Ph.D. Program

A Ph.D. degree in English at the University of Saskatchewan prepares graduates for academic positions as researchers, teacher-scholars, and instructors, as well as for positions in academic-adjacent and other careers, whether in the public, non-profit, or private sectors.

Students are required to take five courses plus ENG 802.3: Research Methods. They also complete a Field Examination, present and submit a Dissertation Proposal, and research and create a book-length Dissertation representing an original contribution to scholarship in their field.

For questions about the Ph.D. program, please contact the Department of English Graduate Chair, Dr. Ann Martin: ann.martin@usask.ca

Transferrable Skills

• Sophisticated Professional Communication Skills, Written and Oral
• Analytical Expertise in Diverse Textual Environments
• Originality, Innovation, and Ideation
• Effective Time and Project Management
• High-Level Problem-Solving Skills
• Leadership, Mentorship, and Team-Building Skills
• EDID and Intercultural Competency

Coursework	Pre-Candidacy Requirements	Independent Research Project	Other requirements
15 credit units of electives (five 3cu courses) ENG 802.3: Research Methods GPS 960.0: Introduction to Ethics and Integrity	Field Examination Language Requirement (one language other than English at an Intermediate level) Dissertation Proposal and Presentation	Dissertation (200-400 pages)	Registration in ENG 996.0 each term Registration in in ENG 990.0 each year Progress Review meeting each year

Typical Schedule Towards Completion of the Ph.D.

Year One

• Complete 15 credit units of electives (five 3cu 800-level courses)
• Complete ENG 802.3: Research Methods.
• Complete GPS 960.0: Introduction to Ethics and Integrity
• Satisfy requirements of ENG 990.0: Professional Development
• 1 May: Submit completed Student-Supervisor Agreement to the Graduate Chair
• 31 May: Identify Field Reading List and Field Examining Committee in writing to the Graduate Chair

Year Two

• Satisfy requirements of ENG 990.0: Professional Development
• Complete Language Requirement
• By 31 January: successfully complete Field Examination
• By 31 May: submit approved Dissertation Proposal and signed Dissertation Proposal Form to the Graduate Chair
  • By 1 May: submit Supervisor-approved draft of Dissertation Proposal to Advisory Committee
  • By 15 May: present Dissertation Proposal to Advisory Committee in a meeting chaired by the Graduate Chair
  • By 31 May: submit Dissertation Proposal with signed Dissertation Proposal Form, indicating Advisory Committee approval, to Graduate Chair for final review

Year Three

• Satisfy requirements of ENG 990.0: Professional Development
• Research and draft dissertation in consultation with the Advisory Committee

Year Four

• Deliver Works in Progress talk based on dissertation work
• Complete the dissertation in consultation with the Advisory Committee
  • Refer to CGPS formatting guidelines
• When approved by the Advisory Committee, provide a copy of the final formatted version of the Dissertation and related paperwork to the Graduate Chair for distribution to members of the Examining Committee
  • NOTE: the time from submission of dissertation to defence is typically two to three months; after 31 May it can take much longer
• Defend the Ph.D. Dissertation in an oral defence
• Apply to graduate by 31 August for Fall Convocation (or by March 31st for Spring Convocation).
  • Consult the April and September deadlines listed in the Academic Calendar for more information.

NOTE: After implementing final revisions and securing the Supervisor’s final approval, the Dissertation should be submitted through the site for Electronic Theses and Dissertations along with a completed GPS 404: Final Thesis Confirmation Form . Please consult the CGPS page on thesis and dissertation submission.

All requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be completed within six years of the date of registration in the first course. Students are encouraged to complete their Ph.D. programs in four years. Students beyond the fourth year of their programs are normally not eligible for Departmental funding, though they may apply for a Teacher-Scholar Doctoral Fellowship.

All graduate students are expected to keep abreast of CGPS deadlines pertaining to time in program.

The University of Saskatchewan encourages students to spend time on campus interacting with faculty, researchers, and other students, and participating in the academic life of the university. The College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies has no minimum residency requirements. Individual graduate programs, however, are required to establish their own residency guidelines. The minimum residency for Ph.D. students in the Department of English is two years.

