Doctoral Programs

The program of doctoral study is designed to build on each candidate's strengths and develop individual interests that culminate in fields of specialization, the springboards for a professional academic career. Students enroll in Plan I or Plan II of the Ph.D. program. Plan I involves in-depth work in one literature and culture; in Plan II, students work concurrently in two languages and literatures.

Gabriel García Márquez & Eduardo Escallón

Students with a Master's Degree: Students accepted for the doctoral program are granted transfer credit for the MA or its equivalent, i.e., 30 credits. The MA equivalency of foreign degrees is determined, whenever appropriate, through communication with the Bureau of Comparative Education of the Division of International Education, Washington, D.C.

 
Joseph Zobel & Emmanuelle Vanborre

Students with a Bachelors Degree entering the Ph.D. program must realize a course of study equivalent to that required for Boston College M.A. in French or Hispanic literatures. After 30 credits and the MA comprehensive exam, candidates will be evaluated with special attention before being allowed to continue on to the Ph.D.

Anna Cafaro, Dario Fo, Franca Rame,
& Fabio (Anna's brother)

Degree Requirements

• Students earn 60 credits (students entering with the B.A.) or 30 credits (students entering with the MA), including 3 credits in the History of the language in French or Spanish, and 3 credits in RL 780 Colloquium on Literary Theory

• Students must maintain an average of B or better in their courses.

• If the student's MA program did not include a second language examination, then a translation test will be required as described for the MA in Literature and Culture.

• A reading knowledge of Latin is required of all candidates and should be demonstrated early in the program. A reading knowledge of German is required only for candidates in Medieval Studies.

• One year of residence is required, in a fall-spring or spring-fall sequence. Teaching fellows of the Department fulfill the residence requirement by taking two courses per semester while also teaching two courses. Students not engaged in teaching, and wishing to fulfill the residence requirement by taking three courses per semester, must petition the Department. During the year of residence, the student must be registered at the University and he or she must be engaged in a program of course work approved by the Department. The residence requirement may not be satisfied by the candidate during the year in which he or she is engaged in writing his or her dissertation. Students should specify in writing to the Director of Graduate Studies which two semesters will satisfy the residence requirement.

• Upon completion of all course work and language requirements, the doctoral student must pass an oral comprehensive examination.

• After passing the comprehensive examination, the student discusses a dissertation topic with his or her Dissertation Advisor. Using the guidelines specified by the Graduate School, the student submits an official dissertation proposal to the Dissertation Advisor, who then circulates it within the, Department for approval. The student will write the dissertation under the guidance of the Dissertation Advisor and two readers. Dissertation topics may include the following: a literary study in the field of specialization, a study in comparative Romance literatures, a study in Romance philology, a scholarly edition of a text with full critical apparatus, and so on. The dissertation should be based on original and independent research and demonstrate advanced scholarly achievement. Ph.D. candidates who have passed their oral comprehensive examination and who wish to do so, may enroll in RL880 the Ph.D. Thesis Seminar. This bimonthly seminar provides Ph.D. students with a forum in which to discuss their works in progress and further develop the variety of skills necessary for conducting effective academic research and bringing to successful completion the writing of their dissertation.

• After approval by the Dissertation Advisor and the two readers, the dissertation will be defended by the candidate in a one-hour oral defense open to the public.