Curriculum | Exams | Placement | Accelerated PhD

Exams

Structure
Following guidelines, you choose three exam areas. One must be a post-1900 literature area; the second must be either theory or Composition Pedagogy; the third can be either Composition Pedagogy, another post-1900 literature area, or a pre-1900 literature area. Any of the three areas can be designated as the primary, or dissertation, area, with the others serving as auxiliary areas.

The Department's faculty have developed core reading lists for several standing, or pre-approved, exam areas. You must submit a written proposal for any area not represented on the list. This proposal should be accompanied by a letter of support from the faculty examiner to the Graduate Curriculum Committee for its consideration.

The standing twentieth-century exam areas are delimited by nationality and genre as follows: British Poetry since 1900, British Fiction since 1900, British Drama since 1900, American Poetry since 1900, American Fiction since 1900, and American Drama since 1900. Ethnic American Literature is also considered a post-1900 area.

The standing pre-1900 areas cover all genres across a certain nationality and historical period. For example, Renaissance/Early Modern Literature, Seventeenth-Century Literature, Victorian Literature, Early American Literature (to 1800) and Nineteenth-Century American Literature.

Theory and Composition Pedagogy areas have core reading lists as well.

For each standing area, the core reading list consists of approximately 20 primary works and 10 secondary works. If you claim expertise in a particular area, you must know these approximately 30 works--at a minimum. To the core list you add another 30 works in roughly the same proportion (20 to 10), chosen after consulting with your advisor. When selecting works, you should weight each list--whether in literature, theory or composition--towards your particular sub-fields of interest.

Format
The exam includes both an oral and a written component. The three written parts, one for each area, are written on three days over a two-week period and can be completed at home. The oral portion is a 90-minute exam that allows you to elaborate on written answers. The exam committee may ask additional questions as well.