PhD Requirements

Of the 72 credits required for the degree, students are expected to complete a minimum of 42 credits of graded coursework, including ENGL 8800 (Introduction to Literary Research) during the first semester, ENGL 8900 (Pedagogy) during their second semester, ENGL 9995 (Dissertation Seminar) during the sixth semester, and twelve courses at the 5000, 8000, or 9000 level of which one addresses a period of literature before 1700, one addresses a period of literature from 1700 to 1900, and one addresses the history of criticism or literary theory. Students are expected to audit two additional courses in their third year. Among the twelve courses and two audited courses, students are expected to enroll in three 9000-level seminars. Students specializing in medieval literature are expected to complete a minimum of one course in Old English. (On submission of this form signed and filled out by our DGS, MA-transfers typically receive credit for 6-8 courses from their previous graduate program.) Students who are enrolled in the PhD program, have completed all other requirements for the MA, and have passed at least one half of the PhD oral may apply for the MA degree.

In addition to the fourteen graded courses, all doctoral candidates are required to audit or sit-in on two courses during their third year of study, attending faithfully and meeting all requirements apart from the submission of major essays; course instructors must approve audit or sit-in status in advance and certify satisfactory participation. (See this page for the working distinction between authorized sit-ins and audits.) These two audits or sit-ins may be offered in fulfillment of distribution requirements.

Beginning in the second year, students register for 3-12 hours of Non-Topical Research (NTR) courses (ENGL 9998 / ENGL 9999), for a total of 30 NTR units. These courses do not actually meet like ordinary courses; instead, they are spaces in your schedule for research and writing. The precise course rubric and number of hours varies, but in every case these additional credit hours bring the total per semester up to 12. It is important to register accurately for these hours; please see the chart of MA/PhD enrollment patterns for the correct sequence of NTR courses.

Students are strongly advised to stay current with their work and to complete all courses within the time allotted. With the written agreement of the instructor, however, students may be given a grade of "Incomplete" in one course each semester. According to GSAS policy, outstanding work is expected to be completed by the end of the following semester, after which remaining incompletes automatically default to Fs. Under exceptional circumstances and with the instructor's approval, students may still complete the work and receive a letter grade after that point. Agreements between instructors and students regarding incompletes should include a specific due date and be placed on file with the Graduate Office. Students with more than one incomplete may find their registration blocked by the Graduate School and lose their teaching assignments. One or more Fs may cause the Graduate School to mandate a leave of absence, suspending enrollment and funding. In no case may a student with incomplete coursework sit for the PhD oral examination.

The Department requires that the candidate demonstrate either mastery of one foreign language or proficiency in two.

The candidate may demonstrate mastery

• by achieving passing grades in two semester-long graduate literature courses offered in the foreign language itself (not in translation) and taken at the University of Virginia. Such courses may also be counted toward completion of the course requirements for the PhD in English, if they are approved in advance by the Director of Graduate Studies

  or

• by passing an examination designed to ascertain the student's ability both to read critical and literary texts in the foreign language (with the aid of a dictionary) and to write discursively in that language.

Proficiency is demonstrated by passing an examination in each language, which is designed to ascertain the student's ability to translate prose with the aid of a dictionary.

The full foreign language requirement for the PhD must be completed before the student takes the doctoral oral examination. It is strongly recommended that students make plans early in graduate school for any extra study (including remedial or other course work) that may be necessary to meet this requirement. Eligibility for dissertation fellowships depends on completion of all requirements other than the dissertation.

Special Requirements for Medievalists

Preparation for writing a dissertation in medieval literature requires at least one course in Old English. The faculty strongly encourages study of Latin and other medieval European languages, and it admires the acquisition of further languages from other continents. In this spirit, medievalists are required to pass two exams at either proficiency or mastery level: 1. an exam in Latin, 2. an exam in another language useful to the dissertation work, whether Old French, Arabic, Old Norse, Middle High German, Greek, or any other chosen in consultation with the faculty chair of the medieval area. A student may choose to substitute a graduate course in the original language and literature for either exam requirement above, so long as a B grade or better is earned.

The students sits for oral examination in two areas. Further discussion of the content and purpose of the exams can be found *here.*  Beginning in January of the second year, at the latest, the student should consult faculty members in the appropriate areas and compile balanced and comprehensive reading lists of about forty-six works in each of two areas: an historical Period plus either an additional Period or a research and teaching Field.  Since the lists are intended to consolidate general mastery, they ought not to be narrowly tailored in line with particular thesis plans. The candidate should secure a copy of the application form for the oral examination either from this website or from the Graduate Office.This form should be filed initially by May 1 of the second year to indicate the two areas for examination. Then, in further consultation with faculty and after a summer's directed reading, the student should finalize the reading lists. The reading lists must then be approved by the appropriate faculty members and the Director of Graduate Studies and submitted by September 15, together with the application form, to the Graduate Office, at which time the Director of Graduate Studies assigns two faculty examiners. The Graduate Office will then contact the examiners to arrange a two-hour exam, typically late in the fall of the third year, although students are permited to take the exam earlier than this, if they wish and are prepared. Students are responsible for informing examiners and the Graduate Office of minor emendations in the lists.

