2007-2008 Guidelines for the PhD in English

The English Department grants one doctoral degree, the PhD in English. Students may, however, emphasize in their courses, their exams, and their dissertations a variety of areas: all periods of British and American literature, Native American literature and language, creative writing, theory and criticism, screen studies, rhetoric and professional writing, composition and rhetoric, linguistics, and teaching English as a second language (TESL). They may also choose an interdisciplinary emphasis. In consultation with their advisory committees, students devise an individualized curriculum that reflects their own intellectual interests and professional goals.

The PhD degree consists of 60 credit hours beyond the MA degree. Fifteen to twenty of these hours are devoted to the dissertation. In addition to these hours, students must take the First-Year PhD Exam; demonstrate reading knowledge of two foreign languages or mastery of one language; pass the PhD Qualifying Examination in two areas; and pass an oral defense of the dissertation. A description of the degree requirements and regulations appears on the following pages.

Summary Checklist

By the end of the second full semester of enrollment, you should

• have chosen an adviser in your major area of study
• have chosen your advisory committee
• have met with your committee and discussed your Plan of Study
• have filed your Plan of Study
• have taken ENGL 5013: Introduction to Graduate Studies
• have taken the First-Year PhD Exam

Before taking your PhD Qualifying Examination, you must

• have enrolled in your last semester of course work
• have fulfilled the foreign language requirement
• have maintained a GPA of 3.5 or above on all graduate course work beyond the master's degree
• have filed an approved Plan of Study with the Graduate College and English Graduate Office
• have submitted to the English Graduate Office reading lists for two exam areas approved and signed by all members of each subject area
• have submitted a dissertation prospectus form to the English Graduate Office
• have submitted an "Intent to Take Qualifying Examinations" form to the English Graduate Office at least three weeks before the examination

Before you are eligible to graduate, you must

• have passed the PhD Qualifying Examination at least six months prior to commencement
• have completed and filed the Admission to Candidacy form with the Graduate College
• have filed a diploma application in the same semester you will graduate
• have submitted a revised Plan of Study, initialed by your adviser
• have submitted the defense copy (Final Draft) of your dissertation by the Graduate College deadline
• have passed your oral defense (Final Examination) and turned in the signed form to the Graduate College
• have submitted the final copy of the thesis/dissertation in accordance with the format guidelines at http://gradcollege.okstate.edu/student/thesis/default.html

Graduate College Rules and Regulations

There are many rules and regulations affecting graduate enrollment, tenure, examinations, theses, and dissertations that are made by the Graduate Faculty of Oklahoma State University rather than the English Department. Among the rules students should familiarize themselves with are those governing academic dishonesty or misconduct, especially those dealing with plagiarism. It is the student's responsibility to become informed about all English Department, Graduate College, and University regulations.

The Oklahoma State University Catalog should be read closely by all those who are thinking about, or participating in, graduate studies in English at Oklahoma State University. Copies are available free to all incoming graduate students at 202 Whitehurst.

First-Year PhD Exam

The First-Year PhD Exam is a five-hour exam that is administered on a single day. It is given as necessary each September and February, on the fifth Saturday of the semester. Students must submit to the English Graduate Office a signed notice of intent to take this exam, including an election of the fields in which they will test, by the last day of the last week of classes (dead week) in their first semester of full-time enrollment. Students take the exam in the following semester on the Stillwater campus. Each new PhD student takes this exam once and only once.

Exam Format. The exam contains three questions in each area for which a notice of intent has been filed. Students must respond to a total of three questions in two areas. The ten possible exam areas include the following.

1. British Literature: Old English to 1660 (including Milton)
2. British Literature: 1660-1900
3. American Literature: Colonial through 19th Century
4. Literature in English post 1900
5. Theory and Criticism
6. Linguistics
7. Composition and Rhetoric
8. Screen Studies
9. Technical Writing
10. Teaching English as a Second Language

Preparation. All exam questions are drawn from 15 question lists for each of the ten subject areas.   Students may obtain copies of these lists from the English Graduate Office. In preparing for the exam, students should consult with faculty members in the appropriate areas about test-taking strategies and readers’ expectations.

