English PhD Graduate Handbook
Old PhD Program
2011-2012
ENGLISH LITERATURE PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COLLEGE PARK
Graduate Student Handbook
The MA and PhD program in English at the University of Maryland is characterized by scholarly engagement
across various fields. The programs have a wide reach within the English Department not only through
ENGL graduate courses, but also lectures, colloquia, and academic events that speak to the interdisciplinary
focus of its students and professors. The Programs also afford graduate students the opportunity of
obtaining certification in Critical Theory and Women’s Studies. Professionalization is one of the Program’s
primary concerns, and students find support in this area through help from the Faculty Placement director,
mentorship from professors, workshops and round tables organized by the Graduate English Organization
and the Center for Teaching Excellence, and teaching at various levels of undergraduate study. The English
Department’s Center for Teaching Excellence is a common forum in which students discuss, learn about,
and find support for their teaching. The Department’s Center for Literary and Comparative Studies gives
graduate students the opportunity to encounter the work of scholars from across campus and other
universities through lectures, symposia, readings, and other events as well as opportunities to present their
own work. Students benefit tremendously from being part of a large and active English Department that
also succeeds in providing each student with individualized attention.
Getting Started: Who to contact and where to go
Sangeeta Ray is Director of Graduate Studies. She will be your immediate advisor in relation to policies,
procedures, and degree requirements. You will meet with her before you sign up for courses. In addition,
she oversees student progress to degrees, recruits prospective students, coordinates fellowship awards
(see note under Fellowships). Her office is located in 2116 B Tawes Hall: rays@umd.edu.
Manju Suri is the program coordinator for English. She provides stamps for graduate English courses; keeps
track of the various forms you will need and every deadline set forth by the department and the Graduate
School; advises the MA students and is generally an invaluable resource in navigating the University
bureaucracy. (2116C Tawes, msuri@umd.edu)
Michelle Cerullo is the graduate assistant for the Graduate Office. She keeps the calendar for the director
of graduate studies and you should contact her or Manju Suri (see above) in order to make an appointment
to see the DGS or to turn in important forms. Her desk is at the entrance to 2116 Tawes
(umenglishgrad@gmail.com)
William Cohen is the Associate Chair of the English department. He is responsible for your teaching
assignments. (2119C Tawes, wcohen@umd.edu)
Rebecca Sommer is the Business Manager for English. Her office coordinates payroll, fellowship
disbursement, and benefits. Visit the Department’s Business Office in 2119 Tawes for paperwork regarding
payroll and benefits. (2119F Tawes, rsommer@umd.edu)
Scott Elkund is the Academic Writing Office’s administrative coordinator. He’s in charge of office and desk
assignments for all graduate students. Visit him in 1116 Tawes, the Academic Writing Office, for
information regarding your desk assignment and any concerns related to teaching ENGL 101. He will also
1
explain proper use of the copy machines in 2106 Tawes, the graduate student copy and mail room. See
note under “Teaching” for more information regarding ENGL 101. (instructorelkund@yahoo.com)
Funding
All PhD admissions include a 4 year financial package from the English program. Please complete the
paperwork as soon as possible after you receive it. (This paperwork will be sent sometime in May/June but
if you haven’t received it by the end of June, please contact Masooma Ali (rizvi@umd.edu) to ensure you
receive your tuition remission and other benefits.)
Advising
The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will help students select courses and act as the general advisor for
students entering the program and during the PhD coursework. A student's progress will be assessed
regularly in the annual, mandatory advising meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies; students are
encouraged to seek formal advising every semester. After a student has advanced to candidacy, the
dissertation adviser will take over as primary academic adviser, but the Graduate Office remains available
as a resource for advising throughout all stages of the doctoral program.
Registering for Classes
University Account IDs and passwords are required to access most online university services (registration,
parking permits, emails accounts, library databases, etc). Accounts can be created following your
acceptance to the University using the following link and instructions:
https://www.oit.umd.edu/new/student.html. Following creation of an ID and password, you will be able to
activate your accounts. Accounts can take a few days to be activated and you will need an account to
register for classes.
As soon as you register for your UMD account, your default e-mail address for all university related
business will become your userid@umd.edu. That account can be checked at http://mail.umd.edu, where
you can also set up your mail to be forwarded to another account. To change your default e-mail address
and other information, please go to http://www.testudo.umd.edu/Registrar.html and click “Change
Address / E-Mail.”
