Program Overview

PhD English Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy in English is a limited enrolment program unique in Canada for its integration of literary studies with such fields as rhetoric, new media, and discourse analysis. The program draws students from across Canada, and has a very strong placement rate for its graduates, in high-quality academic and upper-level research positions.

Program Requirements

The following sections list the requirements to graduate from the PhD program.

Academic Integrity Workshop

All students are required to complete a University of Waterloo workshop on academic integrity and sign a pledge to conduct their research with scrupulous honesty. The workshop takes place before classes begin and students will not be allowed to take classes until they have signed the pledge.

Course Work

Students must complete 6 term length courses.

• 1 Literature (LIT)
• 1 Rhetoric and Communication Design (RCD) or Critical Media Studies (CMS)
• 4 Electives (up to two of which may extra-departmental, and only one of which may be a reading course)

Progress Reports

All students are required to submit annual progress reports in April. Progress reports may increase in frequency if program time limits are exceeded.

• Progress reports are intended to ensure timely progression through the program, and will differ from year to year as milestones are met and students gain professionalization experience.

Professionalization Training Requirement

A course on the development of research skills and professionalization, to be offered to second-year PhD students in the winter term of every year, that will meet weekly. The course will cover such topics as:

• preparation for area exams
• preparation of a dissertation proposal
• bibliographical skills
• teaching strategies
• the job market (academic and non-academic)
• conferences
• writing for publication
• c.v. preparation
• interview technique
• writing of grant applications

Language Requirement

Each candidate must attain or demonstrate basic competence subject to feasibility of testing by the University of Waterloo in a language other than English, excluding middle English but not Anglo-Saxon.

• Proof of competence may take four forms:
  • Successful completion of two terms of undergraduate study in a language for basic competence or two terms of advanced undergraduate study for advanced competence.
  • Successful sitting of an exam at the appropriate level set by a department of the University.
  • Completion of degree-level study in that language at another university.
  • Evidence of other kinds that is deemed sufficient by the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee.
• This milestone must be completed by December 1 of the third year.

Comprehensive Exam

Students sit a two-part comprehensive exam, consisting of a written exam and an oral exam. Those exam sittings take place in year two of the program, usually in May and June, respectively.

• Candidates who fail the written exam may be eligible to write it again at the next formal sitting.
• Candidates who fail the oral exam will normally have another exam within two weeks.

Dissertation Proposal

Students must arrange for a supervisor and a dissertation committee, from members of the faculty, and under their guidance prepare a proposal.

• The final draft of the proposal must be submitted to the Support Services Coordinator by the date announced in that year's exam schedule.

Dissertation Writing

All students are responsible for original research and study on a topic that has been approved by their dissertation committee and the English Graduate Committee.

Dissertation

The dissertation should be defended in a student's fourth year. When a student has completed a defensible draft, they submit the abstract to the English Graduate Officer with the notification that they are ready to defend and send an electronic copy of the dissertation and abstract to the Support Services Coordinator.

PhD Program Timeline

• Year 1: Course work
• Year 2: Exams, Dissertation Proposal & Professionalization Training Requirement
• Year 3: Dissertation writing
• Year 4: Dissertation completion
• Year 4: Dissertation defense Full-time enrolment and Waterloo residency is expected for all three terms of all four years.