Evaluation. Each question will be evaluated by three readers from the specific subject area covered by that section of the exam. Student anonymity will be maintained. If a student answers two questions in a single area, the readers in that area will evaluate each question separately. All readers evaluate exam questions individually before meeting as a committee to discuss student performances and provide a rating of “Pass” or “Fail” for each question.

Notification of Results.  The Graduate Director will notify students of the results of the First-Year PhD Exam no later than four weeks after the exam has been taken. The English Graduate Office will mail the exam results to the student's home address and send a copy to the student's adviser.

Retakes.  There will be no retakes for this exam.

Full Admission. In any semester in which a student takes the First-Year PhD Exam, the Graduate Studies Committee will meet to review the results of that student’s exam along with course grades to date, and end-of-semester faculty evaluations. The Committee will decide on the basis of these materials whether to grant that student full admission to the PhD program. Although the Graduate Studies Committee will evaluate a student's entire dossier, a rating of "Fail" on two questions on the First-Year PhD Exam will be a strongly negative indicator, which will have to be countered by highly positive course grades and end-of-semester evaluations in order for the student to be granted full admission to the PhD program. Any student who fails all three questions on the First-Year PhD Exam will not be granted full admission to the PhD program. The Graduate Director will notify students of this decision by mail with a copy to the student's adviser.

Adviser and Advisory Committee

PhD students select an adviser and advisory committees that assist them in developing their Plans of Study and guide them in writing their dissertations.

Adviser.  Students should choose an adviser by the end of their first semester of course work, but if this is not possible, students should select an adviser by the end of their first year of graduate study.  An adviser of a PhD student must be a member of the graduate faculty of the English Department from the subject matter area in which the student plans to write the dissertation.

Advisory Committee. The doctoral advisory committee will normally consist of the student's major adviser as committee chair, two or three members of the English Department's graduate faculty, and member of the graduate faculty from outside the English Department. In cases where the advisor is untenured, a tenured member must serve as chair. At least one of the departmental members of the committee must be from outside the student's primary research area; for example, a student specializing in American literature would choose someone in the department who normally teaches British literature, screen studies, creative writing, TESL, linguistics, composition, or technical writing. The committee, therefore, consists of three or four members from the English Department and one from outside the department.

Changes.  To change an adviser or advisory committee, a student must request the change in writing to the English Graduate Director and provide reasons for the change. The Graduate Director will forward the request to the Graduate College for approval.

Plan of Study

PhD students must file a Plan of Study with the Graduate College prior to the completion of the 28th graduate credit hour of enrollment. 

Planning Meeting. No later than the student's second full semester of enrollment and prior to enrolling for the third semester, students should schedule a meeting with their advisory committee. During that meeting, the student and advisory committee will discuss the student's preparation, professional goals, and plans for doctoral study. The student and committee should agree upon a Plan of Study, the foreign language requirement, and tentative plans for the PhD Qualifying Examination and the dissertation.

Submitting the Plan of Study.  Students may download a Plan of Study form from the Graduate College web site, or pick up a paper form from 308M.  The student and committee will discuss the Plan of Study which the student completes in pen, informally. After the planning meeting, students will submit the hand-written form to the English Graduate Office.  The Graduate Unit Assistant will prepare a final copy of this form and return it to the student, who will then obtain signatures from all members of the advisory committee.  The student returns the signed form to the English Graduate Office for the Department Head’s signature.  The English Graduate Office then processes the completed and signed form for delivery to 202 Whitehurst.

Changes.  Changes to the Plan of Study can be made with the approval of the advisory committee and initialed by the adviser. A final, updated Plan of Study must be on file with the English Graduate Office and the Graduate College at the beginning of the semester in which the degree is to be conferred.

Ten-Year Rule.  A final Plan of Study may not include any course more than ten years old at the time of actual graduation.

Checklist for Submitting a Plan of Study

• Minimum of 60 hours beyond the master's degree
• At least 31 hours of course work at the 5000/6000 level, not including dissertation hours
• Minimum of 15 hours and a maximum of 20 hours of dissertation, with no more than 9 dissertation hours in a single semester
• All courses (including 4000 level) must be taken for graduate credit
• Maximum of 30 transfer hours, with no more than 9 credit hours from a non-doctoral granting institution
• No more than 9 hours may be taken as a special student
• No course work may be used to complete requirements for another degree
• The Plan of Study must be signed by the adviser, committee members, and the Department Head

Course Requirements

The PhD program consists of 60 hours of credit beyond the 30 hours that satisfy the requirements for the MA.   Of these 60 hours, a maximum of 20 hours are devoted to the dissertation. The following requirements govern PhD course work.

