Students seeking to satisfy the foreign language requirement in a language other than those listed above must petition the Graduate Studies Committee for permission to do so. The applicant must have received a bachelor's or master's degree in English or its equivalent from a compatible institution and must satisfy the Graduate School's requirements for admission to doctoral study. Each student, working in collaboration with the director of graduate studies, puts together a Ph.D. committee, comprised of three members of the English department graduate faculty whose teaching and research interests complement the student's own plans for doctoral study. All graduate course work must be completed before a candidate may submit any section of the Advanced Candidacy Examination. Each student is expected to demonstrate evidence of proficiency in one foreign language.
Proficiency is defined as a genuine working knowledge of the language.
The Ph.D. Committee will determine the specific manner in which the student demonstrates proficiency. All foreign language requirements must be satisfied before a candidate may take the oral section of the Advanced Candidacy Examination. Advanced Candidacy Admission to advanced candidacy follows the successful completion of the Advanced Candidacy Examination. The candidate and the Ph.D. committee will draw up and agree upon an intensive reading list for each of the three areas of inquiry. All members of the committee will participate in evaluating the written and oral sections of the examination, and in all future responsibilities of the committee.