If you are admitted to the Ph.D. and are viewed to be less conversant with the graduate program offered through the Department of English (or if you completed your M.A. more than five years ago), you will be asked to take a qualifying examination early in the first year of your program. Note: this is not a comprehensive or candidacy examination. The Qualifying Examination tests familiarity with common literary terms and critical methods, awareness of the impact of critical position on interpretation, and ability to speak analytically about important texts.

Towards the Qualifying Examination, the Chair of the Graduate Committee asks the Ph.D. student to choose three areas of specialization in which to be tested. The Graduate Chair then invites three faculty members (each a specialist in a different one of the three areas selected by the student) to form an examining committee. Forty-eight hours before the examination begins, this examining committee provides the student with a selection of three short texts (for example, an essay, a short story, a play, poems) representing at least two genres in each of the student’s chosen areas.

At the Qualifying Examination, the student discusses these texts with the examining committee. The Chair of the Graduate Committee (or designate) presides. The Qualifying Examination lasts approximately one hour.

If you enter the program in September and are required to take the qualifying examination, you must do so before 31 October. If you enter in January and must take this examination, it will be scheduled for February. Students who fail the examination must take it again at the next time it is scheduled; those who fail a second time will be required to withdraw from the program.

All incoming students are expected to have their course selections approved by the Graduate Chair before registering online in the July-August period. 

Non-credit courses

In addition to completing GPS 960.0: Introduction to Ethics and Integrity, Ph.D. students must enroll in ENG 996.0: Research – Dissertation each term to indicate their registration in the Ph.D. program. They must also register for ENG 990.0: Professional Development each year of their degree.

Research-related coursework

Ph.D. students are required to take ENG 802.3: Research Methods even if they have completed ENG 802.3 at the Master’s level. This pass / fail course meets every two weeks across the Fall and Winter terms, and is designed to support discipline-specific skills and non-coursework-related degree requirements.

Ph.D. students must take the equivalent of five elective courses, each worth three credit units, beyond those required for the M.A. degree, for a total of 15 credit units of elective coursework (15cu). Each 3cu elective course is offered over one 13-week term. During the regular session (Fall and Winter terms), these graduate seminars are held once a week for approximately three hours. During the intersession (Spring term), seminars meet several times each week.

At least 12cu of the total coursework for the degree must be taken at the University of Saskatchewan.

All graduate students are expected to achieve an average of 80% or more in their coursework, which is the threshold for funding. For a Ph.D. student, a mark below 70% is a failing grade. Students must take another course to replace a failed course, but the marks in the failed course still count toward the student's average. Students who fail two courses will be required to withdraw from the program.

The Department of English offers the following elective graduate classes in rotation. These shell courses are adapted by instructors in any given year to reflect specific research and teaching interests:
     ENG 801.3 - Topics in Textual Scholarship
     ENG 803.3 - Topics in Literary and Cultural History
     ENG 805.3 - Topics in Individual Authors
     ENG 811.3 - Topics in National and Regional Literatures
     ENG 817.3 - Topics in Literary and Cultural Theory
     ENG 819.3 - Topics in Methods and Texts
     ENG 843.3 - Topics in Genres and Contexts
     ENG 898.3 - Special Topics
     ENG 899.6 - Special Topics

Each year, faculty propose particular versions of such courses. Thus, ENG 805.3: Topics in Individual Authors might one year be a course on Shakespeare, and the next a course on Emily Dickinson. Students may thus register for courses with the same course code more than once, so long as the course topic is different.

Graduate students in English may apply to the Graduate Committee to take a maximum of six credit units (6cu) per degree program outside the Department. Such an application must include a letter indicating the particular value and relevance of the course to the student's program, as well as a description (from the instructor of the course or the department in which it is taught) of readings and assignments to be undertaken to fulfil graduate-level requirements.