Introduction to Graduate Studies.  English 5013, Introduction to Graduate Studies (in Literature, TESL/Linguistics/Rhetoric and Professional Writing) is required of all students during their first year in the doctoral program. Students who believe that they have already taken a course equivalent to English 5013 may petition the Graduate Director to have that requirement waived. The student's petition should include a letter asking for the waiver and containing reasons for the request, a copy of the syllabus from the previous course, and any papers or assignments done for that course. The Graduate Director will then pass the request to those professors teaching English 5013 for an evaluation and written recommendation. Upon receiving the recommendation, the Graduate Director will affirm or deny the petition and notify the student and the student's adviser. Each case will be judged on its own merits, regardless of whether the same course number at the same institution has been recommended as an equivalent course before.

Methods Course for Teaching Assistants.  Teaching assistants must take an appropriate methodology course or courses in their first semester of teaching at Oklahoma State University. These hours may be counted as part of the total hours of course work.

Residency Rule. The University requires that doctoral students be in residence for a minimum of one year of the last two years of course work, and that a minimum of 30 semester credits be taken in residence at Oklahoma State University (i.e., 30 semester hours of credit approved by the Board of Regents for resident credit). Students may do research for the degree in absentia by writing a letter asking approval from the adviser and Dean of the Graduate College (a copy of the letter is given to the Department's Graduate Director).

Creative Writing Requirements. Creative writing students may take nine to fifteen hours of workshop or directed study in creative writing and fifteen to twenty hours for the dissertation. The remaining hours must consist of other appropriate and required departmental course offerings.

Suggested Literature Curriculum. To provide literature students the opportunity to focus on a specific area of literature or theory, and to ensure the breadth of knowledge that makes such specialization meaningful, the following distribution of courses is suggested, in addition to other degree requirements:

• nine hours in a primary area, leading toward the PhD Qualifying Examination and the dissertation
• nine hours in a second area, usually leading toward the PhD Qualifying Examination and related to the dissertation
• nine hours distributed among literature and theory courses not necessarily related to the PhD Qualifying Examination or the dissertation
• nine hours in different programs within the English Department--such as creative writing, film, rhetoric and professional writing, composition, linguistics, or TESL--or outside the department--such as history, philosophy, or sociology.

Rhetoric and Professional Writing Requirements. See the linked page for the curriculum for Specialization in Rhetoric and Professional Writing.

Required Hours at 5000/6000 Level.  Doctoral students must complete at least 31 course hours at the 5000/6000 level. This total may not include dissertation hours.

4000-Level Courses.  Only those 4000-level classes marked by an asterisk in the OSU University Catalog are available for graduate credit. All graduate course work should include a research paper or other appropriate project. In the instance of a 4000-level course that may not require such a paper or project, the student should, with the consent of the instructor involved, arrange for such a paper or project to supplement the assigned work. Because 4000-level courses are designed primarily for undergraduates, the Department strongly suggests that all graduate courses be at the 5000/6000 level.

Transfer Hours.  A student’s advisory committee will determine the number of transfer credit allowed (a maximum of 30 hours from another doctoral-granting institution, a maximum of 9 hours from a non-doctoral granting institution). Hours used toward another degree are not transferable.

Independent Study.  Independent study courses may be occasionally arranged with an instructor when no regular graduate course on the desired topic is available during the student's expected tenure. Each of the two course numbers (5210 and 6210) may be used for up to six hours credit per semester, and no more than nine hours total per course number. All students requesting an Independent Study course must hold a meeting with their advisory committee and receive approval by all departmental members of the committee.  Special forms must be used by those who wish to enroll in such courses. Available from the English Graduate Office, these forms should be submitted no later than the end of the first week of graduate enrollment prior to the semester in which the independent study class is taken. A student who has completed the 17th graduate credit hour in a degree program but who does not have an approved plan of study on file in the Graduate College may not arrange an Independent Study course.

