English (Rhetoric and Writing Studies Emphasis), Ph.D.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to: 

• demonstrate broad knowledge of several of the historical fields in, literary genres of, and major critical approaches to British, American, and World Literatures in English; writing studies issues and methodologies; or linguistics issues and methodologies.
• demonstrate specialized competence in the primary and secondary literature of an appropriate specialized sub-field of literature or writing or language.
• apply their degree program of study through the development of conference presentations, journal articles, statements of teaching philosophy, syllabi, and other professional documents. 

Contact Information

James Mardock, Graduate Program Director
jmardock@unr.edu
(775) 682-6372

Departmental Website: https://www.unr.edu/english

English Department Graduate Handbook

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the Ph.D. program in Literature must hold either

• an M.A. in English or a closely related field with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and an undergraduate degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, or
• a B.A. in English or a closely related field with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major and a record of excellence at the undergraduate level, as demonstrated by a high GPA and very strong letters of recommendation.

Applicants without a degree in English should talk with the Director of Graduate Studies before applying to determine whether their preparation is comparable to that expected. 

I. General Requirements

Students design their programs of study following departmental guidelines in consultation with their advisory committees, complete comprehensive examinations in their fields of specialization, and pursue original research resulting in a dissertation of publishable quality. Proficiency in one foreign language (the equivalent of four semesters of college-level coursework), or a three-course rotation in linguistics and language studies is required. Students in the program are strongly encouraged to participate in professional activities, including academic conferences.  

1. Time Limit. All requirements must be satisfied during the eight calendar years immediately preceding the granting of the degree.
2. Total Credits. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must complete a minimum of 73 graduate credits, including at least 48 credits in course work and 24 dissertation credits beyond the baccalaureate degree. Doctoral students are required to take 2 consecutive semesters of six credits each in residence, for a minimum of 12 credits. No more than 4 credits of ENG 736  and 3 credits of ENG 791  (Independent Study) may be counted toward the degree. Except in the case of required internships, independent study and internship  credits may not be used to fulfill course requirements but may be counted for total number of credits for degrees.
3. Foreign Language Requirement. Students may meet the foreign language requirement in one of two ways: 1) competence in one foreign language; or 2) course work in linguistics and the nature of language. The choice of languages or linguistics course work is left to the student in consultation with his or her advisory committee; preference should go to those languages that would prove most useful to the student over a lifetime of reading and research. Competence in a language is defined as completion of the equivalent of four semesters of college level work in the language with a grade of C or better in the final semester, or as completion of the second semester of a sophomore reading course with a grade of B or better. The requirement is considered satisfied when a college transcript shows such a grade in the appropriate final course (whether the earlier courses are shown or not), or when the student has passed at the appropriate level a test administered by the World Languages and Literatures Department. As an alternative to the foreign language, the student’s advisory committee may allow her or him to substitute a three-semester sequence of specified graduate courses in linguistics, language, and language-related topics from other disciplines, such as psychology or anthropology.

II. Course Requirements

• 48 units of coursework, of which up to 24 units from an M. A. may be approved to count towards the degree. No fewer than 18 coursework credits must be at the 700-level.
• One unit of ENG 795 : Comprehensive Examination
• 24 units of ENG 799 : Dissertation

III. Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination process serves as the endpoint of Ph. D. coursework and is the last formal step before the evaluation of the dissertation prospectus. It is coordinated and evaluated by the candidate’s committee.

The comprehensive examination is based upon three reading lists that together comprise a total of 80-120 sources. These lists should be composed by the student in collaboration with the student’s chair and committee. The first list is the primary or major area and represent mostly canonical work. The other two lists represent particular areas of expertise directly relevant to the student’s dissertation work. Generally, at least 40 of the sources are monographs.

Exams are generally taken the spring semester of the third year of the Ph. D. program and should be completed no later than the end of the fall semester of the student’s fourth year. The timing of the exams must be agreed upon between student, adviser, and committee well in advance.