The experience of intellectual exchange provided by seminars is vital to graduate study. In graduate degrees in English, coursework is intended to give students an opportunity to study a range of literature and a variety of approaches, and thus to expand beyond a single area of specialization. In exceptional cases, however, where a student's completion of the program would be jeopardized without studies in a particular area—studies that cannot be pursued through the courses offered in the English Department or elsewhere—a student may propose a reading course, arranged between the student and a faculty member, in consultation with the Chair of the Graduate Committee. The Graduate Committee will evaluate the need for the proposed course and will decide whether to recommend its approval to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Reading courses are approved only under these exceptional circumstances. Students may take a maximum of 6cu of reading courses.

ENG 990.0: Professional Development Seminar

All graduate students are required to attend this series of seminars and workshops related to professionalization and career planning. Addressing academic but also academic-adjacent and non-academic careers, sessions will feature guest speakers and involve University of Saskatchewan resources, including supports offered through Career Services and Professional Development. Central to ENG 990.0 will be the identification and enunciation of transferrable professional skills and the ongoing creation of an Independent Development Plan.

As part of their professional development, all Ph.D. students are required to give a 30-45 minute “Works in Progress” presentation in anticipation of their dissertation defence. The presentation might be a detailed synopsis of the project or a conference-style paper focused on one aspect of the dissertation. The scheduling of the seminar will be arranged by the Graduate Chair in consultation with the student and Supervisor. In practice, this presentation would take place when the student's dissertation is well advanced.

All graduate students are required to attend the Ph.D. “Works in Progress” presentations that are part of ENG 990.0. Students are also expected to attend talks and events identified by the Graduate Chair.

By 31 January of the second year of the doctorate, all Ph.D. students are expected to complete the Ph.D. Field Examination. Successful completion of the two-part examination demonstrates that they have sufficient understanding to do advanced research, teaching, and supervision in their identified field or area of the discipline.

The student must inform the Graduate Chair in writing of their intention to complete the Field Examination approximately 8 months in advance (i.e. by 31 May of their first year of the doctorate). This notification will include:

1. the student's choice of a departmental Fields Reading List (see below) representing two-thirds of the readings for the Field Examination;
2. the Candidate’s List of readings constituting the final one-third of the readings, drafted in consultation with the Supervisor; and
3. the three faculty members of the Examining Committee, who may be consulted on the Candidate’s List of readings.

The following areas are the ones for which departmental reading lists have been set:

• American
• Commonwealth/Post-Colonial
• Cultural Studies
• English-Canadian
• Literary Theory
• Literature by Women
• Medieval
• Modern and Contemporary British and Irish
• Nineteenth-Century British
• Renaissance
• Restoration/Eighteenth Century
• Indigenous Literature

If a Ph.D. student chooses to be examined in an area for which there is no departmental reading list, they (in consultation with the Supervisor) will propose an area to the Graduate Committee at least twelve months before the examination is to be taken. If the Graduate Committee accepts the proposal and if three faculty members are willing to serve as examiners, the Ph.D. student (in consultation with the Supervisor) will prepare a reading list comparable in dimensions to those in areas for which set lists exist. At least six months before the examination is to be taken, this reading list is to be submitted to the Field Examining Committee for approval.

The Field Examination

As outlined in the Field Examination Guide, the Ph.D. student may write the examination either on one day (9:00-12:00, 1:30-4:30) or in two three-hour blocks on successive days. Questions will be developed by the Examining Committee and provided to the student at each examination. Students will use a department laptop, unconnected to the internet, for the written component of the Field Examination. No aids are permitted in the written portion of the Field Examination.

No less than a week and no more than two weeks after writing this examination, the student will attend an oral examination of approximately two hours' duration. This oral examination will be convened by the Graduate Chair or designate, and it will be conducted by the three faculty examiners who set and evaluate the written portion. In this oral examination, the examiners will ask questions about the written examination as well as about the reading list and the student’s own contributions to the reading list, especially as they relate to the topic of the student’s dissertation.

The written component of the Field Examination must receive a pass before the oral component can be taken. Following the oral, an overall grade is assigned: Pass with Distinction, Pass, or Fail. If a Fail is given, the student may repeat the examination within three months of the initial examination. If repetition of the examination is necessary, usually both the written and oral parts are required; the Field Examining Committee has discretion to require, however, that only the oral be retaken.