The Graduate Studies Committee will evaluate applications for independent study in accordance with the following criteria and procedure:

1. Has the student's advisory committee approved the course?
2. Has the student taken regularly offered courses related to the subject?
3. Is the independent study unlikely to have a negative impact on enrollment in concurrent or immediately subsequent course offerings?
4. Does the independent study fill a gap in the student’s curriculum? Or is the specific course content unlikely to be offered during the student's expected tenure?
5. Are the text materials clearly listed?
6. Is the work appropriate for the number of credit hours requested?
7. Is the list of assignments and percentages awarded to each clearly explained?
8. Is the schedule of conferences sufficiently specific?

If all eight questions may be answered affirmatively, the Graduate Director will send a written notice of acceptance to the faculty member, who will then inform the student.

If one or more questions cannot be answered affirmatively, the Graduate Director will contact the faculty member in an effort to clarify and/or resolve the problem(s). If no resolution can be reached, the Graduate Director will inform the faculty member of the denial and the reason(s) for the denial in writing. The faculty member will then inform the student.

End-of-Semester Evaluations.  All graduate students will be evaluated in writing at the end of each semester by the professors with whom they have taken courses. These evaluations are kept on file in the English Graduate Office and are available for students to read.

Grade of "Incomplete."  The following regulations apply to students who receive the grade of "Incomplete" ("I") for any of their course work within the English Department:

• Students must make up the “I” within one calendar year, after which time, in accordance with University policy, the grade of “I” may not be changed. Individual faculty members, however, may establish a shorter time limit for making up the “I.” This shorter time period should be indicated on the back of the grade sheet along with the requirements for making up the incomplete.
• Teaching assistants or associates having more than three "I's" on their records will not be recommended for reappointment.
• Teaching assistants or associates having any "I's" on their records will not be recommended for summer employment.

The following appears in the current OSU Catalog: "This grade [I] is given to a student who satisfactorily completed the majority of the course work and whose work averaged “D” or better, but who has been unavoidably prevented from completing the remaining work of the course. The conditions, including appropriate time limits, for the removal of the “I” are indicated on the official class roll by the instructor. A condition that the student must repeat the course in order to remove the “I” is not permitted. The maximum time allowed for a student to remove an “I” is one calendar year. The dean of the student's college may recommend to the Office of the Registrar the adjustment of this period in exceptional circumstances. It is the responsibility of the student to satisfy the requirements stipulated by the instructor at the time the “I” is assigned; it is the responsibility of the instructor to initiate action to have the new grade entered as soon as possible after the student fulfills the requirement. The new grade does not result in the deletion of the “I” symbol from the transcript. Upon completion of the course requirements, a second entry is posted beside the original “I” on the transcript to show the final grade for the course.  The incomplete grade which is not removed within the allotted period becomes a permanent incomplete."

The Interdisciplinary Emphasis.  Students who choose to study in a second discipline may do so according to the following guidelines.

• Approximately one-third (up to 13 hours) of the course work may be taken outside the English Department.
• Extra-departmental courses may be taken from departments that offer graduate study, preferably the PhD.
• The other discipline pursued by a student must be related to and used in the dissertation, and a faculty member from the related department(s) must be on the advisory committee.
• Students may not use another discipline as an exam area.

Foreign Language Requirement

In order to fulfill the language requirement for the PhD, students must demonstrate either mastery of one language or reading knowledge of two languages by either passing a translation test or taking course work.  They may choose from among the following languages: French, German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Old English, Russian, and Spanish. If a student uses Old English to fulfill the foreign language requirement, Old English courses may count on the Plan of Study. It is important that students complete their language requirements early in their course of study so that they may use international scholarship in their research. The language requirement must be fulfilled before taking the PhD Qualifying Exam.

Petition for Alternative Language.  Students may fulfill the language requirement with languages other than those listed above only with approval by the Graduate Studies Committee of a petition from the student showing that another language better serves the purposes of the research and dissertation proposed. This petition must have the support of the student's advisory committee.

Mastery: Translation Test.  Mastery shall be demonstrated by passing a translation test. The test shall consist of a total of three 250-300 word passages in the foreign language, two from scholarly articles in the humanities and one from a primary literature text. For Latin, Greek, or Old English, the test will consist of three primary literature texts. With access to a dictionary, students must translate any two of the passages. The exam for mastery must be completed within one and a half hours.

