PhD REQUIREMENTS

MA Level Pre-requisites:
Since courses in Bibliography and Research and Literary Criticism are normally part of an MA program, students admitted to the PhD program must take them for no credit in their first year of doctoral study if they cannot demonstrate (e.g., by their transcript) that they have mastered the material covered in such courses.

Credits, Residency, and Grades:
The PhD requires a total of 90 graduate credits beyond an MA or MS degree; the Graduate Division requires a minimum of 135 graduate credits, of which a maximum of 45 may be earned at the MA level. Credits earned for the Seminar in Teaching do not count toward the PhD.

Students must maintain residency at UC for 3 of 5 consecutive full-time quarters (12 graduate credits each quarter).

Of the 90 required credits, at least 54 must come from graduate courses passed with a grade of A or B; the C grade is not acceptable for the PhD. Students may also take up to 36 credits of research (12 credits per quarter per year), of which 8 credits may come in the form of teaching internships. PhD students who have been admitted to candidacy are encouraged to refine their teaching skills through such internships.

Introduction to Graduate Study and Professional Practices:
Introduction to Graduate Study (1 credit) will be offered every autumn quarter to orient incoming students at both the MA and the PhD level; Professional Practices (1 credit) will be offered every spring quarter. The former introduces students to the expectations of the University, College, and Department, helping them adapt to graduate study. The latter prepares students for the job market by guiding them in the preparation of a professional portfolio that demonstrates teaching, writing, and research competencies.

Major Field and Dissertation Area:
The Department offers four areas of study: Spanish European Studies, French European Studies, Latin American Studies, and Francophone Studies. PhD students will select any two of these four areas as subjects for the Candidacy Exams. Early in their doctoral programs students will select the Dissertation Area (two exams in the principal field of research, one general, one specialized) and the Related Field (one general exam), both choices limited to the four areas above.

In the Dissertation Area, a minimum of six graduate courses (24 credits) is required to prepare students for the first two Candidacy Exams, the ones focusing on the Dissertation Area. Working closely with faculty, students will develop two reading lists that will form the basis of these exams. Each list will consist of 35-100 items, of which at least 20 must be primary texts.

Related Field and Support Area:
In the Related Field, selected from among the four departmental areas, a minimum of four graduate courses (16 credits) is required to prepare students for the third and last of the Candidacy Exams, the one focusing on the Related Field. Working closely with faculty, students will develop a reading list that will form the basis of the third exam. This list will consist 35-100 items, of which at least 20 items will be primary texts.

Minor Field:
PhD students are expected to take at least three courses (12 graduate credits) at the 600-level or above to constitute a Minor Field. The Minor Field could be one of the two departmental areas not chosen by the student as a Dissertation Area or Related Field. It can also consist of courses taken outside the Department in such fields as literary criticism, pedagogy, women's studies, European studies, history, international relations, art history, instructional technology, or English as a foreign language.

Comprehensive Reading Knowledge of a Third Language:
While students will have mastered two languages in the course of their MA programs, reading knowledge of an additional language (German, Latin, or a Romance language) is required for the PhD.

PhD Candidacy Exams:
Students must demonstrate their mastery of primary materials, thorough knowledge of secondary materials, and broad understanding of current directions in scholarship.

PhD Dissertation:
Substantial, original research giving evidence of high scholarly achievement is required. In principle, the PhD dissertation should be finished within one year in three quarters of research totaling 36 hours. Candidacy expires four years after students pass the Candidacy Exam.