The Department of English requires Ph.D. students to demonstrate, at a minimum, reading knowledge of one language other than English that is relevant to their dissertation research and/or dissemination. This degree requirement may be fulfilled by native speaker competency or by the successful completion of at least one of the following within the first two years of the doctorate:

• a translation examination
• HIST 888.0
• undergraduate coursework in one language at an Intermediate level (Old English may be used to fulfill this requirement)

See below for descriptions of these options and the standards that must be achieved.

Depending on the dissertation in question, there may be cases in which additional expertise is required by the student’s Advisory Committee, or in which the Advisory Committee determines that the language requirement would be met by introductory-level courses in two languages.

Translation Examination

The Department of English Translation Exam will be arranged by the Supervisor and the Graduate Chair. It will be set by a member of the department or by a member of another unit or institution depending on the language in question. The examiner will prepare a passage of text of approximately 300-350 words, typically corresponding to a second-year undergraduate course reading level. The student will be tasked with translating the passage into English. The translation must achieve a grade of 60% or higher in order for the student to successfully pass the examination. The student has 2 hours to complete the translation, during which they will be permitted to use a dictionary and to refer to grammar texts approved by the examiner.

HIST 888.0: Reading French

This one-term course culminates in a final translation examination (French to English). A student must achieve 60% or higher in the course to meet the language requirement standard. NOTE: HIST 888.0 is not offered in every year.

Undergraduate Coursework

The Language Requirement can be met by the successful completion of at least 3cu of language courses designated as Intermediate by the Department of Languages, Literature, and Cultural Studies OR by completing ENG 301.3: Old English Language and Culture. Students must achieve at least 60% in such coursework to meet the language requirement standard. Questions regarding courses and coursework should be directed to the Graduate Chair.

1. Scope and Specifications

A Ph.D. dissertation in English is based upon original investigation. It must demonstrate mature scholarship and critical judgment on the part of the candidate, as well as familiarity with tools and methods of research relevant to the topic of the research, and a clear and informed sense of the academic field to which the project of study makes a contribution.

According to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Policies and Procedures Manual, section 4.5, the doctoral dissertation must:

1. Deal in an academically satisfactory way with a definite topic related to the major research field;
2. Demonstrate ability on the part of the candidate to do independent study and investigation;
3. Be written in good scholarly style and conform to the requirements of a style manual approved by the academic unit; and
4. Comply in presentation features with specifications of the CGPS.

When finished, the Ph.D. dissertation will be between two hundred and four hundred pages. For information on university expectations of the dissertation and its format, please consult the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies formatting guidelines.

To view completed Ph.D. dissertations submitted by graduates from the Department of English at the University of Saskatchewan, doctoral students are encouraged to search HARVEST, the university’s Repository for Research, Scholarship, and Artistic Work.

2. The Dissertation Supervisor

Students will identify a prospective dissertation Supervisor in consultation with the Graduate Chair in the first year of the doctorate. A Student-Supervisor Agreement form will be completed and submitted to the Chair of the Graduate Committee by 1 May of the first year of the doctorate.

3. The Dissertation Proposal: Doctoral Candidacy Assessment

Following the completion of all other course requirements, including the Ph.D. Field Examination (deadline 31 January of the second year of the doctoral program), Ph.D. students in the Department of English will work with their Supervisor and Advisory Committee members towards the preparation of a Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal and a Dissertation Proposal Presentation, which comprise the Doctoral Candidacy Assessment in the Department of English. These two elements are to be completed no later than 31 May of the second year of the doctoral program. Successful completion will be noted on the student’s official transcript, and the student will be recognized as a Doctoral or Ph.D. Candidate. 

Process 

The student will be advised in writing at least 60 days in advance that the candidacy assessment is to take place. Students are expected to work with their Supervisor(s) and with the Specialist and Cognate Members of their Advisory Committee in order to draft and revise the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal.

Once the final draft of the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal has been approved by the Supervisor, and once the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal form has been completed (but not yet signed), both will be forwarded by 1 May to the Chair of the Graduate Committee, who will then circulate them to the Advisory Committee and schedule a Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Presentation. 

Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Instructions and Form

The Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Presentation will be scheduled to take place no later than 15 May of the second year. It will be chaired by the Chair of the Graduate Committee and will involve all members of the Advisory Committee. In this meeting, which will last no longer than one hour, the student will present a 5-10 minute talk regarding the proposed dissertation: the topic, the research questions, the critical / analytical framework, the structure, the anticipated outcomes, and the stakes and anticipated contributions of the project. In the ensuing discussion, questions, suggestions, and required revisions will be presented by the Advisory Committee. After the discussion has taken place, the student will be asked to leave the room and the Advisory Committee will provide the Graduate Chair with their determination: pass, pass with minor revisions, or fail. In the event of a pass with minor revisions, required revisions will be provided to student in writing no more than one week following the meeting.

The final Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal will be forwarded by the student to the Supervisor for final approval, and then both the Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal and signed Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Form will be forwarded to the Graduate Chair no later than 31 May. 

A student who does not satisfy the requirements of the Ph.D. Candidacy Assessment and is assigned a “fail” is permitted a second attempt at the recommendation of the Department of English and with the permission of the Dean of CGPS or designate. The second attempt will be scheduled no later than three months from the date of the initial Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Presentation; exceptions will be considered by the Dean of CGPS or designate. A second attempt at the Doctoral Candidacy Assessment will involve the submission of a revised Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal and Proposal Form, as well as the convening of another Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal Presentation meeting. Following the same model as the initial Presentation, the student will explain and reflect upon revisions and any other changes made to the Proposal. The Advisory Committee will then provide their determination: pass, pass with minor revisions, or fail. 

A second unsatisfactory outcome will automatically result in a requirement to discontinue from the Department of English PhD program unless the decision is successfully appealed by the student. 

4. Guidelines for the Writer and the Supervisor(s) of the Dissertation

The principal role of the doctoral dissertation Supervisor is to help students achieve their scholarly potential. In doing so, the Supervisor is a committed, accessible, stimulating, respectful guide but also a consistent and rigorous judge. After all, the student's work must meet the standards of the university and the discipline. It is unusual, though not impossible, for a student to change Supervisors part way through a dissertation project. Should a situation arise which may require a change in dissertation supervision, either the student or the Supervisor, or both, should consult the Chair of the Graduate Committee.

What can a student expect of a dissertation Supervisor?

• to help select and plan a suitable and manageable research topic;
• to help set and maintain a schedule of work;
• to be familiar with the specific area of research or willing to gain that familiarity;
• to be available for consultation with the student about the project; depending on the project itself, and particularly on the student's stage of work on this project, such meetings may take place once a week, once a month, or once a term;
• to consult with the Chair of the Graduate Committee on selection of Advisory Committee members for the dissertation;
• to respond expeditiously, thoroughly, and constructively to the student's drafts of the dissertation;
• to consult with the student and the Chair of the Graduate Committee about continuity of supervision before leaving for extended periods;
• after approving the complete dissertation, and having determined that its presentation of text is correct and consistent, to provide a finished copy of it to the Graduate Chair, to be passed on to the Examining Committee; by saying the dissertation is ready for examination, the Supervisor does not commit the Department to accepting the dissertation;
• to advise the student about any changes required in the dissertation by its examiners; and
• to consult with the student regarding an appropriate External Examiner for the oral defence.

What can a Supervisor expect of a student?

• to show commitment in learning what is needed to design and carry out the project;
• to develop a plan for completion of all stages of the project, and to adhere to that plan;
• to meet with the Supervisor and Advisory Committee at least annually and/or when requested, and to report fully and regularly on progress;
• to maintain registration in the program and (for international students) to keep any necessary visas and immigration documents up to date;
• to maintain an available current address;
• to consider seriously and respond to advice and criticism;
• to meet the requirements of the University, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and program, including those pertaining to deadlines and dissertation style;
• to recognize that the Supervisor and Advisory Committee have other teaching, research, and administrative obligations which may take precedence over consultation on the dissertation project; and
• to be scrupulous in acknowledging sources of assistance or information.

