrate the areas addressed in the written
exams with the other facets of the studentıs declared special
field of interest. The oral exam will take the form of a two-hour
conversation between the candidate and his/her committee members
examining and elaborating the ways in which the two written
exam essays and the other subfields converge in the studentıs
special field.
Normally undertaken during the fifth term of study following
the M.A., the comprehensive exam should result in a clarification
of both the subject matter of the dissertation and possible
approaches to it. The exam should, in other words, yield at
least a tentative dissertation topic. N.b. It is the responsibility
of the student to schedule both the written and the oral portions
of the comprehensive exam.
III. Dissertation Prospectus
The prospectus is normally completed during the sixth term
of study following the M.A. It should define the scope of
the dissertation and demonstrate the originality of the project.
The student will submit the 5-8 page prospectus, and a bibliography
of primary and secondary material, to the faculty members
whom the student wishes to ask to serve on his or her dissertation
committee.
IV. Dissertation
The dissertation should constitute an original and valuable
contribution to scholarship on the studentıs special field
of interest. It should be characterized by mature literary
interpretation, informed and reasoned argument, and an awareness
of the means and goals of research. It is the studentıs responsibility
to ascertain the rules and deadlines of the Graduate School
for proper filing of the dissertation.
V. Final Oral Thesis Defense
When all members of the dissertation committee have approved
the dissertation, a public oral defense of the work will be
held. The dissertation committee, other faculty members, and
the general public may question the candidate regarding the
workıs implications and its future.
FUNDING
All post-M.A. work, including the dissertation, is normally
completed in 3 to 4 years of study. Students entering the
UO Ph.D. program with an M.A. from UO are normally eligible
for a maximum of three years of funding after the M.A. Students
entering the UO Ph.D. program with an M.A. from elsewhere
are normally eligible for a maximum of four years of funding.
Ph.D.. students making satisfactory progress toward the degree
are eligible for funding packages in the form of graduate
teaching fellowships. Graduate teaching fellowships include
stipends for teaching, as well as tuition waivers. ³Satisfactory
progress² entails completion of all courses taken for credit,
with a grade of B or better; completion of the M.A. essay;
the passing of the M.A. exams; the passing of the Ph.D. comprehensive
exams; the timely submission of an acceptable dissertation
prospectus; regular and timely progress on the dissertation
itself. Approved by the Department on January 13, 1994
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