Ph.D.
| M.A.
| Fellowships,
Assistantships, and Other Support
Duquesne University offers both a Doctor of Philosophy and
a Master of Arts in English Literature.
A number of teaching fellowships and tuition scholarships
as well as a research fellowship and a dissertation fellowship
are offered each year on the basis of merit, and every effort
is made to offer a variety of college-level teaching experiences
to the Ph.D. candidates and many of the M.A. students.
The Ph.D. Program prepares students to enter the
profession as teachers and scholars. The M.A. Program prepares
students for further studies as well as other career options.
Our recent
graduates have been successful in finding
employment within the profession, usually
at four-year institutions within a two hundred
mile radius of Pittsburgh. Some graduates
are now on the faculties of West Liberty,
Slippery Rock University, Indiana University
of Pennsylvania, Carlow College, La Roche
College, Geneva College, Gannon University,
Fairmont State University, Community College
of Allegheny College, Shippensburg State
University, Westmoreland Community College,
Medaille College, and Concord College. Others
have found positions as far away as Boston
University, University of North Carolina--Wilmington,
Nantucket College, Campbell College, Saginaw
State University, St. Mary College, University
of Maine, the University of Texas,
Virginia Commonwealth University, and Oklahoma
Christian University.
Course requirements for the Ph.D. degree:
* A minimum of 30 credits of course work beyond the M.A. degree,
excluding dissertation credits
* Teaching Assistants are required to have successfully completed
a graduate level Teaching of Composition course in addition
to the required 30 credit hours
* English 500—Aims and Methods of Literary Scholarship
may be required in addition to the 30 credit hours if a comparable
course has not been taken on the M.A. level
* English 566—Literary Theory or a comparable general theory
course at the graduate level
* Courses in six out of the following seven literary distribution
areas, fulfilled on the graduate level: Old and Medieval English
Literature, Renaissance English Literature, Restoration and
Eighteenth-Century English Literature, Nineteenth-Century English
Literature, American Literature through the Nineteenth Century,
Twentieth-Century British Literature, Twentieth-Century American
Literature (with the Graduate Director’s approval, a course
falling outside of a single, specific historical period may
fulfill an area requirement as long as the area is covered by
the course)
* At least one course in the student’s primary field/historical
period must be taken at Duquesne on the graduate level
* Demonstration of a reading knowledge of one foreign language.
This requirement must be met prior to taking field examinations.Ph.D.
Exam Structure:
The Ph.D. Exam will be comprised of two four-hour written
exams:
A field exam: with the aim to gain depth and breadth of
knowledge, the student will select a broadly recognized historical
period that may or may not match one of the distribution areas
A specialization exam: the student will focus on a
genre, a theoretical emphasis, or a set of critical/cultural
issues or problems
In consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, students
will constitute two committees of at least two faculty members
each, one for the field exam and one for the specialization exam.
Depending on students’ areas of study, these committees may
(but need not) be the same. In consultation with their committees,
students will formulate for each exam a reading list of 50 to
100 titles, including both primary and secondary texts. In addition,
students will present to their examining committee and then to
the Graduate Studies Committee for approval a one-page written
rationale for their choice of and the connections between their
chosen field (exam 1) and area of specialization (exam 2). This
proposal should include a discussion of the kind(s) of scholarly
work these two exams will allow them to engage.
Ordinarily, students will take their exams within a year of completing
their course work. In scheduling the two four-hour written exams,
the second written exam must be taken within three months of the
first written exam. A two-hour oral exam will follow within three
weeks of successful completion of the two written exams. The oral
exam will emphasize the relations between the chosen field and
specialization. Students who pass both the written and the oral
exams may proceed in the program.
Students who fail one or both of the written exams may not proceed
to the oral exam but may retake the failed section(s) at a time
approved by the Examining Committee. Students who fail the oral
exam may retake it at a time approved by the Examining Committee.
Students retaking a part or all of the examination who fail any
one part a second time may be dismissed from the program.
