SUMMARY OF THE FOURTH YEAR
- Registration: 2 Extended Residence Units
- Teaching:
1 section of University Writing per semester; OR,
1 section of Literature and Humanities per semester
- Dissertation Prospectus: Submitted by November 30
- First chapter of Dissertation: Submitted by May 15 to
qualify for dissertation fellowship in the fifth year
- Participation in one conference recommended
Submission of one essay for publication recommended
- Participation in a relevant doctoral seminar or dissertation
group
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SUMMARY OF THE FIFTH YEAR
- Registration: 2 Extended Residence Units; or,
Matriculation and Facilities
- Teaching or Dissertation Fellowship:
1 section of University Writing per semester; OR,
1 section of Literature Humanities; OR,
Dissertation Fellowship
- Satisfactory Progress on Dissertation:
At least one chapter submitted by April 1, if on teaching fellowship;
A second chapter submitted by November 30, if on dissertation
fellowship
- Participation in one or two conferences
Submission of an essay for publication
- Participation in a relevant doctoral seminar or dissertation
group
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SUMMARY OF THE SIXTH YEAR
- Registration: 2 Extended Residence Units; or,
Matriculation and Facilities
- Teaching or Dissertation Fellowship:
1 section of University Writing per semester; OR,
1 section of Literature Humanities; OR,
Dissertation Fellowship
- Participation in two national conferences
Submission of an essay for publication
- Participation in a relevant doctoral seminar or dissertation
group
- Dissertation Defense
Note: for those not defending their dissertation in the sixth
year, a Dean's Progress Report must be filed by May 30
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REGISTRATION
After having completed 6 "residence units" (RU), i.e.,
2 semesters of full tuition for 3 years, Ph.D. students may then
register for either an "extended residence unit" each
semester or a unit of "matriculation and facilities" each
semester. These registration units are defined as:
Extended Residence Unit
M.Phil/Ph.D. students who have completed six residence units and
either hold a teaching appointment or plan to take courses register
for extended residence. Extended residence confers "full-time"
status to students, and allows them to take unlimited classes. The
cost is covered for students on teaching appointment. If you have
questions about what to apply for, please contact the Department
Administrator.
Matriculation and Facilities
Advanced M.Phil./Ph.D. students who are neither on a teaching appointment
nor are planning to take courses should register for matriculation
and fees, "M&F." Students who are dissertation fellows,
for instance, should register for M&F. If questions arise about
what to apply for, please contact the Department Administrator.
— M&F F/T: "Full-time" status, no
classes.
— M&F P/T: "Part-time" status, no
classes, loans may become payable
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TEACHING
There are 2 options for teaching after students have completed the
M.Phil. requirements: University Writing or Literature /Humanities.
University Writing
For this option, students are expected to continue teaching
one section of University Writing in the fall semester, and another
in the spring of their fourth year. The Writing Center is associated
with the English Department, but is run separately. Consult the
University Writing homepage for a more detailed description of the
program, or the Director of University Writing with questions.
Literature/Humanities (Core Curriculum)
"LitHum" is a yearlong course in which Columbia College
students engage in intensive study and discussion of some of the
most significant texts of Western culture. The M.Phil. is required
for all "core preceptors," the title given to students
who teach LitHum. There are no exceptions. Therefore, Ph.D. candidates
who have been awarded the M.Phil. are eligible to apply to teach
in this program in the fall for appointment in the following year;
application does not insure acceptance, as English Ph.D. students
will be competing with students both within the department and from
other departments as well. Moreover, teaching Literature and Humanities
is a two-year commitment. Please consult the Core Curriculum website
for more details, or contact the Committee on the Core with questions.