Mastery: Course Work.  Mastery may be demonstrated by taking 6 hours of upper division undergraduate coursework (two courses) in which the instruction and readings are primarily in the foreign language or by taking 6 hours (two courses) of graduate foreign language reading coursework.  Students must receive grades of B or better in all the specified coursework to fulfill the requirement.

Reading Knowledge.  Reading knowledge may be demonstrated in any of the following ways:

1. Reading knowledge can be demonstrated by passing a translation test. The test shall consist of a total of three 250-300 word passages in the foreign language, two from scholarly articles in the humanities and one from a primary literature text. For Latin, Greek, or Old English, the test will consist of three primary literature texts. With access to a dictionary, students must translate any two of the passages. The test for reading knowledge must be completed within three hours.
2. Reading knowledge can be demonstrated by taking one 3 hour upper division undergraduate course in which the instruction and readings are primarily in the foreign language or by taking one 3 hour graduate foreign language reading course.  Students must receive a grade of B or better in the specified course to fulfill the requirement.
3. A student who holds an MA degree from another university may fulfill the reading knowledge requirement by providing written proof that he or she has satisfactorily completed a language requirement for the MA degree at the awarding institution; the language must be acceptable under the current English Graduate Guidelines. This documentation should be in the form of either (a) a specific posting of the language requirement having been met on the student's transcript or, (b) a letter from an appropriate official at the institution which awarded the MA.
4.  Students specializing in TESL, Linguistics, or Rhetoric and Professional Writing may use languages other than those specified above, if they can provide evidence of one of the following:
   • at least one year of residence and study in a foreign country in which the language is spoken (not applicable to study in one's native language)
   • at least six hours of course work in the language, in which the student received a grade of "B" or better

Scheduling the Translation Test. Foreign language exams are arranged by the English Department Graduate Director. They are offered three times a year, at the beginning of the fall, spring, and summer terms. Exact dates and the deadline for filing an intention to take the exams will be posted. The fee for the exam is $30. This fee must be paid by check or money order (payable to the English Department) prior to the exam date. Sample exams are available in the English Graduate Office.

PhD Qualifying Examination

PhD students take two five-hour exams administered on consecutive Saturdays. The exams are given each September and February, on the fourth and fifth Saturdays of the Fall and Spring semesters. Students must submit a signed notice of intent to take the examination by the end of the first week of classes in the semester they sit for the exam. The Notice of Intent form will indicate two exam areas. Students must take the exams on the Stillwater campus in the Fall or Spring semesters. The PhD Qualifying Examination is not offered during the summer.

Exam Areas

The sixteen subject areas for the PhDQualifying Exam are:

1. Early American Literature
2. Nineteenth Century American Literature
3. Native American Language and Literature
4. Old and Middle English Literature
5. Renaissance British Literature (including Milton)
6. Restoration & Eighteenth Century British Literature
7. Nineteenth Century British Literature
8. Modern Literature in English
9. Contemporary Literature in English
10. Theory and Criticism
11. Practical Poetics and Fictional Rhetoric
12. Screen Studies
13. Composition and Rhetoric
14. Linguistics
15. Technical Writing
16. Teaching English as a Second Language

Prerequisites. In order to take the PhD Qualifying Examination, students must

• have fulfilled the foreign language requirement
• have a grade point average of at least 3.5 on all graduate work taken at OSU beyond the MA degree. Grades received for courses used to satisfy the foreign language requirement are not included in computing this 3.5 grade point minimum; all other courses carrying graduate credit are included. The grades from transfer hours, which are included on the approved Plan of Study, will also be calculated in this grade point average.
• have an approved Plan of Study on file with the Graduate College and the English Graduate Office
• submit an "Intent to Take Qualifying Examinations" form to the English Department Graduate Office three weeks before the examinations begin.

Students must take their PhD Qualifying Examination before the oral defense of the dissertation and no earlier than their last semester of course work.

