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Degree Requirements

    The Advanced Research Collaborative (ARC) is the focal point of the collaborative research activities of the Graduate Center. It promotes interdisciplinary research, partners with GC Research Centers, Institutes and Interdisciplinary Committees, connects the research activities of CUNY faculty at the Colleges to GC research programs and seminars, and provides a home for outstanding visiting scholars to collaborate with faculty and students. ARC offers support to GC doctoral students pursuing research as well as to postdoctoral students who have completed their initial projects.
 

Degree Requirements

Students in the Ph.D. Program in English complete the following requirements in earning their doctoral degrees:

  • 60 credits of course work (with grades of B or better), no more than 25 of which may be transferred from another graduate institution
  • A single required course, in bibliographical and critical methodology (English 79500) with a grade of B or better
  • Evidence of a reading knowledge of two languages other than English
  • The written First ("Comprehensive") Examination
  • The Second ("Orals") Examination
  • A dissertation prospectus, acceptable to an officially constituted faculty review committee and formally approved by the English Program
  • A dissertation, acceptable to an officially constituted faculty review committee (not necessarily the same one that evaluated the prospectus, though it may retain one or more members of the prospectus committee) and so certified by them after a successful defense

Students pass through three levels as they advance toward their degree

Tuition charges are based on a student's "level" within the Program.

  • Level I students have completed fewer than 45 credits of graduate work (including approved transfer credits).
  • Level II students have completed at least 45 credits and have passed the First ("Comprehensive") Examination but have not yet been advanced to candidacy. (After completing the required 60 credits of course work, Level II students maintain their matriculation status by "registering on record" [ROR] for "weighted instructional units" [WIUs].)
  • Level III students, in addition to having passed the First ("Comprehensive") Examination, have completed at least the required 60 credits of course work (including the single Program course requirement [English 79500]), passed the Second Examination ("Orals"), and met the language requirement. This constitutes "Advancement to Candidacy," which can occur only in a semester during which a student is registered, and requires the student to provide the APO with a tentative title of the dissertation, expected date of completion, supervisor's name, and tentative committee.

Students who have passed the Second Exam, fulfilled their language requirements, and completed at least 60 credits of coursework should e-mail the APO with his/her Banner ID, tentative title of the dissertation, expected date of completion, supervisor's name, and tentative committee members.. The student will become a Level III student (and thus enjoy a significant drop in tuition) only after this information has been submitted to the APO. Please note: once students have advanced to candidacy, they may no longer enroll for courses for credit (and thus earn a grade). Students who wish to complete a certificate program should be especially aware of this, as all coursework required for the certificate must also be completed before advancement. Level III students may continue to register for classes as auditors, but it is expected that most of the student's time will be devoted to writing the dissertation. For more detailed information on the stages of degree, please click here.

Overseeing Satisfactory Progress The English Program takes very seriously each student's steady movement toward the doctorate. One member of the Program's administrative team is the Student Progress Officer, who pays close attention to the following impediments to a successful completion of the degree:

  • Failure to pass the First ("Comprehensive") Examination after the first year of study in the Program and before the completion of 45 credits of coursework (including transfer credits);
  • Failure to maintain a B average in coursework;
  • Failure to pass the Second ("Orals") Examination within one year after completing all course work and before the end of 10 semesters of matriculation;
  • Accumulation of three or more grades of incomplete ("INC") or two grades of no record of progress ("NRP"); and
  • Exceeding the established time limits for completing the Ph.D. (eight years from the time of first registration for students who enter with a baccalaureate degree alone, or seven years from the time of first registration for students who matriculate after completing a master's degree).

Working with the student and appropriate graduate faculty members, the Student Progress Officer attempts to establish reasonable time limits for the individual to move through the Program more expediently.
To see sample schedules for meeting the requirements for the Ph.D. in English, click here.