Guide to Graduate Studies br (General Department Procedures)

Department of English & Comparative Literature Guide to Graduate Studies

Each incoming student is assigned as an initial advisor the area director in her or his field: Literature & Cultural Studies, Professional Writing & Editing, Rhetoric & Composition, or Creative Writing. The Director of Graduate Studies is also available to help and to give counsel. Once students arrive and begin their studies, they are responsible for seeking out (presumably with the help of their initial advisor) a faculty advisor to obtain assistance regarding registration, requests for financial aid, formation of special committees, examinations, and other related matters in the English graduate programs. The advisor must be tenure-track, and should be approved by the Graduate Director, who also advises students. As academic interests develop and mature, students may consider changing advisors, and may do so after consulting the Director of Graduate Studies.

Graduate students who are teaching are assigned a departmental mailbox in Arts & Sciences 241. Students must keep a current address and telephone number on file. Change-of-status information must be submitted to the Graduate Coordinator immediately, and should also be reported to the Registrar’s office at https://ucdirectory.uc.edu/updates/default.asp.

All graduate students are required to activate their UC e-mail account and use it as their primary address for all university electronic mail. To activate your account, please visit http://mail.uc.edu/.

Doctoral students should start a credential file with the Graduate Coordinator. Professional dossiers provided by the English Department consist of three to five letters of recommendation, plus unofficial transcripts.

Dossiers can be sent for a period of five consecutive calendar years, beginning no later than the year the student graduates. All dossier requests are to be made to the Graduate Coordinator via e-mail, and should include the names and addresses of intended recipients, plus any special instructions on what items to include.

A PDF file of the dossier will be sent via e-mail within five business days of receipt of the request. Students may have an unlimited number of electronic dossiers sent at no cost.

A printed dossier may be requested, and will be sent within five business days of the receipt of the (paid) request. A prepaid charge of $5.00 per dossier will be assessed for dossiers to be sent by mail.

The English Graduate Organization (EGO) comprises all graduate students in the Department and is governed by a Steering Committee of elected students. EGO was formed to protect the rights and hear the grievances of all graduate students in English, and has expanded into a more extensive role in enhancing the professional lives of graduate students. EGO elects two representatives to the department’s Graduate Studies Committee. It also arranges seminars, social events, and readings of various kinds throughout the year.

The Graduate Student Governance Association (GSGA) represents all graduate students in the University (except medicine and law). The English Department is represented by volunteers from the EGO Steering Committee. The GSGA meets bimonthly to discuss changes to policies affecting all graduate students.
You may read more about this organization at http://www.artsci.uc.edu/departments/english/grad/ego.html.

To maintain active graduate status and thus be eligible to graduate, students must register for at least one credit each academic year. Students who allow their active status to lapse, or who have surpassed the time allowed for a program, must petition the Graduate School for a reinstatement and/or an extension. For reinstatement approval, the student must pay the tuition for each of the single credit hours on which they lapsed in prior terms. Students wishing to use university facilities (library, gym) must register for a minimum of one credit hour per term. Students who allow their active status to lapse for three years must reapply to the program (no reinstatement will be allowed). For help with reinstatement or extension requests, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies.

Eligible students may receive degrees at the end of any of the academic terms by formally applying for graduation. Students need to inform the Graduate Coordinator when they wish to apply for graduation. All relevant deadlines for graduation are posted at http://www.grad.uc.edu/graduation-deadlines.aspx.