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THE DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS
Aims
The dissertation prospectus is not an introduction to your dissertation,
but is rather an indication of what your argument is, why your
dissertation matters, and how you are going to go about exploring
your topic. Unlike an introduction to your dissertation, in other
words, the prospectus is more like a grant application; it is, in
fact, an important step in securing the dissertation fellowship you'll
receive for the fifth (or sixth) year of study. The prospectus should
do five things:
• Set out your overall
thesis and show its interest and importance
• Indicate the approach
and methods you'll be using to develop the thesis
• Give a page or so to
describe each chapter
• Outline a tentative schedule
• Include a representative
bibliography
Length
Your prospectus should be between 1500-3000 words-about the
same length as a typical grant application. Ideally, it should therefore
be 7-10 double-spaced pages in length, plus a tentative schedule
and a representative bibliography. Longer prospectuses will not
be approved.
Filing the prospectus
Once your prospectus has been approved by your faculty advisors,
the next step is to file it officially with the department. Pick
up four dissertation cards from the dissertation coordinator (Julie
Banbanaste). Each of your three committee members signs each card.
If someone is off campus, an email to the dissertation coordinator
will suffice in lieu of a signature. Bring the signed cards and
two copies of your prospectus to the dissertation coordinator. The
DGS then reads and either approves your prospectus for the department
(usual) or asks for more information (more rarely). The cards are
filed under the candidate and faculty committee names. One copy
of your prospectus goes in your file, the other to our general prospectus
file. You are notified by email that the process has been completed.
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THE DISSERTATION
The culminating product of graduate work, the doctoral dissertation
is likely to be by far the longest piece of writing a student has
ever done, and it becomes the most important piece of evidence on
the academic job market, the fullest and most visible expression of
a candidate's intellectual values and accomplishments.
It is useful for you to be aware from the outset what a dissertation
is not. It is not a book, though it may eventually become one
at a subsequent phase: dissertations are typically shorter and more
selective in scope than books. Nor is a dissertation the kind of
magisterial summing-up that a scholar can try out following the
award of tenure-a speculative or deeply personal work addressed essentially
to a very general audience, or to oneself, but not focused on any
particular audience of intermediate size.
Generally, the dissertation should accomplish two things:
• It should address an
issue that intrigues you deeply and that gives you an opportunity
to work on authors you find compelling and who will repay extended
study-not by someone else, but by you.
• The dissertation should
also demonstrate the various skills that assistant professors in
literary studies are expected to have: skill at analysis of literary
texts, sophistication in historical and/or theoretical framing of
issues, and engagement in an ongoing scholarly conversation concerning
important issues of current concern.
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LENGTH, SCOPE, AND FORMAT
A typical dissertation these days runs between 250 and 300 pages,
divided into four or five chapters, often with a short conclusion
following the final full-scale chapter. There is no set minimum
or maximum length, but anything below about 225 pages will likely
look insubstantial in comparison to others, while anything over
350 pages may suggest a lack of proportion and control of the topic,
and would probably take too long to write. For guidelines on formatting,
students should consult the GSAS Dissertation Office website (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/cs/diss-office/pages/wel/index.html).
The goal should be to have a full draft of the dissertation
completed by October 1 of the sixth year (fifth M.Phil. year).
This will enable you to spend the fall of that year on the job search,
and to assure interviewers in December that your work is complete
apart from some minor revision and the actual defense.
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DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Helping guide you through the process of writing the dissertation
is your dissertation committee-a group of three faculty members consisting
of a Chair, a tenured faculty member of the English Department who
is directly responsible for overseeing your schedule and for convening
meetings with your committee, and a Second and Third Reader, faculty
members from inside or outside the department who each act as full
advisors. All three committee members should review your draft prospectus
and will need to sign off on the final version (using index cards
that are kept on file in the office).
As you contemplate potential committees, you should talk over your
ideas with the DGS to help you decide what combination of people
will be most useful to you in terms of specific knowledge as well
as of general approach and interaction.
The committee Chair is responsible for the composition of the defense
committee: the three members of the student's departmental committee
and two examiners from other departments. In special circumstances,
examiners may be faculty from other universities, in which case
the potential examiner's curriculum vitae must be sent to the department
for submission to the Dissertations Office for Dean's approval.
