The First Two Years

Course requirements for the two general programs of study in either Plan A Slavic Literatures or Plan B Slavic Linguistics are normally fulfilled during the first two years of study. All students are required to take the Proseminar and Old Church Slavonic, the former in the first term of the first year.

Plan A

• Slavic languages and literatures with concentration on the study of literature. The candidate will choose one major Slavic language and literature and a minor field, which can be another Slavic language and literature, another European language and literature, Slavic linguistics and language pedagogy, Russian and East European history, or comparative literature (six courses in the major field and four in the minor field). Additionally, one other Slavic linguistics course is required.

Plan B

• Slavic languages and literatures with concentration on the study of Slavic linguistics. The candidate will choose one Slavic language as the major, a second one as one minor, and two courses in a related elective field as the second minor (four courses in the major field and four in the minor fields). Additionally, Introduction to Comparative Slavic Linguistics, Introduction to Linguistics, and one other Slavic literature course are required.

For more detailed information, students are referred to the Graduate Program Requirements document, available in the department office and on the Web.

Good Standing

• The minimum standard set by the department for satisfactory work by graduate students is an A-/B+ average (as many As as Bs) in the courses that count toward degree requirements. Students who fall below this level must, in the following term, demonstrate their ability to meet this minimum. Students are allowed only one Incomplete at a time. Only students who remain in good standing are eligible to take the PhD general examinations.

Language Requirements

• Before the candidate is eligible for the general examination, a reading knowledge of both French and German must be demonstrated, and departmental requirements in the major Slavic language and in the minor Slavic language or languages (one for candidates who have chosen a second Slavic field under Plan A, two for Plan B) must be satisfied. (See the Graduate Program Requirements document, available in the department office, for more specific details.)

Policy on Incompletes

• Students may have one Incomplete in a term and must ask the director of graduate studies’ permission. They must make clear that this will be the only Incomplete requested that term. The Incomplete must be made up by the end of the next term. Students may not request another Incomplete until the one outstanding has been made up. In addition, students may not begin their minor or major general examinations if they have an Incomplete in the field to be examined. To be eligible to teach, students must not have any Incompletes in their required courses.

Other Requirements

• Out of the sixteen half-courses required, at least two must be seminars or conference courses, which involve the writing of a substantial research paper. 100-level courses in literature may be counted for graduate credit with permission of the chair and the professor involved, and on condition that a graduate-level paper be submitted as part of the coursework. All sixteen half-course requirements must be completed with a grade before proceeding to the general examinations.

Master of Arts (AM)

• The department does not admit candidates for a terminal AM degree. PhD candidates may, however, apply for an AM degree after having completed, with satisfactory grades, eight half-courses that satisfy department requirements. The degree may also be offered to students unable to complete the PhD.

Teaching

• As part of their preparation, candidates are expected to teach within their areas of specialization. Teaching is supervised by members of the department and includes a program of teacher training.

Advising

• Through the pre-generals period and until the time a prospectus is approved, the director of graduate studies advises all graduate students. When a student submits his or her prospectus to the department, however, she or he also names an advisor to direct the dissertation as first reader, and second and third readers as well. Once the department approves the prospectus, the student will work with these three faculty members (at least one of whom must be a department member) as needed throughout the dissertation process. At the beginning of each term, the director of graduate studies is responsible for meeting with all the graduate students and signing their study cards.

General Examinations

• Before proceeding to write a dissertation, the candidate must pass the general examinations, which will be offered only during the fall and spring terms. The minor examination may be taken after the candidate has satisfied all course requirements. A student who intends to stand for the major examinations must submit a formal application to the director of graduate studies no later than the term preceding the one in which the examinations are to be given. A student should aim to pass the general examinations by the beginning of the fourth year.

Plan A: Literature

Part 1. A minor field portfolio and collective presentation.
Part 2. A three-hour written examination on the whole literature in the candidate’s major language. This is taken no more than one month before Part 3.
Part 3. A two-hour comprehensive oral examination centering on (although not limited to) five “fields” in the candidate’s major literature; the fields are to be chosen by the candidate in consultation with the director of graduate studies.

Plan B: Linguistics

Part 1. A two-hour written examination testing the candidate’s knowledge of Slavic linguistics from a comparative-historical or contrastive perspective.
Part 2. A three-hour written examination on the linguistics of the candidate’s major language in the context of the Slavic family. This is taken no more than one month before Part 3.
Part 3. A two-hour comprehensive oral examination centering on (although not limited to) five “fields”; the fields are to be chosen by the candidate in consultation with the professors in the department.

Dissertation

• A dissertation prospectus must be submitted for review and approval by all members of the department, ideally after three and a half years, but no later than the end of four and a half years.
• The dissertation must give evidence of original research or of original treatment of the subject and must be in good literary form. The dissertation should be completed within three years after the general examinations. One bound and one unbound boxed copy of the dissertation, with the department’s signed Dissertation Acceptance Certificate, must be delivered to the registrar of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences by the deadline established for each degree conferral date. The final manuscript should conform to the requirements described in The Form of the PhD Dissertation.

Dissertation Defense

• A candidate for the PhD must present the major findings of the dissertation in a formal two-hour oral defense as the final requirement for the degree. The defense may be arranged only after a complete draft of the dissertation has been approved by the PhD dissertation committee, subject to recommended revisions.