The examination consists of a formal public lecture of 30 minutes describing the work undertaken and achieved in the writing of the dissertation. The lecture may be delivered in English or in the language of specialization. The candidate's examining committee then initiates a question period, taking the doctoral dissertation and related areas as the point of departure. No grade is given for this examination other than a pass or fail. As a matter of policy, the Department endeavors to give its graduate students experience in undergraduate teaching.
Most students are appointed part-time assistants in instruction each year they are in residence.
This teaching is guided and supervised by a faculty member who reports in writing to both the student and the Department Chair on the student's classroom performance. Fellowships Financial assistance may be in the form of fellowships of varying stipend levels, assistantships in instruction, or loans, depending on the availability of funds and what seems to best fit the individual case. The Fulton McMahon Research Fund, established by Alfred Foulet, Graduate School Class of 1927, in honor of Fulton McMahon, Class of 1884, provides funding for summer study and thesis research projects to graduate students in good standing in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. The Department also enjoys the exclusive disposition of funds allocated specifically to graduate fellowships and stipend increments. Among these may be counted the Behrman, Bergen, Boudinot, Green and Schultz fellowships, awarded to graduate students who demonstrate outstanding scholarly promise.