Dissertation:
In addition to the above requirements, students must submit a
dissertation proposal and then complete a dissertation approved
by designated readers in order to obtain a degree. The dissertation
must be defended orally and formally accepted by the Dean of the
Graduate School of Liberal Arts.
Admission Requirements: Ph.D. Degree
* Official transcript(s) recording all baccalaureate and graduate
work. A 3.0 grade average, based on a four point scale, in graduate
level work is normally required. Students having an undergraduate
major or a Master of Arts degree in a field other than English
are normally required to take several preliminary graduate courses
before acceptance into the program.
* An official score report indicating satisfactory performance
on the verbal, quantitative and analytic sections of the Graduate
Record Examination.
* Letters of recommendation from three persons familiar with the
applicant’s academic studies or, in some cases, work experience.
* A brief (1-2 page) statement of the applicant’s purpose
in seeking the Ph.D. degree.
* A sample of the applicant’s academic writing (a critical
paper, 10-20 pages, from a graduate course or a chapter from a
Master of Arts thesis).
* An official score report indicating satisfactory performance
on TOEFL examination (applicable to international students only).All
applicants seeking financial assistance must submit all application
materials by February 1. The deadline for other applicants is
June 1 for matriculation in the following Fall semester and November
1 for the following Spring semester. All application materials
must be received before any action can be taken on an applicant’s
request for admission or financial aid.
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Degree Requirements:
* English 500--Aims and Methods of Literary Scholarship
* At least two classes designated exclusively for graduate students
Plan A (the thesis option): The student must complete
twenty-four (24) credit hours of course work (meeting the above
requirements). The student will then write a thesis with the guidance
of two faculty members, a thesis director and a reader. The student
must pass the M.A.Written Exam. This four-hour examination is
designed to demonstrate the M.A. Candidate’s knowledge of
English and American literature, theory, language and literary
history on a generalist level.
Plan B (the non-thesis option): The student must complete
thirty (30) credit hours of course work (meeting the above requirements).
The student must pass the M.A.Written Exam. This four-hour examination
is designed to demonstrate the M.A. Candidate’s knowledge
of English and American literature, theory, language and literary
history on a generalist level.
Admission Requirements: Master of Arts
Degree
* Official transcript(s) recording all baccalaureate work, along
with degree, from an accredited undergraduate college or university.
* A 3.0 grade average, based on a four point scale, in the final
two years of undergraduate work is normally required.
* An official score report indicating satisfactory performance
on the verbal, quantitative and analytic sections on the Graduate
Record Examination.
* Letters of recommendation from three persons familiar with the
applicant’s academic studies or, in some cases, work experience.
* A brief (1-2 page) statement of the applicant’s purpose
in seeking the Master of Arts degree.
* A sample of the applicant’s academic writing (normally
a critical paper written for an English course)
* An official score report indicating satisfactory performance
on TOEFL examination (applicable to international students only)
All applicants seeking financial assistance must submit all application
materials by February 1. The deadline for other applicants is
June 1 for matriculation in the following Fall semester and November
1 for the following Spring semester. All application materials
must be received before any action can be taken on an applicant’s
request for admission or financial aid.
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The Department of English currently has available twenty-one
Teaching Fellowships, one Research Fellowship, and one Dissertation
Fellowship. These Fellowships are awarded on the basis of merit.
Fellowships include tuition, certain fees, and a stipend. The
stipend for 2004-2005 is $10,275. Further details about the fellowships
are outlined below.
Another form of financial assistance is available through Tuition
Remission Scholarships. Awarded on the basis of merit, these scholarships
pay the full or partial tuition for three to nine credits of course
work per semester. Such scholarships are renewable for up to two
years providing students make satisfactory progress in their program.
Applicants may specify on application for admission whether they
wish to be considered for a Teaching Fellowship, Research Fellowship,
Tuition Waiver Scholarship, or any combination.