Ph.D. Advisory Committee

Each graduate student has an Advisory Committee. Committee membership is established in consultation with the Supervisor and the Chair of the Graduate Committee. The student consults with and reports to this committee about progress towards completion of the requirements of the degree. The Advisory Committee offers expertise to the student relating to the material under study, the scholarly context for the dissertation, the methodologies and critical framework being used, and/or the process of researching, drafting, and revising the dissertation.

Advisory Committee

• Supervisor or Co-Supervisors
• Specialist Member (within department)
• Cognate Member (outside department)

Yearly Advisory Committee Meetings

The student meets annually with this committee, usually in the Spring, to report on progress towards completion of the requirements of the program. The discussion is represented in the annual GPS 210: Graduate Student Progress Report form, which is completed by the Chair of the Graduate Committee or their designate and submitted to the ASG Graduate Programs Administrative Coordinator (asg.graduateprograms@usask.ca). Either the student or the Advisory Committee can ask for additional meetings.

What can a student expect of an Advisory Committee?

• to provide constructive criticism of the student’s ideas as the program develops;
• to be reasonably accessible to the student for consultation; and
• to participate in the annual Advisory Committee meeting towards supporting the student’s progress towards degree completion.

When the Supervisor has agreed that the dissertation is ready to go forward, the student will supply a copy to the Chair of the Graduate Committee, who will forward the dissertation to the Specialist and Cognate members (see below). After any revisions have been completed and a majority of the Advisory Committee has agreed that the dissertation is ready for defence, the final draft of the dissertation will be submitted to the Chair of the Graduate Committee and the Examining Committee will be determined.

Examining Committee

• Supervisor or Co-Supervisors 
• Specialist Member (within department)
• Cognate Member (outside department)
• University Examiner (within or outside department) 
• External Examiner (outside university)
• Non-Voting Chair (the Chair of the Graduate Committee or their designate)

The dissertation must be forwarded to CGPS at least five weeks before the desired oral defence date. It will be forwarded along with the name of the University Examiner (a faculty member from either the Department of English or another department who is at arms-length from the dissertation research), and with the name and c.v. of the proposed External Examiner (a faculty member from another university who is an expert in the field of the dissertation research). After the External Examiner has been approved by CGPS and has agreed that the dissertation is ready for defence, the oral examination date is arranged.

NOTE: The Ph.D. Candidate and Supervisor should consult on at least two possible External Examiners. Either the Supervisor or the Chair of the Graduate Committee may contact a prospective External Examiner to confirm their interest and availability, and to obtain their c.v..

The duties of each examiner are outlined here:

• Specialist Member: to read the dissertation in its proposed final form, paying attention to its quality of argument and claims, its professional maturity, its engagement with the material and the scholarly field in question, and its structure, format, and readability. This process normally takes three to four weeks. In a report written to the Chair of the Graduate Committee, who will pass it along to the Supervisor, the committee member would state whether or not the dissertation is ready for examination and is entitled to request revisions and to review revisions, if they deem it necessary. If there are serious concerns about the acceptability of aspects of the dissertation, the written report will indicate them. In reporting that a dissertation is ready for examination, the committee member does not commit the Department to accept it at the examination. At the oral examination, the Specialist will ask questions to draw out and to assess the candidate’s understanding of their research and its implications. 

• Cognate Member: to read the dissertation with attention to the way it refers to the area of their own expertise, and to consider the general persuasiveness of the dissertation for an audience not familiar with the discipline of English. Normally the Cognate Member takes three or four weeks to respond to the dissertation and to indicate whether it is ready for examination. A (potentially brief) report would be submitted to the Graduate Chair to be forwarded to the Supervisor. The Cognate Member would state in that report whether or not the dissertation is ready for examination and would be able to request revisions and to review revisions if they deem it necessary. In reporting that a dissertation is ready for examination, the member does not commit the Department to accept it at the examination. During the defence, the Cognate participates in evaluating the dissertation and the student's responses, posing questions in order to assess the candidate’s comprehension of both the project and its contribution. 