Examination Format and Preparation.  Faculty subject area committees will determine the PhD Qualifying Examination format on a case-by-case basis.  In preparing for this exam, students in consultation with each member of the selected exam area committee will compile reading lists that the committees will use to formulate exam questions.  The reading lists will reflect the need for a student’s exam to be both comprehensive and specific to that student’s individual research interests.  In some cases the faculty on a subject matter committee may choose to designate one or more of the committee members as mandatory readers for the exam. The committee should designate such readers at the time the reading list is formulated and should indicate this on the lists. The two reading lists must be approved and signed by the student and all members of each subject area.  They must be filed with the English Graduate Office by the last day of the last week of classes (dead week) of the semester in which a student registers for the 30th hour of graduate credit.  The faculty thus assumes students will spend appropriate time preparing for these exams and submit their approved lists well in advance of the semester in which they will take their exams.

Evaluation.  Three faculty members in each exam area will evaluate the PhD Qualifying Examination.  The faculty readers will evaluate each answer individually before meeting as a committee to discuss a student’s overall performance and assign the exam a rating of "Pass with Distinction," "Pass," or "Fail."

Notification of Results.  The Graduate Director will notify students of the results of their exams no later than four weeks after they have been given. The English Graduate Office will mail results to the student's home address and send a copy of them to the student's adviser.

Admission to Candidacy.  Once students have passed the PhD Qualifying Examination and completed a dissertation prospectus (see below), they are admitted to candidacy and   should file the Graduate College “Admission to Doctoral Candidacy” form as soon as possible.  The PhD degree will not be awarded within less than six months from the date of filing that application.

Retakes.  Students may take the PhD Qualifying Examination only twice. Students failing either one or both areas of the exam must retake only the area(s) failed. Students retaking the PhD Qualifying Examination may not change their exam areas.

Appeals.  Normally, a second failure on any part of the PhD Qualifying Examination will result in termination of work toward the degree. However, when course work has been of exceptionally high quality, a student may, after a second failure, petition the Graduate Studies Committee for permission to take the exam a third and final time. In order to petition, the student must have a grade point average of 3.75 or higher in graduate courses taken at OSU. In addition, the student's petition must be supported by favorable end-of-semester evaluations from at least three professors.

Dissertation

The candidate for the PhD degree prepares either a study embodying original research or a creative work for a maximum of 20 credit hours. Creative writing students present as their dissertations original works in poetry, prose fiction, or creative non-fiction. The dissertation should be a serious effort of publishable quality.

Dissertation Committee.  Unless the student requests a change, the advisory committee serves as the dissertation committee. Once constituted, dissertation committees may not be changed except for serious reasons stated in writing to the Graduate Director and then approved by the Graduate College.

Prospectus.  Prior to taking the PhD Qualifying Exam, doctoral students must submit an approved copy of an abbreviated dissertation prospectus form to the English Graduate Office. Blank copies of this form are available in the English Graduate Office. No later than the seventh week of the semester following the one in which the student successfully completes the PhD Qualifying Exam, doctoral candidates should submit a 1000- to 1500-word formal prospectus for the dissertation, containing an explanation of the proposed argument of the dissertation along with an outline of the proposed chapters and a bibliography (not more than two pages). The prospectus must be approved by the candidate's committee. Committee members must be notified in writing if an approved  prospectus differs significantly from the submitted dissertation (if, for example, the topic of the dissertation changes, the authors or texts to be treated are altered, or the number or character of the chapters changes).  Students must provide a copy of the approved prospectus to the English Graduate Office.

Reading Procedure. At the time that the prospectus is approved, the candidate and the committee members should agree upon the reading procedure for the dissertation. Matters to be discussed in reaching this agreement might include which chapters each member of the committee needs to see as they are completed by the candidate; whether individual committee members want to see the chapters serially or all at once; and how much time committee members will need to finish reading a chapter or the entire dissertation. Under no circumstances should a completed dissertation be submitted to any committee member for reading less than three weeks before the defense.

Deadlines.  Students submitting dissertations must adhere to deadlines established by the Graduate College and by the Department of English.

Style. The student must write the dissertation according to the guidelines in the current Graduate College Style Manual.  The Style Manual available from the Graduate College or at: http://gradcollege.okstate.edu/download/misc.htm. A Graduate College staff member will be available for advice on formatting for binding and microfilming.