Classes begin on Wednesday, August 31. You are required to obtain “stamps” (essentially a lifting of a
registration block) from Manju before you register. Course descriptions are located on the English
Department website http://www.english.umd.edu/academics/courses.
You can register for classes via Testudo (the site for the interactive Web services for students).
http://www.testudo.umd.edu/Registrar.html will allow you to register for classes or to be placed on the
waitlist if a desired course is full. Please consult Manju Suri (msuri@umd.edu) or Sangeeta Ray
(rays@umd.edu ) for questions and clarifications.
To be certified as full time, a graduate student must be officially registered for a combination of courses
equivalent to 48 units per semester. Graduate assistants, research assistants and teaching assistants
holding regular appointments have full-time status if they are registered for at least 24 units in addition to
the assistantship; holders of half-time assistantships are considered full-time if registered for 36 units.
2
Audited courses do not generate graduate units and cannot be used in calculating full-time or part-time
status.
The Graduate School uses a unit system in making calculations to determine full-time or part-time student
status. Please note that graduate units are different from credit hours. The number of graduate units per
credit hour is calculated in the following manner:





Courses in the series: 400-499 carry 4 units per credit hour.
Courses in the series: 500-599 carry 5 units per credit hour.
Courses in the series: 600-897 carry 6 units per credit hour.
Master's Research course: 799 carries 12 units per credit hour.
Pre-candidacy Doctoral Research courses: 898 carries 18 units per credit hour.
Once you have achieved candidacy, you will be automatically registered for six (6) credits of Doctoral
Dissertation Research: 899 every spring and fall semester until you successfully defend your dissertation.
These six credits of 899 constitute full time student status and are required to maintain continuous
registration to be a student in good standing.
For more information, please visit: http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/catalog/registration_policies.htm
Degree Requirements
Satisfactory Progress
We expect students to make steady, efficient progress toward the completion of their degrees. Continued
enrollment in the PhD program is dependent upon a student's making such progress. Meeting the
expectations described below will be considered evidence of satisfactory progress.
Students entering the PhD program with an MA should complete their PhD coursework (in most cases 6
courses or 18 credits) within three semesters of beginning the program and take their qualifying
examination no later than their fifth semester in the PhD program. This is based on the expectation that
students supported as teaching assistants will take two courses per semester. Students with fellowship
support take three courses per semester in a fellowship year. Students entering with fellowship support
should make more rapid progress in completing coursework, and hence in taking the qualifying
examination.
Students should file an approved dissertation prospectus within four months of passing the qualifying
examination.
Students should fulfill the foreign language requirement for the PhD within two years of beginning PhD
coursework.
Coursework
The ENGL PhD Program requires six courses. Students will select a course in Rhetoric, Linguistics or English
Language, a course in Critical Theory or Genre, 2 courses in literature in English before 1800 and 2 courses
in literature in English post 1800. At least four of those courses must be seminars. Students are required to
3
take ENGL611, Approaches to College Composition, if your funding package includes a TA-ship and either
ENGL601 or ENGL602 if you did not complete those courses or an equivalent course in your MA program.
(611 fulfills the Rhetoric, Linguistics or English Language requirement and 601/602 fulfills the Critical Theory
or Genre requirement. However, if you are exempted from taking 611 or 601/602 for any reason, you must
pick other classes to fill those requirements.) Students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies
to ensure that desired courses fulfill their degree requirements.
Advancing to Candidacy
Students must demonstrate reading proficiency in a foreign language within 4 semesters of beginning
coursework. The Department's language exam requires translation into good, idiomatic English of two
passages (generally one from a primary and one from a secondary source); the test is given once a semester
(November and April). Equivalencies include: native speaking ability; undergraduate major; passage of an
equivalent requirement in another graduate program; a recent grade of B or better in a 300-level course in
the language (the course must be taught in the language). The Director of Graduate Studies, the student's
committee, and the student together will determine the appropriate language(s) and whether coursework
or other equivalencies are sufficiently recent to attest to proficiency.
Students may sit for the qualifying examination upon completion of coursework and all incomplete classes.
