Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.
English
College of Letters and Science
Graduate Degrees
The Department of English offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in English.
Admission
Program Name
English
Address
149 Humanities Building
Box 951530
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1530
Phone
(310) 825-3927
Email
graduate@english.ucla.edu
Leading to the degree of
M.A., Ph.D.
The English department admits only applicants whose objective is the Ph.D.
Admission Limited to
Fall
Deadline to apply
December 1st
GRE (General and/or Subject)
GRE: General and Subject in English Literature.
Letters of Recommendation
3, attesting to the applicant’s ability to succeed in graduate study
Other Requirements
In addition to the University’s minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are expected to submit a statement of purpose and a writing sample. Care should be taken with the statement of purpose and the writing sample, since the quality of thought and argument these exhibit, as well as their style, weigh significantly in admissions decisions.
Applicants are expected to meet the following requirements: an undergraduate major or program that prepares one for advanced study of literature; a grade-point average in English courses and in the junior and senior years of at least 3.5.
Applicants who hold a master’s degree are expected to have a grade-point average of at least 3.7 in all graduate courses and a correspondingly higher score on the Subject Test.
Students admitted into the graduate program enter the first phase of the doctoral program, successful completion of which results in the award of the MA degree.
Master’s Degree
Advising
See under Doctoral Degree.
Areas of Study
Literatures in English. See under Course Requirements.
Foreign Language Requirement
Students who do not intend to continue for the Ph.D. degree may fulfill the language requirement by demonstrating a reading knowledge of any foreign language. This requirement should be satisfied at the beginning of the first quarter of residence, but in any event no later than the mid-point of the quarter in which all degree requirements are completed.
Course Requirements
All graduate students in the program are required to take a minimum of 12 units or three courses per quarter. Though all students are admitted directly into the Ph.D. program, students may decide to leave the program with an M.A. degree if they complete an acceptable thesis. Nine letter-graded English courses are required for the M.A. degree; these courses must be at the graduate level (200 series).
Students at any stage of the program may take courses for S/U grading, but such courses cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. The work required to receive a grade of Satisfactory must be agreed on in advance with the instructor of the course.
Teaching Experience
Although teaching experience is not required, students have the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant after passing the English 495A requirement and spending at least one year in the program. Teaching assignments are not automatically offered to students but are awarded on the basis of merit.
Field Experience
Not required.
Comprehensive Examination Plan
Students in the Ph.D. program receive the M.A. degree after they have satisfied one foreign language requirement, completed course requirements, and passed the first qualifying examination (see Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations under Doctoral Degree) which also serves as the master’s comprehensive examination.
Thesis Plan
Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.
Students may select the thesis plan for the M.A. degree after a maximum of two years in the program. They must request a committee from the Vice Chair a minimum of two quarters before completion of the program. The committee consists of three faculty members who meet as a group with the student to consider the thesis proposal. The thesis must not be less than 40 pages (10,000 words) or more than 60 pages (15,000 words) in length.
Time-to-Degree
Students who select the thesis option must file the thesis no later than the tenth quarter after admission. Students in the Ph.D. program receive the M.A. degree after satisfying one foreign language requirement and passing the First Qualifying Examination, which fulfills the master’s comprehensive examination requirement.
Doctoral Degree
Advising
The general adviser for graduate students is the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies. The Vice Chair and a second member of the Graduate Committee also serve as the personal advisers for first-year students. These two advisers meet with entering students, approve their plans for study each quarter of their first year, counsel them as the need arises, and evaluate their academic progress periodically. Among the factors considered in the evaluations are course grades, written evaluations of performance in seminars and other courses, and progress toward the satisfaction of degree requirements.
For the second year, students select a three-person Mentoring Committee from among the departmental faculty. These personal advisers meet with students to discuss their programs and more general issues of intellectual and professional concern. They also supervise the student’s preparation of reading lists for the First Qualifying Examination. The chair of the Mentoring Committee is from the student’s prospective field of specialization but the other members need not be from the field of specialization. As the student’s interests evolve and gain focus, it may be appropriate to change the membership of the Mentoring Committee. There is no requirement that all members of the Mentoring Committee administer the student’s First Qualifying Examination but it is normal for some, if not all, to do so. When the student decides on a dissertation topic and a faculty member agrees to direct the dissertation (normally after the First Qualifying Examination has been passed), the student should inform the Graduate Counselor. The dissertation director serves as the official adviser for the remainder of the student’s time in the program.
The department encourages students to consult, as early as possible in their graduate careers and frequently thereafter, with any and all faculty, and in particular with those in their special fields of interest. The Graduate Counselor should be consulted on any questions or problems that arise.