Defense Copy (Final Draft).  The defense copy of the dissertation should contain all of the chapters in a completed form and full documentation.

Final Copy.  If as a result of the defense, revisions to the dissertation are required, committee members will not sign the dissertation until they are satisfied with the revisions.

Final Examination: Dissertation Defense

The dissertation defense consists of a public, oral examination by the dissertation committee.  The committee challenges the argument, credibility, and value of the work. The candidate can expect also to be questioned about the theoretical, literary, and/or cultural tradition of the dissertation subject. In the case of an interdisciplinary study, the student will be questioned in the related discipline(s) as well.

Intent to Defend Form.  Candidates will file a nonbinding Intent to Defend form with the Graduate Director within the first two weeks of the semester in which they expect to defend the dissertation. Each member of the committee will sign this form before it is filed with the English Graduate Office. If a student does not defend in a semester when the Intent to Defend form is filed, he or she should resubmit the form when he or she is prepared to defend.

Scheduling of Defense. Under no circumstances should a completed dissertation be submitted to any committee member for reading less than three weeks before the defense. The English Graduate Office must be notified one week before the oral defense of the  day and time of the defense and the title of the dissertation. All dissertation defenses are to be held no later than four weeks prior to the deadline for submission of the final copy to the Graduate College. No dissertation defense may be scheduled during the summer.

Student Tenure

Students must complete all requirements for the PhD degree within nine years from their first enrollment in classes after admission to the doctoral program.  Students must be admitted to candidacy (by passing the PhD Qualifying Exam and filing an approved dissertation prospectus) at least six months before the PhD is conferred.

Length of Financial Support for Teaching Associates

A teaching associate (PhD) who has not been placed on strict academic probation and who is making satisfactory progress toward the degree is eligible for financial support for four years, with an option for a fifth year. A student who obtains an MA in English at OSU and then enters the PhD program is eligible for a total of seven years of support.

If exceptional circumstances warrant, a student in the final year of financial support may petition the Head of the English Department for an additional year's support. Such exceptional cases will be judged on an individual basis and in light of Departmental policies and staffing needs.

Ineligibility for the PhD Degree

The Graduate Director may upon proper cause declare that a student is ineligible for a degree from the English Department at Oklahoma State University. Upon determining that such cause exists, the Graduate Director will immediately notify the student's adviser, who will discuss the matter with the student and respond to the Graduate Director within fifteen working days. Should the Graduate Director still believe that proper cause exists, he or she will write a letter to the student indicating the reasons for the decision. The student may then appeal to the Graduate Studies Committee within ten working days for a hearing.

The Graduate Studies Committee will review the appeal and report its findings to the Graduate Director, who will notify the student. The student may then appeal that decision to the full Graduate Faculty of the English Department. The decision of that group shall end the Departmental appeal process.

Appeals and Petitions

All appeals involving grades or charges of academic dishonesty or misconduct must be directed to the OSU Academic Appeals Board. Students should contact the Executive Vice President's office (101 Whitehurst) for information and forms.

Petitions involving teaching assistantships must be directed to the Department Head.

All other petitions or appeals must be directed in writing to the Graduate Director, who will then forward the petition to the appropriate body, usually one of the following: the Graduate Studies Committee (for special requests as described within these Guidelines), the English Graduate Faculty (for exceptions to English Department policy), or the Graduate Faculty Council (for exceptions to OSU policy). Students are urged to discuss matters with their advisers and with the Graduate Director before making a formal petition or appeal.

If the Graduate Director does not act upon the student's written request within a reasonable amount of time, the student and/or adviser may appeal directly to the Department Head. If a student has exhausted all appeals procedures within the Department and is still not able to resolve the problem, he or she may appeal to the Graduate College.

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English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
Oklahoma State University
205 Morrill Hall
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-9474
For Information about English Programs: english.information@okstate.edu
Webmaster: engweb@okstate.edu

Summary Checklist

Graduate College Rules & Regulations

First-Year PhD Exam

Advisor & Advisory Committee

Plan of Study

Course Requirements

Foreign Language Requirement

PhD Qualifying Exam

Dissertation

Dissertation Defense

Student Tenure
Length of Financial Support For Teaching Assistants
Ineligibility for the PhD Degree
Appeals and Petitions