The Qualifying Examination is based on a reading list compiled by the student in consultation with his or her
committee. The list will include roughly 80-120 works, chosen to cover two of the following categories: a
literary period; a recognized field; the proposed area of the dissertation. For students planning to work in
literature, it is assumed that a 100-year period will be covered. The field may be interpreted as any discrete
literary concern that has accrued a body of serious critical thought, and may include such diverse subjects
as genre; literary, linguistic, or theoretical criticism or methodology; a subperiod. Typically, students
develop a literary period or field list of approximately 75 works and a more focused list of 25 works on the
proposed dissertation topic; also typically, around 80 percent of the list consists of primary texts and 20
percent of secondary titles. But there are wide varieties in lists (some will be longer than others; some will
have more criticism than others; etc.) The number of titles on the list is less important than the larger aim
of developing a list that responsibly covers the selected categories. A copy of the reading list, signed by
your chair and one other committee member, must be turned into the Graduate Office prior to scheduling
the exam, usually about 8 weeks in advance. The deadline to have the reading list turned into the Graduate
Office will be announced every semester and there is no required form to turn in - the committee members
can sign the list directly.
The student is given a list of questions one week before the examination, written by the co-chairs or the
chair and first reader in consultation with one another. These questions will be submitted up to one week
before the exam to Manju Suri (msuri@umd.edu), who will forward the questions to the student. The
student will prepare a twenty-minute presentation on one of the questions. A question and answer period
on the presentation completes the first hour to ninety minutes of the exam. The second two-hour portion
of the exam is devoted to a more general consideration of the material on the entire list, with an emphasis
on breadth.
4
Once you have fulfilled both of these requirements, please fill out the Application to Advance to Candidacy
Form, located
http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/current_students/general_forms_for_graduate_students.html and bring
it to the Graduate Office so that we can submit it as soon as possible.
Prospectus
The prospectus is to be submitted within four months of passing the qualifying exam. The prospectus
establishes that the student has defined a research question that is worth pursuing and is in a position to
do a good job of pursuing it. The prospectus should be developed in consultation with your committee.
The prospectus should demonstrate that the student:
1. has defined and delimited an interesting research question;
2. can explain the importance of the research question and the contribution that it will make to the
field;
3. is familiar with the existing scholarship related to the research question and can describe the
relationship of the dissertation project to that scholarship (review of the literature);
4. has developed a theoretical framework for the argument and a (comparative) methodology for
your project.
Questions that the proposal should answer directly:







What problem am I going to tackle?
Why is it a problem?
Why is it important to solve it?
Where am I going to look for answers?
Why am I going to look there?
What do I expect to find?
What is the scholarly contribution that my project will make?
The prospectus should be between 10 and 20 pages in length. It should be written in clear prose and
include a bibliography. The prospectus, signed by the first three committee members, a one-page abstract
of the prospectus, and the completed prospectus form (available through the Graduate Office) should be
turned in to the DGS.
Seminars and Symposia
Every semester, the English Department offers a one-credit Critical Theory Colloquium as part of the
Graduate Critical Theory Certificate Program. This group meets 3-4 times a semester and is based on
presentations by students, faculty, and invited guests. The Colloquium is open to University of Maryland
graduate students and faculty. At least once during the three semesters of their enrollment in the program,
students working toward the Certificate in Critical Theory are required to present to the Colloquium a
formal paper on theory or in which theory figures prominently. For more information about the Certificate
5
Program, please contact Bill Cohen, current program coordinator (wcohen@umd.edu) or see
http://english.umd.edu/academics/graduate/certificates/critical.
Students interested in film also have the opportunity to participate in the Film Studies Curriculum,
organized by the Graduate Field Committee in Film (http://film.umd.edu/). The Committee was formed in
response to student demand for academic support and official recognition of their interest in the field. The
GFC supports student research through its Graduate Colloquium in Cinema and Theory each spring and
film-related events such as symposia, screenings, and seminars throughout each year.
Other means of becoming involved in areas of interest include the Department’s lecture and reading
groups. Represented areas include Digital Studies, Comparative Crossings, the Eighteenth Century;
Language, Writing, and Rhetoric; Local Americanists, Nineteenth-Century Transatlantic, Renaissance
Reckonings, Transatlantic Poetics, and Writers Here and Now. See the Department’s website for more
information (http://www.english.umd.edu/academics/clcs/lectures).
Teaching
An important part of your four years’ work at Maryland is teaching. In order to help you prepare for your
first ENGL 101 course, Academic Writing, you should take ENGL 611, Approaches to College Composition.