Major Fields or Subdisciplines
Literatures in English.
Foreign Language Requirement
In practical terms the purpose of the foreign language requirement is to prepare students to read literary and critical works in languages other than English. However, departmental faculty believe that there is also an intrinsic value in linguistic study for anyone seriously interested in literature. Students in the Ph.D. program are expected to have a reading knowledge of any two foreign languages, or to demonstrate a superior proficiency in a single language. Examinations requiring translation of literary and critical passages are offered by the department each quarter in French, German, and Spanish and once a year in Italian. Other languages are acceptable as long as comparable examinations can be arranged by the student in another UCLA department.
A basic reading knowledge of a language may be established in one of the following ways: (1) by passing a special reading examination offered by the English Department or certain UCLA foreign language departments; (2) by passing the special reading course for graduate students offered by various language departments, e.g., Italian 1G, German 1G, or French 1G; (3) by passing with a letter grade of B or higher the elementary language course offered by various language departments, e.g., Spanish 3, Japanese 3, Persian 1C or by passing a higher level language course which requires an elementary course as a prerequisite; (4) by passing with a letter grade of B or higher the summer intensive language course offered by various language departments, e.g., Arabic 8, French 8 or Latin 16; (5) by passing with a letter grade of B or higher English 211, Old English; (6) by passing with a letter grade of B or higher an upper division or graduate level course in the literature (not in translation) of the language. Students may petition to have prior coursework count as fulfillment of the requirement but work done more than two years before entering the program is not ordinarily accepted.
The first language requirement must be satisfied during the first two years in the program, and the second before the student is admitted to the Second Oral Qualifying Examination. Students choosing the single-language option (superior proficiency) must first demonstrate a basic reading knowledge of that language during the first or second year of the program in any one of the ways described above. They may then proceed to demonstrate superior proficiency, before taking the Second Qualifying Examination, in one of two ways: (1) by successful completion (letter grade of B or higher) of three more upper-division or graduate courses in the literature (not in translation) of the foreign language (such courses must be approved by the Vice Chair, must be in areas related to the student’s specialization, and must not have been completed more than two years before entrance into the Ph.D. program); or (2) by passing an examination administered by the English Department. Students electing the latter option are expected to demonstrate a knowledge of the foreign language (and literature) comparable to that which might be obtained by taking the three upper-division or graduate courses.
Course Requirements
Fourteen letter-graded courses are required. These courses must be selected from this department’s course offerings at the graduate level (200 or above) or from equivalent courses taught by faculty from this department in other departments or programs on campus. With the approval of the Vice Chair, Ph.D. students may apply to the fourteen-course requirement up to three courses offered by faculty in departments other than English (such as literature in another language, history, art history, Afro-American studies, film, women’s studies).
Students who pursue the doctorate take English 596 each quarter, either under an individual professor or the Vice Chair. Students who elect to write an M.A. thesis take English 598 each quarter.
Breadth. Of the 14 letter-graded courses for the Ph.D., students are required to take a minimum of three courses in periods before 1780 and three in periods after 1780. Courses that straddle this chronological break, such as most of those in Romanticism, may satisfy either the pre- or the post-1780 requirement, but not both (classes in literary theory do not ordinarily satisfy the breadth requirement but in some cases the Vice Chair may allow it).
All students at any stage of the program may take courses for S/U grades, but such courses cannot be used to satisfy any requirements for a degree. The work required for an S must be agreed on in advance with the instructor of the course.
Teaching Experience
Although teaching experience is not required, students have the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant after passing the English 495A requirement and spending at least one year in the program. Teaching assignments are not automatically offered to students but are awarded on the basis of merit.
Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations
Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.
First Stage Evaluation. At the end of the first year in the program, the Graduate Committee reviews students’ files, which include faculty written reports on coursework as well as grades, and instructs the Vice Chair to advise students on their progress in the program. Students who entered the program with an M.A. degree may petition the committee to grant credit toward the 14 course requirement for graduate courses taken elsewhere; at the committee’s discretion, a maximum of six such courses may be credited toward the degree.