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CHAPTER REVIEW MEETINGS
The department facilitates the meetings that occur throughout the
process of writing the dissertation-meetings to discuss chapters,
directions the project is taking, progress towards completion, etc-but
it is your responsibility to produce the work needed (typically,
one chapter per semester), to give the drafts to your advisors (with
your name, contact information, and date on them), and to notify
the office when you have done so.
TMELINE
The following dates should be kept in mind:
|
Date
|
Event
|
| October 30 (4th Year) |
Half-hour conversation with at least two prospective
dissertation committee members to discuss a draft prospectus.
If no committee is chosen, conversation should be with the DGS
and one faculty member. Prospectus should be submitted by November
30. |
| May 15 (4th Year) |
One disseration chapter must be completed and
submitted by May 15 to qualify for a dissertation fellowship
in the fifth year. |
| June 1 (4th Year) |
One-hour conversation with your dissertation committee,
discussing the first chapter or the progress towards its completion.
The office will keep track and make sure that the meeting is
being held; the DGS will receive a brief email report from the
committee's Chair. |
| 1 Time/ Semester |
Visit each of your three committee members. You
can be in contact via email if direct meetings are not possible.
Faculty will return chapters within two weeks. |
Thursdays, 1-2 pm
all semester |
Time reserved for meetings with committee members.
Notify the M.Phil. Coordinator when you have completed a chapter
and circulated it. Only one formal meeting is required per chapter. |
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CONFERENCES AND PUBLICATIONS
If you haven't done so already, you should begin to be active in
the wider scholarly discussion beyond campus. This can be done in
two ways: through conference participation and through publication
of articles and book reviews. These modes of professional interaction
are invaluable, but spending too much time working on articles or
preparing conference presentations can impede the completion of
your dissertation-a hindrance that offers only a marginal benefit.
One article and one or two conference presentations per year will
amply serve the purpose.
Conference Participation
The department provides some funding to help cover the cost
of conference travel for people presenting papers. These funds are
available to fourth-year students and beyond, and the Graduate School
of Arts and Sciences provides matching funds for post-orals students.
To receive such funds, you need to give the department a one-page
description of your paper, a copy of the letter of acceptance from
the conference organizer, and a budget of expected expenses (car
rentals, hotel reservations, etc). Please pay attention to the deadlines
that are posted for receiving funding. Reimbursements are processed
when original receipts are submitted to the department's financial
assistant.
Your orals examiners and dissertation advisors are excellent resources
for advice on what professional organizations to join; by the fourth
or fifth year, every graduate student should become a member of
one or two relevant leading professional organizations. Even if
you are not giving a paper, it's a good idea to begin attending
their annual meetings. Apart from such annual meetings, special-topic
conferences are constantly issuing calls for papers; PMLA and the
MLA Newsletter list many such calls, and the Graduate Coordinator
maintains a folder of fliers that come to the department.
Publication
Publication is highly desirable-in moderation-and is most useful
when you're able to turn an existing draft (seminar paper or dissertation
chapter) into an article. Seminar papers will often need to be expanded
somewhat, while dissertation chapters will need to be cut down.
The MLA Guide to Periodicals gives a very useful listing of journals
and their requirements on length and format.
Consult with your advisors about sending out submissions and have
them read drafts of articles before submitting them. An article
should be sent to one journal at a time, and should be accompanied
by a short cover letter on English Department letterhead.
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DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP
Dissertation Fellowship
The department makes available to all students who have completed
the M.Phil. degree a full year of funding in either their fifth
or sixth year in the program-funding free from any teaching obligation.
Students are expected to use this "free year" to make
significant progress on their dissertation, aiming to have a full
draft of it done by the end of the year. Students must have completed
their prospectus and one chapter to be eligible to take the dissertation
fellowship in the fifth year.
Students should also apply for outside funding for their fifth
and sixth years. A list of fellowships can be found on the GSAS
website at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/ps/fin-aid/pages/fellowship-sch/index.html.
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DOCTORAL SEMINAR AND DISSERTATION GROUPS
During the extended period of dissertation work, it is important
to keep in contact with other students as well as your advisors.
