The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is awarded to those who have demonstrated their command of an important body of knowledge and their ability to conceive and complete a significant research project. Although students must fulfill certain requirements in course work and foreign language proficiency, their main responsibility is to learn the material, to demonstrate mastery of it by passing the written and oral parts of the Qualifying Examination, and to develop the skills needed to write the dissertation so that they will become effective teachers and scholars. The graduate faculty in English stands ready to give advice and assistance, but much of the work must be done through private study.
The requirements for the degree as established by the Department of English are presented below. All students must also fulfill the University regulations stated in The Graduate School Bulletin, and every student is responsible for knowing what they are. The Department of English expects the student to maintain a grade point average well above the required 3.0 in courses taken for the MA and PhD degrees. Students currently average 3.7.
Once enrolled in the program, the student must make satisfactory progress toward the degree. Students not making satisfactory progress will be reviewed by the Graduate Committee and may be required to leave the program.
All incoming students will be assigned an advisor, if possible in the primary area of interest, to serve as an intellectual mentor. This advisor will guide the students' choices, especially regarding coursework, focusing on intellectual goals and preparation. When they are better acquainted with faculty, students should feel free to seek their own mentors if they wish, but they should make arrangements to meet regularly with whomever they choose.
The student must consult with the Director of Graduate Studies about forming an Advisory Committee when not more than 12 credit hours after the MA have been earned. The Committee will help thereafter in planning a program of courses and directing the dissertation. It must be appointed no later than midterm of the second semester of residence and at least one year (two semesters) prior to taking the Qualifying Exams. The Advisory Committee consists of the following four members: the dissertation director as chair and major professor, two additional members of the Department of English in the area of specialization (if possible), and one member from a related department or area connected with the field of specialization. All members must have graduate faculty status. Three members must have full graduate status. The Advisory Committee will meet with the student at least once each academic year to review the student's progress and to give advice, particularly concerning preparation for the Qualifying Exam and the writing of the dissertation. See the Advisory Committee section of The Graduate School Bulletin for further information.
Students generally specialize in a historical period, although other choices are possible with the permission of the Advisory Committee.
The number of courses to be taken at the University of Kentucky will depend upon the student's background, but the minimum number beyond the MA is eight, and the maximum sixteen. Any appropriate ENG class at the 500-, 600-, or 700-level can count toward the Ph.D. History of the English Language, Bibliography and Methods of Research, and Old English (or other linguistics courses) might be appropriate for some students. Most students will satisfy their Ph.D. coursework requirement with ENG literature classes. A maximum of 2 courses from outside ENG (approved by the Graduate Committee) can be applied to Ph.D. coursework. ENG 609 and 610 are elective courses required for teaching in the Writing Program and in the introductory literature series, respectively. They are not required for graduation from the Ph.D. program, and they do not count toward Ph.D. coursework. The majority of the overall course work must be at the 600-700 level. ENG 780, Directed Studies, may be taken only with permission of the Director of Graduate Studies, and may not be used in satisfying the seminar requirement but may be used in satisfying a distribution requirement (described below) for the written Qualifying Examination. All students, wether MA or PhD, are strongly encouraged to consult with the Director of GraduateStudies to discuss their course of study at any time.
Students must take courses in four areas outside of their examination. Two of these areas must be historical periods; other areas include gender, women's literature, African-American literature, film, linguistics, English as a Second Language, composition and rhetoric, and critical theory. No required course may count toward these areas. Courses taken in a Master's program will count with the permission of the Director of Graduate Studies.
Each student must demonstrate an ability to read at least one foreign language. The ways the foreign language requirement can be fulfilled are outlined here. This requirement must be fulfilled and posted to the transcript before the Qualifying Exam.
When all requirements stated above have been met, the student proceeds to the Qualifying Examination. It consists of two parts: one written, the other oral. The oral exam will be a defense of the written exam. It will include all members of the Advisory Committee.
The Qualifying Examination is concerned with historical as well as aesthetic, cultural, and critical perspectives, relating texts or developments to contemporaneous trends in other areas of thought. It tests the student's ability to develop a reasonably extended and complex analysis of literary issues or questions--something that requires examination of a considerable body of evidence, choices of what evidence is relevant, establishment of distinctions and qualifications, and progress toward some conclusion. It tests the student's ability to see meaningful connections among texts, often within a larger contemporary context. It also focuses on critical tendencies and problems of literary interpretation.