First Qualifying Examination. Around the time that students satisfy the 14-course requirement (including the breadth requirement), ordinarily sometime early in their third year, they should finalize the compositions of their reading lists and the membership of their examination committee. Ordinarily the examination occurs after the 14-course requirement is completed, but in some circumstances it may occur before all course requirements are satisfied. Under the supervision of the Mentoring Committee, the student devises three reading lists, each consisting of approximately 30 primary texts (or equivalent bodies of work, as in the case of poems, short fiction, essays, etc.), and 10 critical texts that have been important to the development of the field, each list representing a coherent field of literary study. At least two of these fields must be historical, chosen in most cases from among the widely-recognized historical periods (e.g., Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, Renaissance, earlier 17th century, Restoration and 18th century, Romantic, Victorian, 20th-century British and Irish literature, earlier American, 19th-century American, 20th-century American, etc.). It is expected that the historical periods will continue to require the inclusion of a substantial number of canonical works by major authors. The third field consists entirely of works not included on either of the two other lists. The first purpose of the examination is to test the student’s understanding of the principal works and contours of at least two historical periods. In designing the lists students and faculty are expected to balance the interests of (1) establishing expertise in a recognized professional field of study, and (2) accommodating students’ intellectual interests and preparation for the dissertation. Previous lists are kept on file in the Graduate Counselor’s office, and may be consulted as useful models for later examinees.
Once the student and faculty members complete the lists, all three lists together must be approved by the Mentoring Committee. The lists are then submitted to the Vice Chair for approval, and the First Qualifying Examination can be scheduled. The date of the examination will be no earlier than six months (two quarters) after the lists are approved. Two weeks prior to the examination, students submit to the committee members written work from any two seminars that they believe best reflects their performance. The committee’s review of these papers constitutes the first stage of this examination. The second stage of this examination is a two-hour oral examination.
In order for a student to receive a Pass on the examination, all examiners must agree that the student has passed all three sections of the examination. If a student fails one section, the student will receive a Fail and will be required to retake that section. If a student fails two sections, the student will be required to take all three sections again. The examinations may be retaken only once. Before any failed examination is retaken, the Graduate Committee reviews the record as a whole and offers, through the Vice Chair, advice on how students should proceed.
Second Stage. As soon as possible after successful completion of the First Qualifying Examination, students select a dissertation director and begin to prepare the dissertation prospectus. Once students advance to this stage, they may take up to 12 units of English 597, either under an individual professor or the Vice Chair, so that they can concentrate on the prospectus. Students are also encouraged to take any seminars that might prove useful.
Second Qualifying Examination. After students pass the second language requirement, and once they and their dissertation director conclude that they are sufficiently prepared (but no later than three quarters after they have passed the First Qualifying Examination), they take the second qualifying examination, also known as the University Oral Qualifying Examination. This examination is administered by a committee of four, consisting of a chair and two other members from the English Department and one member from outside the department, nominated and appointed according to the regulations governing doctoral committees. The departmental members may be the same as those on the First Qualifying Examination committee, but this is not required.
At least two weeks before the examination, students must submit their prospectus to each member of the committee. The prospectus must be a substantially researched overview of the proposed dissertation. The second qualifying examination, which normally lasts for about two hours, focuses on the issues raised by the proposed dissertation and attempts to ascertain both the feasibility of the project and students’ preparation for it. Though this examination concentrates on the prospectus, students should be prepared to discuss a wide range of works that bear on the proposed dissertation. Students are encouraged to consult with their committee in advance of the examination. The grading on the examination is pass or fail. The candidate may, at the discretion of the committee, repeat the examination once only.
Third Stage. When students pass the second qualifying examination, they advance to candidacy and receive the Candidate in Philosophy (Cipher.) degree. Students proceed with preparing the dissertation and enroll each quarter in English 599 to reflect this ongoing research and writing. Students are encouraged to enroll in seminars in their field whenever they are offered. All course requirements (oral reports and term papers) may be satisfied through work connected with the dissertation.
Advancement to Candidacy
Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (Cipher.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.
Doctoral Dissertation
Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.
Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)
Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.
Time-to-Degree
Three quarters are normally allowed from the First Qualifying Examination to the Second Qualifying Examination. From the Second Qualifying Examination to the completion of the dissertation (and the degree), the time normally allowed is six quarters. From the time of admission, students will ideally be able to complete their doctoral studies within 15 academic quarters (five years).
| Requirement |
Ideal Time to Completion |
Standard Time to Completion |
Maximum Time to Completion |
| First Qualifying Examination |
Fall Quarter of the third year |
Spring Quarter of the third year |
End of the fourth year |
| Second Qualifying Examination |
Spring Quarter of the third year |
Winter Quarter of fourth year |
End of the fifth year |
| Dissertation Filed |
Within the fifth year |
Within the sixth year |
Within the ninth year |
Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination
University Policy
A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Special Departmental or Program Policy
A recommendation for termination is made by the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies, after consultation with the Graduate Committee and confirmed by the graduate faculty. A student may appeal a recommendation for termination to the Graduate Committee.