The Academic Writing Office, located in 1116 Tawes Hall, coordinates the program and establishes the
curriculum for the course as well as provides guidelines and tools for teaching. You can visit their site for
more information (http://www.english.umd.edu/academics/academicwriting) or contact Scott Elkund in
1116 Tawes. The best option for finding your way through the curriculum and getting prepared is by talking
to fellow graduate students. Many of them will be happy to meet several times before and during the
semester to discuss their and your teaching. The Academic Writing Office also assigns you a mentor for the
semester, and she or he observes your class twice during the term, providing at the end an assessment of
your work and progress for your record. During your first semester as a 101 instructor, the Academic
Writing Program will require that you attend weekly discussion sessions in which program mentors address
teaching strategies and questions, as well provide guidelines for ensuring your adherence to the established
curriculum.
Once you have gained experience as a 101 instructor, you will have the chance to request a position in a
literature course. Professor William Cohen, Associate Chair, asks students to fill out a sheet stating their
course preferences; he hands out assignments toward the end of the semester. Your assignment will have
you lead either a discussion section as part of a larger lecture course or a free-standing 200 or 300-level
literature course.
The English Department’s Center for Teaching Excellence (EDCTE) provides various tools to assist you in
preparing for teaching a literature course, including sample syllabi and discussion sessions in which
experienced graduate students share their reflections on teaching methods and organization. You can visit
the EDCTE’s Resources and Manuals page
(http://www.english.umd.edu/academics/graduate/cte/resources) for a list of services and opportunities,
including information about round tables and workshops, orientations for new instructors, and the
Department’s Peer Mentoring Program (for instructors of 200- and 300- level courses).
6
The University’s Center for Teaching Excellence in 2301 Marie Mount Hall (http://www.cte.umd.edu) also
organizes workshops, round tables, and lectures, as well offers several programs for enrichment. For
example, the two-and-a-half day Graduate Teaching Assistant Portfolio Retreat encourages students to
write their statement of teaching philosophy in the company other graduate students who seek to enter
the job market. International students might also be interested in The International Teaching Fellow
Program, a one-year program that pairs first- and second-year International Graduate Teaching Assistants
with a faculty mentor outside of their departments to foster their teaching skills and help them build their
teaching portfolio. Members of this program receive a CTE certificate and a $500 stipend upon completion.
Professionalization
The department offers travel support
(http://english.umd.edu/academics/graduate/financial/travelresearch) to enable students to attend
conferences to gain valuable experiences in presenting their work before colleagues. Both the ECTE and the
Graduate English Organization (for more information about the GEO, see section titled “GEO”) organize
enrichment activities that support graduate students in their professionalization.
Within the Department, Professor Jonathan Auerbach (auerbach@umd.edu), our Director of Graduate
Placement, frequently advises students on academic job applications. He often holds meetings open to all
graduate students that provide information about successfully entering the academic job market. For more
information on departmental resources for job placement, see
http://english.umd.edu/academics/graduate/placement. The Department also offers a semester-long
Publications Workshop in which students and a faculty member exchange criticism to aid in the
preparation of one’s work for publication.
Dissertation Support
We encourage our students to apply for outside funding. Outside fellowship and grants add to the prestige
of the student’s dossier and can supply funding for an extended dissertation-writing period. However, the
department does have a number of fellowship opportunities available to help with the dissertation writing
process. See http://english.umd.edu/academics/graduate/financial for more details.
The Graduate English Organization
The Graduate English Organization (GEO) serves all of the graduate students in the English Department,
including those pursuing MA, MFA, and PhD degrees in English, Creative Writing, and Comparative
Literature, by developing, managing, and overseeing programs that enhance their social, intellectual,
pedagogical and professional interests. Major GEO programs include the annual GEO conference,
professionalization events, reading and study groups, and social gatherings. The GEO represents the
interests of its members on matters of policy in governing bodies of the English Department, including the
Departmental Assembly. The GEO fosters ties between its membership and other important campus
organizations, including the English Undergraduate Organization. The GEO acts primarily through an
elected executive committee, each of whose members has a specific role in its governance and programs.
Libraries
7
McKeldin Library is the University’s main library (http://www.lib.umd.edu/). The Library provides a wide
range of services for graduate student research, including several librarians who specialize in individual
areas and information sessions on how to use library sources on and off campus. Graduate students enjoy
the same lending privileges as faculty members. The Library also participates in a consortium—the
Chesapeake Information and Research Library Alliance (CIRLA)— that extends lending privileges to graduate
students in all participant universities. In order to gain lending privileges at the university libraries in the
consortium, graduate students should apply for a CIRLA card at the Library’s Information Desk.
The librarian for the ENGL and CMLT programs is Patricia Herron (herron@umd.edu). She is a tremendous
resource for research and teaching.
