Graduate

All students in the English Graduate Program who intend to complete the requirements for a doctoral degree must pass the qualifying examination. Students who began their graduate work at the University must pass this examination in the spring semester of their second year of graduate study in English. With the consent of the graduate adviser, students who enter the program with a Master of Arts in English from another university may be exempted from the examination; such students who have not been exempted from the examination will normally take it in the first spring semester of graduate work in English at the University.

The qualifying examination will consist of an evaluation of students' progress in their graduate study and their preparation for completing the doctoral degree. This review will be based on a portfolio that students will compile before the beginning of the semester in which they must pass the examination and that they must submit to the graduate office on or before the first class day of that semester. This portfolio will consist of the following material:

1) A cover sheet that lists the contents of the portfolio and will record the results of the examination.

2) Personal statement from the student discussing his or her experience in the University's English graduate program and plans for completing the doctoral degree.

3) Transcript of the student's graduate course work in English at the University and, if relevant, at other universities.

4) Two or three writing samples, chosen by the student, that represent his or her critical and analytical ability in the field of English. Normally, these will be seminar papers from graduate seminars taken at the University.

5) Brief written reports from members of the GSC with whom the student has taken seminars offered by the English graduate program. These reports will discuss the student's performance in that graduate seminar and assess the student's ability to complete the doctoral degree in English. Students will choose which GSC members will prepare these reports, and they are responsible for including them in their portfolio. Students who began their graduate work in English at the University will include three such reports in their portfolio; those who received their MA degree at another university, and who have not been exempted from the examination, will include one.

These portfolios will be evaluated by a faculty member of the GPC, assigned by the chair of the GSC in consultation with the graduate adviser. After the review is complete, students will meet with the reviewer to discuss their record of work and prospects for completing the doctoral degree. After this meeting, the reviewer will submit to the graduate office a brief written report that recommends whether or not the student should continue in the program and stating particular strengths or weaknesses. This report will also be shared with the student, who may, if dissatisfied, submit a written response to the graduate office. In every case, the GSC chair and graduate adviser, after taking the report of the reviewer and response, if any, from the student into consideration, will determine if a student has passed the examination and will continue in the program.

Adopted by the GSC, for one year, 8 May 2007