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2010-2013 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
English, Ph.D.
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Objective
The doctorate in the English Program prepares graduates for careers in teaching, research, and professional writing. Students will be exposed to and develop skills in quality research, critical analysis, and teaching/instructional methods. This last feature, unique to the program, is structured around a course sequence covering different aspects of university-level teaching. Graduates of the program will be expected to make significant contributions to the advancement of the knowledge of English through research and practical experience and to disseminate such knowledge through their teaching. Specifically, graduates of the program are expected to demonstrate the following:
- Ability to speak and write with perception about literature and literary theory;
- Competence in multicultural and gender studies;
- Expertise in producing selected forms of technical, creative, or screenwriting;
- Competence in research;
- Ability to develop instructional material and to demonstrate excellence in teaching at the college level; and
- General capacity to contribute to intellectual developments in their respective fields.
These goals will be achieved through a combination of courses in literary and cultural studies, writing, professional development, instructional techniques, research methods, and in the production of a written dissertation.
Program Overview
The student must complete at least 57 semester hours of graduate level course work, acquire a knowledge of one foreign language, pass written and oral doctoral examinations, and produce an appropriate dissertation.
Admission
Admission to the Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program in English is granted only in the fall semester, and in addition to satisfying the requirements of the School of Graduate Studies at Morgan State University, unconditional admission to the Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program in English may occur in two ways:
- Entry with the M.A. degree in English or in a closely related discipline from a regionally accredited institution and a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the M.A. degree work.
- Entry with a baccalaureate degree in English or in a closely related discipline from a regionally accredited institution, with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above. These applicants must also demonstrate satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
The Department strongly recommends a campus interview or video conference.
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Residency and Progress Toward the Degree
The student is required to spend one academic year in full-time doctoral residency of 12 semester hours for two consecutive fall and spring semesters (totaling 24 credits). Thereafter, the graduate student is expected to be enrolled for a minimum of three hours in consecutive regular semesters (fall and spring) until completion of the program and the awarding of the degree, unless a leave of absence has been granted by the School of Graduate Studies. Failure to maintain continuous enrollment may result in dismissal from the program.
All students in the Department of English are expected to make satisfactory progress toward the degree as specified by the designated program criteria. A student who does not make such progress may be dismissed from the program. In addition, graduate assistants who fail to make satisfactory academic progress will not have their assistantships renewed.
Foreign Language Requirement
The student, by passing a proficiency examination, must demonstrate a working knowledge of a foreign language that is not his or her native language. The foreign language may include French, German, Spanish, or Latin. The student should attempt to fulfill the foreign language requirement early in the Ph.D. program, but in all cases prior to taking the Ph.D. written and oral examinations. Upon written approval by the Department, students may substitute for any of the above languages one deemed essential to their research or field of major concentration.
The student may satisfy the foreign language requirement in the following manner.
Option I: Passing a departmental foreign language examination.
Option II: Enrolling in and earning a grade of “C” or higher in two intermediate foreign language courses (203-204) in the same language at the undergraduate level. Courses taken prior to acceptance and matriculation in the graduate program may not satisfy this requirement. (Graduate financial aid may not be applied toward these courses.)
Option III: Completing an approved study abroad program (minimum of six weeks), which includes formal enrollment in the study of a foreign language with evaluation of performance by authorized faculty of an accredited institution.
Departmental Reading Lists and Qualifying Examinations
In order for the student to develop self-direction in pursuing selected areas of study, the English Department will provide each student with lists of required readings, in each of the approved areas of specialization in the doctoral program. These lists, utilized in classes throughout the entire program, will be the basis for the Ph.D. qualifying examinations.
The student must pass a qualifying examination in the major and minor areas of concentration. While the examination of the major concentration must be both written and oral, that for the minor concentration may be written or oral, depending upon the preference of the student. A student is eligible to take these examinations only after completion of all of the required course work, excluding the 6 hours designated for the dissertation.
Dissertation
All students must write a doctoral dissertation (under the supervision of a research director and dissertation committee) that is an original contribution to knowledge and reveals a depth of research and critical ability.
Where appropriate, the dissertation may be an advanced creative project.
Admission to Candidacy
The student may apply for candidacy only after completing all specific course requirements, foreign language requirements, the examinations for the Ph.D. major and minor concentrations, the dissertation proposal, and outstanding incomplete grades. A formal petition for admission to candidacy must be filed, through the English department, with the School of Graduate Studies at least one semester prior to graduation.
Grades
The student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 for all graduate courses attempted at MSU.
A course assigned a grade of C or lower cannot be used to fulfill degree requirements.
If at any time the majority of the student’s dissertation committee determines that the student is not progressing satisfactorily on the dissertation, the student may be dropped from the Ph.D. program. The decision will be made only with the advice and consent of the majority of the members of the Departmental Graduate Committee.
Time Limitations
Students must finish the doctoral program within seven years, and they must complete the dissertation within five years after passing the written and oral examinations. If a student does not complete the dissertation within five years after passing these examinations, and prior to the seven years limitation above, the Graduate Committee will decide whether to recommend that the student be dismissed from the program for lack of satisfactory progress toward the degree or whether the student will be permitted to retake the above examinations in order to reestablish eligibility.
Use of Master’s-Level Courses
No more than 21 Master’s-level credits can be applied towards the Ph.D. program.
Introductory Courses: 9 Credits
Upon written approval of the Department, students who have completed these or equivalent courses in their M.A. programs, may take three other courses from the English Ph.D. program in lieu of these.
By the end of the first year of residency, all Ph.D. students are expected to complete the following courses:
Teaching, Technology, and Research: 6 Credits
Prior to the end of the second year of residency, the student must have completed two of the following courses (one from each subgroup), aimed at enhancing the doctoral candidate’s effectiveness in college teaching and in applying technology in the teaching situation.
Field of Major Concentration: 21 Credits
The field of major concentration will be one of three areas. However, only 6 hours of 500-level course work may be applied to the field of major concentration.
British and American Literature and Literary Theory
Multicultural and Gender Studies
(Selected courses with multicultural content from the above Literature concentration may be used to fulfill Multicultural and Gender Studies concentration requirements.)
Language and Professional Writing
Technical and Expository Writing
Screenwriting and Visual Story Telling
Field of Minor Concentration: 9 Credits
The field of minor concentration will be one of the above areas not selected as the field of major concentration. However, only 3 hours of 500-level course work may be applied to the field of minor concentration.
Electives: 6 Credits
Upon prior approval by the Graduate Committee, students may choose elective courses from related fields. (The form requesting an elective from a related field is available from the English Department web site or the Graduate Office.)
Electives are chosen from remaining courses in the English program, including
Dissertation Development: 6 Credits
Should the dissertation not be completed in the courses below, the student must register for ENGL 997 - Dissertation Guidance .
Neither ENGL 997 nor ENGL 999 may be used to complete the required 57 program credit.
The following optional courses may be taken, according to the student’s interest and need:
- ENGL 996 - Dissertation Development I
- ENGL 999 - Dissertation Development II
Additional Course:
One course is designed to help the student produce an appropriate dissertation, as follows:
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