Student Requirements
A. Coursework and Teaching Field Courses
Literature graduate students must take 12 required seminars. Students who have completed a master's degree before admission into the Program may apply to reduce the requirement to 10 courses.
Students must take at least 7 courses in the Literature Program. In addition, students are required to take at least 5 courses in a coherent teaching field of their choice; these fields may be developed by the student but they often represent a standard, MLA-legible field.
There are no restrictions on the number of undergraduate courses a student may take outside the Literature Program during his or her graduate career. The approval of the DGS must be sought in such cases, and in any case Graduate School Regulations only allow 2 such courses to count toward the fulfillment of coursework requirements. Undergraduate Literature courses, however, do not give credits toward the Ph.D. in Literature. In general undergraduate courses tend to be limited to relevant language courses.
B. Mandatory first-year courses
At present all first year students are required to take Literature 303 (History of Criticism) which is generally offered every fall. Years in which Lit 303 is not offered, students will be required to take it during their second year.
C. Language Requirements
The Program requires two languages other than English. As a rule, one of these languages should be developed to a high degree of proficiency, the other to the level of solid reading competence. Admission to the Program includes recognition that one language has already been acquired before arrival. When a student can show that he or she already has reached the level of fluency in two other languages before arriving into the Program, and can provide documentation for this, all further language requirements are waived.
Students who need to improve their second language are advised to take an intensive graduate reading course in that language. In most cases, however, students are encouraged to take language courses for two or three consecutive semesters in order to reach higher levels of proficiency. For students with the necessary background, an undergraduate literature course may be a more relevant way of fulfilling the language requirement. Languages should be completed before the prelims, just like coursework.
Be aware that should you intend to work substantially in a foreign language—even if only on the level of theory produced in that language—you may be expected by hiring committees to have mastered at least a functional use of the language. Writing substantially on works in foreign languages usually will be understood to mean you are fairly fluent in the language.
Summer reading knowledge classes are enabled and funded by a combination of the Program and the graduate school. There are also the normal language courses to be taken during the academic year.
D. Incompletes
Incompletes are generally not an acceptable way of phasing course work over the vacations. The Graduate Bulletin states that “I” grades indicate that “some portion of the student’s work is lacking, for an acceptable reason.” GPL students should realize (1) that even when the work is completed, the record of an Incomplete remains on the transcript; and (2) that an accumulation of several Incompletes is reason for serious concern about the progress toward the degree. No student with outstanding Incompletes will be allowed to present him- or herself for the preliminary examination in Literature.
Students should also note that if an Incomplete is not removed one calendar year after it was first recorded, it becomes a permanent part of the record. The Graduate School strictly enforces this one year rule, and will not accept faculty requests on behalf of students for special consideration.
All incompletes must be finished before one can take his or her prelims. Whether or not taking incompletes is a good idea depends very much upon what kind of worker you are and what you plan to do with the project in the extra time allotted. Talk with faculty and other students about this. In any case be aware that not every professor will allow you to take an incomplete.
E. Independent Studies
Students can take up to three independent studies over the course of their careers. Students have to complete the “Independent Study Notification Form” every time they take an independent study and it must be signed by the DGS. Supplies of these forms are kept in the DGS Assistant’s office.
F. Interinstitutional Registration (Duke/UNC/NCSU/NCCU)
The Registrar requires students to follow a special procedure when they register for courses at other Triangle universities (UNC, NCCU, NCSU). Forms and information are available at the Registrar's Office. You’ll need approval from Lit’s DGS & the professor of the course.
G. Double Submission of Papers
In January 1988, the Program Faculty established a policy on the double submission of seminar papers. It was agreed that this practice will only be permitted under the following conditions. Any student considering double submission will have to provide a written explanation of why double submission is appropriate and in what ways the paper will address the subject matter of two different seminars. This statement should be submitted to the two instructors involved, who will register their acceptance of the proposal by their signatures. The statement should then be returned to the Director of Graduate Studies, at least four weeks before the paper is due. The paper must be double the normal length.
II. EXAMS
1. The Preliminary Examination
After students have completed their coursework, typically in the third year, they will take a preliminary examination. This examination will involve the writing of two four hour take home “papers” in response to questions developed by the student’s committee. The written component of the exam will be followed by an oral defense to be scheduled within thirty days, except under extraordinary circumstances. The entire examination will be overseen by a 4 or 5 person committee (a minimum of 3 members of the committee must be on the Literature faculty) drawn up in accord with Graduate School and GPL Regulations. The chair of this committee should be either a faculty member with expertise in the teaching field or the likely chair of the student’s dissertation committee.
Students will nominate the members of their committee to the DGS at least
6 months before the exam, and must obtain approval of the DGS and the
Dean of the Graduate School before they can proceed to work with this
committee.
