The MA thesis and PhD dissertation are the central elements of a successful graduate education in English. In a sense, coursework exists to prepare students to demonstrate an original argument grounded in the breadth of primary materials and secondary research on the topic of the student's main intellectual interest. Students work closely with advisers to formulate topics, do research, and write a sustained argument that will engage the best and most interesting scholarship of the day. Students prepare the physical object of the thesis or dissertation in accordance with the Graduate School's Guidelines. Please see the Program Requirements pages for the MA and PhD for timelines describing stages of the thesis and dissertation.
The MA Thesis is an optional component of the MA in English. The thesis (50-75 pp.) is recommended to students who are considering pursuing doctoral work, since it provides the opportunity for a first extended exercise in independent research at the graduate level. Those seriously considering the thesis option should, at the outset of master’s work, discuss possible thesis topics with the faculty member or members who seem most likely to constitute the student's MA Thesis Committee. The Director of Graduate Studies is available to aid students in thinking through advisers and how to approach them. Students present and defend their theses to this committee in an oral examination.
Students should choose a topic of particular interest to them. In many cases, portions of the thesis will be used in applications to PhD programs or as submissions for publication. In many cases, successful MA theses grow out of seminar papers written in the first year of study.
Prospectus
As soon as possible after passing the comprehensive examination, a candidate should explore a dissertation topic under the guidance of the student’s adviser. Candidates must formally present and describe the topic in a prospectus that explains the nature of the study to be undertaken, the present state of scholarship on the subject, the approach to be used, and, if possible, the nature and extent of the expected contribution to knowledge. For the student to remain in good standing, the prospectus must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Office within three months of successful oral defense of the Comprehensive Examination. The prospectus is a ten to fifteen page document outlining the problem that the student seeks to address: this "problem" is often a combination of theoretical, historical, aesthetic, or archival approaches to the primary field. The Prospectus outlines the problem, the student's tentative solution to the problem, and includes a brief chapter outline. It is also extremely useful to prepare a preliminary bibliography and to submit this along with the prospectus. The Prospectus usually forms the basis of grant applications and dissertation descriptions when the student goes on the job market. It is of long term use to have a prospectus on file early, even when the final dissertation will (necessarily) follow the paths of research and writing.
Dissertation
The PhD Dissertation is a work of original scholarship in a recognizable field covered by departmental expertise. Most dissertations in English are between 200 and 350 pages and combine an original argument with research into the field you explore. By the end of the process of researching and writing the dissertation, the successful student will be one of a few world experts in the field addressed. Therefore topics should be specific enough to allow students to stake a claim to expertise, while broad enough to speak to the general field in which the dissertation is placed. The dissertation becomes the central document upon which you build your academic reputation. At best, it will be ready to go as a book project. Chapters of your dissertation will likely serve as writing samples on the academic job market and might be revised into publications either before or after you have defended it and received your PhD. The dissertation itself will be read by the student’s adviser and a minimum of three other readers (for students entering in the fall of 2005 or later; earlier students must have committees of at least five faculty members). One member of the committee must be a member of a department other than English. In the process of research and writing, some students work closely with an entire committee; others focus on the responses of their primary adviser to preliminary work.
By Graduate School rules, seven months must elapse between a student's successfully passing the PhD Comprehensive Examination and submitting the PhD dissertation.
Defense
Defense usually occurs within a month of submission to the committee of an acceptable dissertation. Committee members prepare questions in advance and the defense consists of a conversation regarding the scholarship and writing of the dissertation. The defense is customarily a celebratory occasion. But committee members can - and sometimes do - ask challenging questions that undercut specific and general issues in the project. Students have a chance to incorporate suggestions from the defense into the final document submitted to the Graduate School. Therefore it is useful to schedule the defense some weeks before the final deadline for submission to the Gradaute School in the term in which the student wishes to graduate. A majority of the committee must vote positively for the dissertation to pass. If the dissertation is not passed, the student can revise in accordance with suggestions and resubmit.
Creative Dissertation
PhD candidates in Creative Writing generally write a “creative dissertation,” which may take the form of a novel, a novella, a book-length collection of short fiction, a collection of poetry, a collection of essays, a memoir, or a book-length work of creative nonfiction. To exercise this option, the candidate must have taken 9-12 hours of creative writing seminars as part of the PhD course work. In addition to the “creative” part of the dissertation, the candidate will compose a prose introduction (2500-word minimum), to be written after completion of the creative project, to demonstrate the correspondence between the candidate’s academic studies and the creative project. When the dissertation has been read and approved, the candidate must pass an oral examination (approximately two hours) on the dissertation and its field administered by the four or five members of the committee. All other requirements for the PhD in English, including time guidelines and the dissertation prospectus, must be completed by PhD candidates in Creative Writing.