PhD Committee:  As soon as possible after passing the orals, students secure three faculty members' agreement to serve on a committee for the dissertation project.  In most cases, this committee will consist of one director and two readers.

Preparation:  As part of the ENGL 9995 Dissertation Seminar, and in consultation with the dissertation committee, the candidate spends spring of the third year preparing a prospectus of 5-7 pages, plus an ample bibliography (of which fifteen entries are annotated).  The candidate is advised to think of the prospectus as belonging to the genre of the grant application, with a proposed outline of chapters and a clear statement of the place the proposed work will fill amidst other studies.

Approval of the Prospectus: In exchanges with each member of the dissertation committee, the prospectus is developed and readied for approval. Once the committee is satisfied that the prospectus lays the groundwork for a strong dissertation, the committee and the student meet for a formal defense of the prospectus. During the defense, the student outlines the rationale for the project as a whole and for each of its individual chapters, and the committee offers feedback intended to guide the research and writing of the dissertation. At this time, the committee issues its final approval of the prospectus. The committee and candidate should agree on an explicit plan for review and revision going forward; for example, committee members who are not the director may specify that they will read chapters only after one revision, or that members will take turns with first readings. The final acceptable date for securing all members' approval is June 1 of the third year of study, or in the case of MA transfers to the doctoral program, of the second year of residency. A hard copy of every accepted prospectus with completed prospectus-approval form should be brought to the Graduate Office for filing, also by June 1. Teaching beyond the third year and consideration for dissertation fellowships are contingent on timely submission of an approved prospectus.

In either the second semester of the fourth year or the first semester of the fifth, the student gives a forty-minute talk based on the dissertation to an audience of faculty and graduate students. A typical presentation begins with a concise outline of the project as a whole, followed by an illustrative excerpt taken from a single chapter. With the approval of the dissertatin director, the student may devise an alternative form for the talk. The talk is followed by a question and answer period. Neither an examination nor a defense, this is an occasion for students to share their scholarship in a formal venue, to obtain more varied reaction to it than their committee can provide, and to practice the kind of presentation usually demanded by a job talk. Presenters should prepare for this event well in advance by consulting with committee members and, if they wish, with the Director of Graduate Studies.

After passing the oral examination and making the thesis presentation, the student may submit the dissertation for final approval at any time within the period set by the Graduate School (i.e., seven years from the commencement of graduate studies). If the dissertation has not been completed within this time limit, the student may, with the written approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, petition the Dean of the Graduate School for an extension. In form, the dissertation should observe the stipulations of The MLA Style Manual, current edition. Deadlines and procedures for applying for a degree and submitting the dissertation, together with a sample title-page, may be found on the Graduate School web site, or on a sheet of guidelines which may be obtained from 438 Cabell Hall. Students should also obtain a Final Defense Form and four copies of the Doctoral Thesis Rubric, to be signed by committee members upon the completion of the defense and returned to the English Department graduate secretary.

The student should leave ample time (no less than three weeks) between submission of the dissertation to committee members and the date of the defense. Scheduled by the candidate, the one-hour defense involves the three English department members of the dissertation committee and one “outside” member from another department at the University of Virginia, who acts as a representative of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Typically, the "outside" member will not have been significantly involved in the development of the dissertation and will be recruited to the defense committee a couple of months before the defense itself. The director of the dissertation serves as chair. At the defense, students are asked to explain the central arguments and theoretical underpinnings of their project, to identify its contributions to the field, and to answer questions posed by the four committee members. Should the candidate fail the defense, the Department will reject the dissertation until it has been appropriately revised and the thesis successfully defended at a later date. After successfully defending the dissertation, the student completes any necessary revisions and uploads the dissertation to the University Library's digital depository, known as LIBRA, by the deadline imposed by GSAS. 

Here we describe the standard schedule of progress for doctoral students (revised schedule, effective spring 2018). Failure to meet the deadlines may result in the suspension of a student's financial support (fellowship and/or teaching). A student in most cases may resume that support after a year if the requirement has been met in the meantime.

• First year. Take three graded courses in both semesters, in addition to ENGL 8800 in the fall. Full-time students should enroll for a total of 12 hours each semester, consisting of NTR (Non-Topical Research) hours along with hours of graded courses. Typically a second-term first-year student will enroll for 3 graded courses of 3 hours apiece and 3 hours of an NTR "course," which in later terms may involve more hours. Students should concentrate on fulfilling distribution requirements, while also taking courses in an area of specialization. Students who have not yet met the foreign language requirement should make plans for any necessary language study and schedule any necessary exams.