To this end, the department sponsors several dissertation seminars;
you are strongly encouraged to attend the seminar of most use to
you, beginning in the fall of your fourth year.
Dissertation Groups
Most of the areas in the department conduct dissertation seminars
throughout the year. These seminars meet between 3-4 times a semester
and are not for credit. Since students and faculty usually attend,
these groups are invaluable ways of getting a great deal of input
from colleagues other than your advisors on work in progress.
Doctoral Seminar
In addition to field-based dissertation groups, there is an
open field advanced doctoral seminar, chaired by the Placement Director.
This seminar is open to all students who are on the academic job
market or will soon be. It meets twice a month; at each session,
a student gives a 30-minute presentation-in effect, a trial run
for a "job talk"-followed by extended discussion by the
group. Students are invited to join this seminar beginning in the
spring of the fifth year, and to remain a member of the seminar
thereafter. Students should register for this class and for an extended
residence unit. Registering for the doctoral seminar does not preclude
continued participating in a dissertation group.
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DISSERTATION DEFENSE
The culminating rite of passage of graduate study, the defense should
be, and usually is, a very satisfying experience. Your three
advisors are now joined by two outside committee members who can
read your work with fresh eyes, and if all goes well, the defense
will be a congenial two-hour discussion from which you emerge with
a new sense of how your work looks to a variety of serious readers
and where you might take it next.
Defense Preparation
Applications for defense, available from 107 Low Library or the
GSAS website (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/gsas/cs/diss-office/pages/wel/index.html),
should be filed with the department at least 3 months before your
anticipated defense date. This provides ample time for your chair
to contact the prospective outside committee members and for all
relevant information to be sent to the dissertation office.
After doing this, the main thing you can do to insure a successful
defense is to make sure your three primary advisors feel that your
dissertation is complete and ready to defend. After seeing the final
version you intend to distribute, your committee chair must formally
certify to the department that it is ready to defend. Once you distribute
the dissertation to the five members making up your defense committee-at
least one month in advance of the defense date-you then contact
the defense coordinator in Low Library; the coordinator will officially
set the time, date, and location of the defense.
The registration requirement for the dissertation defense depends
on the date of distribution, not on the date of the actual defense.
If you distribute before the first day of classes of the new semester,
you do not have to re-register.
At the Defense
Bring a copy of your dissertation and a notepad to your defense.
Unlike the orals examination, which is purely focused on discussion,
the dissertation defense is geared towards helping you think critically
about your project, and it is recommended that you take notes to
that end.
The two-hour defense ordinarily begins with the chair of your committee
inviting you to spend five minutes or so describing the genesis
of your project, your thoughts on what you've achieved, and your
plans for future developments. The examiners then take turns giving
comments and asking questions for 15-20 minutes each. You are then
excused for a few minutes while the examiners confer, and then you
are brought back in to the room for the result. Your examiners may
give you back their copy of your dissertation, if they've made comments
in the margins, or may have already made all of their comments in
the defense.
Defense Results
Dissertations can receive the following grades:
— PASS (minor revisions): Correction of typos, and any fine-tuning
the committee may suggest. This is the result in the great majority
of cases, and usually involves just a few days' work at most.
— INCOMPLETE (major revisions): Substantial work still to be
done within a specified period of time. At the end of that time,
a subcommittee of three examiners must read and approve the revised
version.
— FAIL: It rarely, if ever, happens that a dissertation whose
advisors have approved it for defense receives a failing grade.
Dissertations that pass with minor revisions can also be granted
Distinction, if all five examiners agree. By Columbia rules, only
10% of dissertations are to receive the grade of Distinction.
Following the award of a Pass with minor revisions, the candidate
has six months to complete any final revisions and deposit the dissertation
at the dissertation office in Low Library. A schedule is set each
year for the last date to deposit in time for an October, May, or
January degree. Even if you have not actually deposited the dissertation
by the time of Commencement, you should be sure to come to the graduate
Convocation and share in the champagne and strawberries that follow.
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