The graduate seminar allows the student to do independent work in an area in which the instructor has special sophistication, and at the same time to gain criticism and support from other students working in the same area. The instructor will prescribe the subject matter of each course during any given semester. Completion of The Literary Studies Core is a prerequisite for enrollment in a 600-level course. Seminars are limited to 12 students. Any written work to be submitted in partial or total fulfillment of a project should not exceed 7,500 words.
Projects normally arise out of graduate course work.
The course is open only to students who can propose an independent project and who have made arrangements with a member of the department interested in supervising it. They are designed as refresher courses or as introductions to topics of particular contemporary concern. Workshops grant one to four hours of graduate credit. Students may not offer more than 4 credits of workshops toward fulfillment of requirements for advanced degrees except by permission of the graduate committee of the department. Candidates for degrees must consult with their advisers before electing summer workshops.