2003-2005 - Graduate School - The University of Alabama

English139to take the general test of the Graduate Record Examination; the advanced (literature)portion is recommended but not required. Each applicant must submit a sample of hisor her critical writing (normally an essay of some 20 pages written for a course, or aportion of a master’s thesis) and must normally have a grade point average of 3.5 orbetter for his or her master’s courses or equivalent graduate work. Application materialsshould be received by February 21 to ensure full consideration for admission for thefollowing fall term.Courses. There is a minimum requirement of 30 hours beyond the master’s degree(earned here or elsewhere), of which no more than 15 hours can be at the 500 level.To meet University requirements, doctoral students must have 48 credit hours. Thismeans that 18 credit hours earned at the master’s level must be formally transferredand applied to the requirements for the doctoral degree. Only credit earned during thesix-year period preceding admission to the doctoral program may be considered fortransfer. If a student’s master’s degree is more than six years old at admission, therefore,that student may have to complete up to 18 additional hours of coursework. (Seethe “Transfer of Credit” section for doctoral degrees under “Academic Policies” in thiscatalog.) Doctoral students whose work at the master’s level does not meet the coursedistribution requirements of the de part ment’s M.A. program (see “Requirements for theM.A. Degree in English”) may be required to complete those distribution re quire mentswith courses taken toward the Ph.D. in addition to their regular coursework. Twenty-fourhours of dis ser ta tion research are also required.Foreign languages. The foreign language requirement may be satisfi ed by one ofthe following options:• A reading knowledge of two foreign languages: This reading knowledge can bedemonstrated by either of the following: (a) the certifi cation of at least a “B” averageor the equivalent in two years of study of a single foreign language completed, aseither an undergraduate or graduate student, within fi ve years of ad mis sion to thePh.D. program; or (b) passing the foreign language reading examination preparedby the Department of Modern Languages and Classics. The language used to satisfythe M.A. language requirement — whether gained here or at another school— can satisfy one of the languages required for the Ph.D. program. Students whoare not native speakers of English may use their native language as one of the tworequired languages.• Advanced proficiency in one foreign language: Advanced pro fi cien cy can bedemonstrated by (a) an undergraduate major in the language completed within fi veyears of admission to the Ph.D. program; (b) the certifi cation of at least a “B” in twoadvanced literature courses (400-level or higher) taught in the foreign language.Students who are not native speakers of English may use their native language tofulfi ll this requirement.To be formally admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, all students must receivea pass in EN 637, Workshop in Academic Writing, which will normally be taken in thefi nal year of coursework.Preliminary examination. After fi nishing coursework, the student must be formallyadmitted to candidacy for the degree. To meet this requirement, each student must passa written preliminary examination, and engage with his or her dissertation committee ina one-hour conference concerning the dissertation pro spec tus. The written preliminaryex am i na tion will be given at a date agreed upon by the student and his or her examinationcommittee in consultation with the director of graduate studies. The oral conferenceconcerning the dissertation prospectus can be scheduled after the student passes thewritten ex am i na tion, when the student and dissertation director agree that the prospectusis ready (date to be arranged by the student in consultation with the graduate studiesdirector and the dissertation committee). The examination and conference will be governedby the following guide lines:A. Written preliminary examination (see specifi c procedures for applied lin guis ticsand rhetoric and composition): The written pre lim i nary ex am i na tion will be of two to four