The comprehensive examination consists of three components: three timed questions; a longer paper; and an oral examination. These three components together span roughly 10 weeks including evaluation time. The oral examination should be scheduled to take place no earlier than two weeks (14 days) and no later than four weeks (28 days) after the evaluation of the written components is returned. The written examinations must be passed by the committee for the oral examination to take place. Committees should give their evaluation of each component within a two-week (14-day) window. All three exams must be passed by the last day of instruction in the chosen semester for a Satisfactory grade to be entered for ENG 795.

Advancement to Ph. D. candidacy is determined by (a) a Satisfactory grade recorded for ENG 795; and (b) the signing and filing of the ” Doctoral Degree Admission to Candidacy ” form, available at the Graduate School website. The Prospectus process begins immediately after the candidate is advanced (see “Dissertation” above under General Requirements).

The specific procedures for the three examination components are as follows and should proceed in order:

First Component: Three timed written exams

• This portion of the exam will consist of three written questions, answered in separate 24-hour sessions. These 24-hour sessions will be scheduled by the student and chair but must take place within four weeks (28 days).
• While each student has their own writing process, appropriate time should be allotted to prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and proofreading.
• The three questions will come from sets approved by the student’s committee. The first set will pertain primarily to the student’s first/canonical list while the second and third set of questions will primarily examine the secondary and tertiary lists…
• On each writing day, the chair will email the student one question set. This email marks the beginning of the 24-hour response period.
• On each scheduled date, the student will select one question from the emailed set to answer. The response should be 15-25 pages in length, depending on the number of texts engaged. Any sources used must be acknowledged in the text, but formal, formatted citations are not required.

Second Component: Essay

• This component is executed simultaneously with the timed exams and is to be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the scheduled oral defense.
• The essay may be entirely new material, but it is more common for a student to take a seminar paper they have written and develop it toward publication.
• The essay should be of typical length for a journal article; generally 20-30 pages.
• In the essay, the student should articulate the conversation that has taken place about a particular scholarly problem in the field of Rhetoric& Composition; the student should enter that conversation with a clear, focused analytical argument; the student should primarily employ relevant sources from the Comprehensive lists, though some outside sources, particularly primary sources, may appear.
• Committees may advise on the formulation of the topic for the essay before writing begins. However, they will not provide any kind of written outline or template for the essay; nor will they answer questions about the essay or read drafts of it during the writing period.
• The essay should be formatted as a MS for submission to a journal, including an abstract, citations for all source material, and a works-cited list in an appropriate disciplinary style (usually MLA, but Chicago and APA are also acceptable depending on the sub-field of Rhetoric& Composition).

Third Component: Oral exam

• This portion of the exam will begin with a 20-minute presentation in which the student narrates their scholarly development up to this point in their academic career.
• This narrative should be a coherent, focused argument about the student’s scholarly identity that articulates the importance and relevance of their interests to the field.
• This narrative presentation will be followed by a 1-hour session during which committee members will ask questions pertaining to the student’s project and to the combined reading list.
• This component of the examination process will be an opportunity for committee members to follow up on any concerns or omissions related to the narrative presentation or to the written components of the examination.

• ENG 795 - Comprehensive Examination (1 unit)

IV. Dissertation Defense (Final Oral Examination)

After the dissertation has been accepted by the candidate’s advisory committee, the committee will conduct an oral examination dealing with the dissertation and related topics. The defense will be approximately one and one-half to two hours in length. 4 units of ENG 799: Dissertation are required.

• ENG 799 - Dissertation (1 to 24 units)

V. Total Units (73 units)

The total units required to complete the Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Writing Studies include

• 48 units of coursework, of which up to 24 units from an M.A. may be approved to count towards the degree. No fewer than 18 coursework credits must be at the 700-level.
• One unit of ENG 795: Comprehensive Examination
• 24 units of ENG 799: Dissertation