Paper One will deal with a currently established academic field in which
the student plans to do his or her teaching.
Paper Two will deal with a coherent field of study in which the student
plans to do further research. Normally, this paper will focus on material
likely to be the basis of the student’s dissertation.
Each of these areas will be defined by a reading list of 30-50 items drawn up on consultation with the chair of the student’s preliminary examination committee.
2. The Dissertation Workshop
When the student is ready to proceed to the dissertation project, she or he will submit to the committee a dissertation prospectus, a bibliography, and a sample chapter. The student will meet with this committee and can proceed officially with her/his dissertation research only if the dissertation committee has indicated in writing that it is satisfied collectively with the materials presented at this workshop.
3. Dissertation Defense
There will be a dissertation defense based on current rubrics. An Intention to Receive Degree form must be filed prior to scheduling defense. The Graduate School provides rules governing this process found in the Guide for the Preparation of Theses and Dissertation. These regulations, which are very strict, cannot be changed by the DGS. All students are required to familiarize themselves with this process well before they intend to submit their dissertation. Students should note that these rules include detailed instructions on layout, footnotes, and citation techniques for the dissertation.
III. MENTORING AND TEACHING
1. Mentoring
The Program has overlapping mentoring resources for the students in their first two years. In the first year, the professor to whom the student is assigned as research assistant functions as mentor. In the second year, similarly, the professor for whom the student is teaching assistant functions as mentor. The Director of Graduate Studies is also available to all students for advice and guidance. By the third year students should have formed relationships with faculty who will serve on the students exam and dissertation committees. These faculty function as mentors.
2. Teaching
Students are generally assigned to be a teaching assistant in their second year. The DGS, cooperating with the DUS, is responsible for the distribution of available teaching slots. We try, as far as possible, to match students’ interests with the teaching available.
Students in their third and fourth years are generally able to teach their own course. Students with special teaching needs or wishes should consult the DGS at the earliest opportunity. In general, students should be aware of the fact that teaching opportunities are a function of the DGS’s budget procedure, which starts in October every year. It is useful for the DGS to know by early October what teaching needs the students might have in the following academic year. The DGS has little power to find teaching for anyone once the budget allocations have been finalized, usually in early April every year.
IV. FUNDING
1. Funding beyond the Fifth Year
The GPL makes no guarantees of funding beyond the fifth year to any incoming students. GPL students beyond year 5 may be offered teaching or research opportunities as they become available on an ad hoc basis.
The following are the primary funding outlets for GPL students beyond their funding eligibility:
1. Senior fellowships (these are few and highly competitive). See below
for details.
2. Teaching in the University Writing Program. On recommendation from
the DGS.
3. Teaching in other departments. Such teaching should be reported to
the DGS (for statistical purposes), but the DGS exercises no authority
in relation to teaching obtained in other departments by students to whom
the GPL has no funding commitment. Since the GPL has a funding commitment
to students in years 1-5, such students may not teach in other departments
without prior permission of the DGS. The Graduate School does not allow
‘double-dipping’ for students on fellowship support, and students
who obtain income from other Duke departments beyond their fellowship
support without prior permission are usually expected to reimburse the
Graduate School for the surplus amount.
2. Senior Fellowships
Anyone who will be ABD (having passed their preliminary exam) by the end of an academic year may be eligible for a senior fellowship. At Duke these are the Final Year Dissertation Fellowship, the Duke International Fellowship and the Named Instructorship. These Fellowships are announced every year in late October. Applications are made through the DGS’s office. Note that there is usually a very short deadline between the announcement of the Fellowships and the deadline for applications. Students who intend to apply for these fellowships should therefore prepare their applications well in advance. Previous years’ announcements are available in the DGS assistant’s office.
Every year the DGS convenes an ad hoc fellowship committee to nominate the top candidates from the Literature Program. Successful candidates may expect to hear the results in December or January.
3. External Funding
GPL students have often been successful applying for fellowships outside of Duke, and are encouraged to apply for such funding. Information is regularly circulated and posted by the DGS, and the Graduate School Financial Aid web site has links to fellowship and research opportunities.
External grants or fellowships does not change or extend the departments guarantee of 5 years of funding (whether from external or internal sources). In order to encourage students to apply for external funding, however; the department has established the following structure:
- 1 yr of support ~ student receives full funding for 1 semester in the 6th year with no work assignment.
- 2 yrs of support ~ student receives full funding for both semesters of the 6th year.
- 3 or more yrs of support ~ the department will pay the students fees.
4. Travel Support
The Graduate School will often support a part of the travel costs of a student delivering a paper at a conference, provided that the appropriate forms (Conference Travel Fellowship Application) are filed on time. To be eligible, a student must have passed the Preliminary Examination.