Some few students who live and work in the Ann Arbor area enroll part-time and extend their course work over several years. A substantial benefit of the Program is the sociability and informal sharing encouraged by on-campus residency. A specialization should be considered early in the student's program of work. It has proved useful to students to reach general ideas about specialization before the end of the first year. Such general notions, however tentative, help when selecting courses and laying groundwork for the dissertation.
Students usually specialize in the area in which they write their dissertations.
The four qualifying examinations usually include the are of specialization, but also move beyond it. Students must attain competence in one advanced or two basic foreign languages, the study of which will further the students' personal and professional goals. Students who wish to fulfill the requirement in some other way may petition the Program Committee. Two transcripts of a master's degree in English or education. Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which are from persons in a position to predict the applicant's potential for academic success.