• University Examiner: to read the dissertation with attention to the overall quality of the argument of the dissertation, its analyses and engagement with the topic, its structure and style, and its accessibility to readers who are not overly familiar with the specialized topic or material under consideration. This arms-length Examiner may be a faculty member of the Department of English or may be from another department within the university, and will not have been directly involved in the student’s dissertation research. Normally, the University Examiner will have three or four weeks with the dissertation before the oral defence. If they feel that the dissertation is not acceptable for oral defence, the University Examiner must contact the Associate Dean, CGPS immediately. Otherwise, at the oral examination, the University Examiner would ask questions to assess the student’s understanding of the substance, scope, and significance of their research project. 

• External Examiner: The College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies forwards a copy of the duties of the External Examiner at the time of appointment. The student should have no contact with the External Examiner before the examination. On reading the dissertation, this examiner submits a written report, which forms part of the grounds for the decision of the Examining Committee. The External Examiner is offered four to six weeks in which to read and complete the written assessment of the dissertation.

The Oral Examination or Defence
Given the difficulty of scheduling oral examinations between 1 June and 31 August, students must complete the dissertation well before deadlines. The time from initial submission to examination for a Ph.D. dissertation is normally about two to three months; during the summer, arrangements for the defence can add to that time.

A dissertation examination or oral defence is governed by the following regulations:

• All faculty of the Department of English are invited to attend the Oral Defence; the candidate may also request that the Department invite interested graduate students and members of the community. The candidate may also request a closed examination.
• The Chair of the Graduate Committee or designate will chair the examination.
• The Supervisor is neither an examiner nor the chair of the examination, but normally attends the examination and remains during the Examining Committee's deliberations.
• At the outset of the examination, the candidate speaks for approximately fifteen or twenty minutes about the issues, approaches, conclusions, and significance of the dissertation.
• The examiners question the candidate for about twenty minutes each. In a second round, and taking approximately ten minutes each, examiners have the opportunity to ask one or two further questions; subsequently, any other faculty present may ask one question each, including the Supervisor. Normally, the examination portion of the defence takes approximately two hours.
• After the questioning, all but the Chair and the examiners withdraw while the examiners deliberate their decision. That decision will be one of the following five recommendations:
  • Recommendation 1: dissertation acceptable, with or without minor revisions (to be completed within two weeks); oral defence acceptable.
  • Recommendation 2: dissertation requires re-submission (within six weeks); underlying research adjudged to be sound, but dissertation in need of recasting with addition of illustrative material or limited additional data; oral defence acceptable.
  • Recommendation 3: dissertation acceptable; oral defence unacceptable; second attempt at oral defence should be completed within three months of the date of the initial examination (only one re-take allowed).
  • Recommendation 4: dissertation unacceptable; oral examination re-take; dissertation does not meet minimum standards, but committee believes that further research and/or revision may bring it to an acceptable standard or dissertation defence is unacceptable but the committee agrees that the candidate has the potential, with additional preparation, to be able successfully to defend work; re-submission of dissertation and second attempt of oral defence no sooner than six months and no later than twelve months after the original defence.
  • Recommendation 5: clear fail; dissertation does not meet minimum standards and committee considers that no reasonable amount of additional research or revision is likely to bring it to an acceptable standard or oral defence of dissertation is completely unacceptable and committee agrees that the candidate does not have potential to be able to successfully defend the work; committee recommends candidate be required to discontinue from the College of Graduate Studies.

No later than a week after the examination, the examiners must provide a written copy of any requirements they have for the dissertation to the Chair of the Graduate Committee. The Supervisor and the Chair of the Graduate Committee are responsible for seeing that the candidate carries out the changes, but the examiners have the right to approve any revisions. If the Supervisor declines to see the changes carried out, the Chair of the Graduate Committee appoints one of the examiners to do so in the Supervisor's place. All these things are to be agreed upon before the examination meeting ends.

Any required recommended revisions are to be completed and confirmed by the Supervisor or designate before the dissertation is considered complete. The finished document must conform to the requirements of the current editions of either the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style as well as the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies formatting guidelines for theses and dissertations.

Candidates will submit a copy of the finalized Ph.D. Dissertation to the Chair of the Graduate Committee as well as to the submission site for Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Please consult the CGPS site on thesis and dissertation submission for more information.