Teaching Fellowships
Students seeking the master’s degree may hold a Teaching
Fellowship for two years, and those seeking the doctorate for
four years, providing students make satisfactory progress in the
program.
In order to provide students with solid training and ample opportunity
to teach independently without creating an overwhelming workload,
a tier system has been developed for our fellowship program. The
following guidelines are typical for teaching fellows, but because
students have varying strengths and experience, adjustments are
often made to the tier system with the approval of the Director
of Freshman English and the Director of Graduate Studies.
Training for Teachers
The Center for Teaching Excellence at Duquesne University offers
a three-day workshop to all new teaching fellows, usually the
week before the fall semester is scheduled to begin. Besides providing
new teaching fellows with books and articles relevant to teaching
at the college level, this workshop covers important advice for
teachers such as how to promote classroom discussion.
The Director and Assistant Director of Freshman English also
offer a workshop before classes begin that is designed specifically
for English Teaching Fellows.
All first year fellows must complete a year-long course on Teaching
College Writing.
New Teaching Fellows with little or no teaching experience will
spend their first semester co-teaching a freshman writing class
with a more experienced teacher/mentor.
Teaching workshops for the English department are held during
the academic year. These sessions are usually led either by English
faculty or teaching fellows, and the topics may cover anything
from dealing with plagiarism to creating a teaching portfolio.
The Center for Teaching Excellence also offers workshops regularly
during the school year.
Teaching Opportunities and Responsibilities
Typically, teaching fellows teach one section of freshman writing
in the fall semester and one section of introduction to literature
in the spring semester. Department guidelines are provided for
each course. The introductory literature courses are structured
around theme-based clusters; sections are taught independently,
but the cluster group of teachers provides a forum where methods
and ideas may be exchanged. In addition:
First Year Teaching Fellows will serve five hours per
week as tutors in the Writing Center, where they will tutor
students one-on-one.
Second and Third Year Teaching Fellows will spend five
hours per week doing research for a faculty member, usually
in a field that intersects with the student’s interests.
Fourth Year Teaching Fellows may take advantage of various
opportunities including:Serving as Assistant Director of
Freshman English (each year, one fellow is selected among
applicants to run the Writing Center and work with the Director
of Freshman English).
Serving as a mentor to a new teacher (usually in the
fall semester, this position involves co-teaching a section
of freshman composition and advising the first year fellow).
Serving as Cluster Leader (this involves developing a
theme for the introductory literature course and leading a group
of teaching fellows who will base their sections on that theme).
Co-teaching upon invitation an upper-level class with
a member of the English faculty.
Teaching advanced writing and sophomore/junior level
survey courses.
Every effort is thus made to provide graduate students with teaching
and leadership opportunities that will prepare them for future
academic work.
Research Fellowship
The student will work closely with a faculty member, conducting
research on a full-time basis. This fellowship is renewable for
up to two years providing the student makes satisfactory progress
in the program. Master’s students may renew the fellowship
as a teaching fellowship after the first year of research, and
doctorate students may renew the fellowship as a teaching fellowship
after either the first or second year of research.
Dissertation Fellowship
Doctoral students who have an approved dissertation proposal and
are in the early stages of work on the dissertation may be eligible
for the dissertation fellowship. Priority will be given to students
who have a particularly strong overall record in the areas of
teaching, scholarship, and service; who have made sustained progress
through the Ph.D. program; and who have demonstrated a commitment
to Duquesne University’s mission of Education for the Heart,
Mind, and Soul.
One of the goals of the dissertation fellowship is to enable
a student to dedicate a significant amount of attention to the
dissertation and, hopefully, complete the dissertation by the
end of the academic year in which the student receives the award.
Another goal of the fellowship is to allow the student the opportunity
to design and teach an upper division course in her/his area(s)
of expertise. The student will work with a faculty mentor during
the Fall semester to design the course (in consultation with both
the Undergraduate and Graduate Directors) and will then teach
the course during the Spring semester. The student will also present
her/his dissertation work to the department in the form of a Colloquium.
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