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Graduate

PhD Degree

The requirements for the PhD degree consist of the following:

Course Work

The 72 credits of course work include 30 credits from MA studies, 24 credits of organized course work in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures before admission to candidacy, and 18 credits of additional course work, preferably for a certificate program such as cultural studies, film studies, women's studies, West European studies, or a related area, such as computer-assisted language learning. Eighteen of the 24 credits taken in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures must be taken for a letter grade. The grade policies of the certificate programs govern the remaining 18 credits of course work.

Language Requirement

Students must demonstrate a high level of oral proficiency in both English and German. (High proficiency is defined as a superior on the ACTFL OPI scale or a 3 or above on the ILR scale.) They must also demonstrate reading knowledge of another language.

PhD Comprehensive Examination

The PhD comprehensive examination consists of two parts that need to be completed during the second year of studies in the PhD program. In consultation with the student, the director of graduate studies convenes the examination committee consisting of a total of three graduate faculty members from the department. For both parts of the exam, students develop a topic and reading list, which needs to be approved by their examination committee. The first part is a written exam that lasts four hours. The chosen topic for this exam should demonstrate the student's foundation in German culture from the Enlightenment to the present. The second part is a two-hour oral examination in which the student presents a topic of his or her choice, studied in depth and covering a shorter time period. To prepare for each of the exams, students take a three-credit directed study with one of the three members of the examination committee. These directed studies count as course work. The PhD comprehensive examination needs to be completed with an average grade of A-. Each part of the examination may be retaken only one time and needs to be retaken by the next academic term. Before completing the PhD comprehensive examination, students have to submit to their examination committee two research/seminar papers that demonstrate their scholarly potential.

Dissertation Prospectus

Students need to submit their dissertation prospectus one term after completion of their PhD comprehensive examination. With the formal approval of a thesis prospectus (10–15 pages) by the doctoral committee, students are admitted to PhD candidacy.

Dissertation Thesis and Defense

Students writing dissertations must meet with their full doctoral committee once a year. The thesis must be approved by the doctoral committee after a public defense.

Certificate Program or Related Area

Students are expected to make progress on their chosen certificate program or related area while writing their dissertation.