• Second year. Take three courses in both semesters (and register each semester for 3 hours of the NTR course ENGL 9998). Students should complete the distribution requirements. PhD students in this year normally teach writing courses in conjunction with taking a required pedagogy seminar (ENGL 8800).  By the end of the fourth semester, students should complete the language requirement and identify two areas for their oral exam.

• Third year. Fall : Sit in on one graduate-level course (form provided) and register for twelve hours of the NTR course ENGL 9998; submit approved oral exam lists by September 15, and schedule the oral exam, typically for the latter half of the fall semester. Students should make every effort to take the exam before enrolling in the Dissertation Seminar in the spring, so as not to impede dissertation work. Students who do not take the examination before the end of this academic year will risk losing fellowship and teaching support for the next. Students who fail one or both sections of the exam will not have their support suspended, but must be re-examined in the failed area(s), typically before the spring break. PhD students in this year normally assist in one of the large undergraduate lecture courses (surveys, Shakespeare, or The Literature of the South).  Spring: Take ENGL 9995 (the Dissertation Seminar), sit in on one graduate-level course (form provided), and register for nine hours of ENGL 9998. Teach one course. During the third year, students form a dissertation committee (director and two readers), with a view to having a 5-7 page prospectus with annotated bibliography approved by June 1.

• Fourth year. Fall:  Register for twelve hours of NTR course ENGL 9998. Students become eligible to design their own introductory literature seminar (ENGL 2500s).  Subject to departmental needs, fourth-year students and third-year transfer-students may opt to teach both of their courses during one semester of the year (either fall or spring), freeing up either the fall or spring semester for full-time dissertation work. Spring: Register for twelve hours of NTR course ENGL 9999. Students should continue work on the dissertation and consider going on the academic job market in the following fall-term. A standard expectation is that every student will have a full chapter of the dissertation complete by the end of fourth year; even earlier completion will aid further progress and put students in better position to seek supplementary grants. Students give a dissertation presentation, a formal talk based on the dissertation, to an audience of students and faculty either in the spring of the fourth year or the fall of the fifth year.

• Fifth year. Register each semester for twelve hours of ENGL 9999.  Students receive a non-teaching dissertation fellowship for the year. Students who did not deliver the dissertation presentation during the fourth year must do so by the end of fall semester. Those successful on the job market during this year should make every effort to complete the dissertation and defend it. Consult the GSAS website for the final deadline for uploading the dissertation to the University Library's digital depository (LIBRA) during the semester you intend to graduate. 

• Sixth year and following. Students who are making satisfactory progress on the dissertation are generally offered teaching assignments with wages (but no fellowship support) in the sixth year; depending on availability, students may be awarded teaching assignments in the seventh year. Select students receive Dissertation Completion Fellowships, which carry a reduced teaching load to facilitate dissertation writing. Each year, the Dean of Arts and Sciences and the English Department fund the Shannon Fellowship: a one-year teaching lectureship awarded to a newly minted Virginia PhD in English with faculty status and benefits. In addition, the English Department awards a number of preceptorships, which are full-time teaching positons with benefits, to recent graduates of the doctoral program. 

Placement in Higher Education Teaching and Research Positions: In the spring before the academic year in which they expect to finish their dissertations, doctoral candidates who plan to pursue academic careers should begin preparing to enter the job market. The departmental Director of Placement works with job candidates to assemble their dossiers, compose their letters of application, and prepare a representative sample of their writing for prospective employers. Such preliminary work should be completed by the end of September, when the Modern Language Association's Job Information List appears. Later in the year, the Placement Director helps candidates to prepare for interviews, which are usually conducted either at the MLA convention in January or throughout the spring semester. (The Department offers grants of $150 to defray the expenses of job candidates who have secured MLA interviews.)

 Placement in Other Academic and Non-Academic Areas: During their pursuit of the PhD, some students find themselves drawn to academic careers beyond strictly teaching and research positions, such as those in university administration, student advising, university humanities foundations, and library or research administration. Others are attracted to work outside the academy--for example, in publishing, secondary education, public service, the information industry, and indeed in all fields where the ability to gather and analyze information and present the results in clearly written form is highly valued. Others find that the decreasing availability of research and teaching postions means that they may ultimately build careers in one or more of these areas. For those who do, the Modern Language Association can assist with various resources, including job counseling at the annual convention. University Career Services is also available to help University of Virginia graduate students with non-academic placement.

Please see the webpage of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for information. http://graduate.as.virginia.edu/registration-procedures