Due to the University’s strategic location around various universities and research centers, graduate
students enjoy access to a wonderful network of sources for research. The Library of Congress, the National
Archives, and the Folger Shakespeare Library are all in close proximity to College Park. For more
information about the partnership between the University’s Library and the Library of Congress, visit
http://www.lib.umd.edu/PUB/lcpartnership.html .
Maryland Institute for Technologies in the Humanities
The Maryland Institute for Technologies in the Humanities (MITH), located in McKeldin Library, was
founded in 1999 as collaboration among various camps in the College of Arts and Humanities, the Libraries,
and the Office of Information Technology (http://mith.umd.edu/). MITH has grown to become one of the
leading institutes of its kind in the country. The Institute is the University’s primary support center for
scholars and practitioners of digital humanities, electronic literature, and cyberculture, as well as the home
of the Electronic Literature Organization, a well-known international group devoted to the writing,
publishing and reading of electronic literature. Graduate students interested in digital studies will find a
vast range of materials and intellectual support through MIT, including fellowships that help students
advance their research and dissertation work.
International Students
This past academic year, more than ten percent of the students who enrolled in the University came from
outside the United States. International students who have questions about the application process and
visa requirements should contact the Office of International Services (OIS)
(http://www.international.umd.edu/ies/). Among other things, the OIS organizes a graduate student
orientation that helps student transition to life in Maryland. The Fall 2011 International Student Orientation
will be held August 22-25. Registration is online. The OIS website also provides access to their Arrival Guide
(http://www.international.umd.edu/ies/7270), which offers more information about life off and on
campus, including local attractions, religious services, child care and schools, and campus activities.
Ombuds Office for Graduate Students
The Ombuds Office for graduate students is located in 2130 Lee Building. The Office provides confidential
and informal assistance in resolving problems and conflicts within the university community, and promotes
8
fair and equitable treatment. For more information see
http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/current_students/ombudsperson_for_graduate_students.html.
Campus Health and Counseling Services
The University Health Center has been nationally accredited for over 25 years by the Accreditation
Association for Ambulatory Health Care and is available to graduate students as well as undergrads. See
http://www.health.umd.edu/ for more information.
The University’s Counseling Center (http://www.counseling.umd.edu/), located in Shoemaker Building,
offers several services intended to help students through a variety of challenges. Contact their office or call
301-314-7651 for more information.
Housing
There are several options in and around the area that are affordable and easily accessible via the
university’s shuttle bus service. Searching for affordable apartments or shared homes in College Park,
Hyattsville, Laurel, Beltsville, Greenbelt, and Laurel will yield several options. The university’s Off-Campus
Housing Services, located in the Stamp Student Union, has a helpful database that connects students in
search for housing. See their information under http://www.umd.och101.com/. There several apartment
buildings designed for student living springing around campus, many of which offer discounts for graduate
students. For more information on graduate housing visit
http://www.union.umd.edu/GH/basic_needs/graduate_housing.html.
Transportation
The university’s free shuttle bus service is a great means of traveling to and from campus. Shuttle routes
and schedules can be found under http://www.transportation.umd.edu/shuttle.html. Public transportation
is also available; several buses and DC’s metro facilitate travel via the green line. For more information
about DC’s public transportation system visit http://www.wmata.com/.
If you plan to drive to campus and want to park your car in a lot close to Tawes Hall, be sure to register your
car’s tag number with DOTS, the university’s transportation services
(http://www.transportation.umd.edu/). Registration is online, and you are given the option of semester or
year-long parking privileges, which can be paid for through automatic deduction from your bi-weekly
teaching stipend.
Families and Health Benefits
PhD students who are TAs enjoy the same health benefits as all other university employees. The university
subsidizes 80% of your benefits; the 20% you are responsible for is taken from your bi-weekly stipend. The
amount of this deduction increases according to the number of persons enrolled as co-dependents on the
policy. If you are coming with a family and would like to add a family member or more to your health plan,
please contact the department’s Business Office for instructions. You’ll need to fill out more paperwork and
provide proof of relationship (for example, a child’s birth certificate). The University of Maryland recognizes
all civil unions and marriages performed in other states.
9
The university also provides a free resource center and referral service for families in need of child care.
The Family Care Resource and Referral Service has specialists available to meet one-on-one with students
(http://www.uhr.umd.edu/benefits/family_care.cfm). Another important source for information about
family life and childcare is the Office of International Services’ “Arrival Guide.” See section under
“International Students” for more information.
10