Year 2: Requirements, Expectations & Deadlines

Students must have completed at least three quarters of continuous academic residence prior to constituting a Doctoral Committee and must be currently registered and enrolled at UCSD. During the 4th Quarter, the student invites a tenured Literature professor to Chair their Doctoral Committee. The student and Chair consult about the constitution of the rest of the committee. During the 4^th and 5^th Quarters, the student invites prospective members to join the Doctoral Committee. Ideally, the committee will consist of professors with whom the student has studied or met with during office hours.  By the end of the 5^thQuarter, the student should have their committee members confirmed, and the student must submit their committee details to the Graduate Office for official constitution. The student must complete the committee constitution request form online (see the “Forms” page of the website). The Graduate Coordinator then submits an online request to GEPA to officially constitute the Doctoral Committee. The student, along with their entire committee, will receive a notification email from GEPA when the committee has formally been constituted.

Doctoral Committee Requirements

• The Doctoral Committee must have 4-6 members
• The Chair must have tenure and must be Literature Department faculty
• With Co-Chairs – one of the Co-Chairs must have tenure, and both must be Literature Department faculty
• The required outside (of the department) faculty member may only be a committee member
• 3 Literature (ladder-rank) faculty must be on the committee
• No more than one member of the committee may be a retired faculty, and they may not serve as Chair or Co-Chair
• No more than one non-UCSD faculty may be on the committee. They may only serve as a fifth member on the committee, and they may not fulfill the Chair, Co-Chair, or outside-member positions. Additional information and justification will be required for non-UCSD faculty, and GEPA will have the final authority to approve their inclusion on the committee.
• A complete table of GEPA's allowed roles and memberships for Doctoral Committees can be found at http://grad.ucsd.edu/academics/progress-to-degree/committees.html, but keep in mind that the rules listed above must also be met.

Note: The policies listed here (and on the online form) are the minimum requirements for a doctoral committee. The committee constitution request that a student submits (meeting all minimum requirements) is still a request to the department, which may or may not be approved for various reasons. If a committee configuration is denied by the department, the Graduate Coordinator will assist the student in explaining what needs to be adjusted. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator for any questions.

The Doctoral Committee advises the student on the areas for reading lists and the qualifying research paper, holds the Pre-Qualifying Meeting, conducts and evaluates the qualifying examination, supervises the preparation of the dissertation prospectus, advises the student on dissertation research and writing, and conducts the dissertation defense.

Reconstituting the Doctoral Committee

When a change in the Doctoral Committee is necessary, the student completes the committee reconstitution request form online (see the “Forms” page of the website). This information includes fully updated committee members, their committee roles, and an explanation for each of the change(s) being made. The Graduate Coordinator then submits an online request to GEPA to formally reconstitute the membership of the Doctoral Committee. The Committee Chair or Co-Chairs will need to electronically approve the request for reconstitution. The online form will subsequently be routed to the Director of Doctoral Studies, before submission to GEPA for approval. The student, along with their entire new committee, will receive a notification email from GEPA when the committee has formally been reconstituted.

Reading Lists, Research Paper Abstract, Pre-Qualifying Meeting

To prepare for the qualifying examinations, students should enroll with a member of their Doctoral Committee (preferably their committee Chair) for a four-unit LTXX 298 during their sixth quarter. This LTXX 298 is credit for creating the two reading lists (and their justification), writing the research paper abstract, and holding the Pre-Qualifying Meeting with the Doctoral Committee (by the end of the sixth quarter). The Pre-Qualifying Meeting, conducted by the Committee Chair, is to discuss and approve the reading lists and the topic of the research paper (see “Research Paper Abstract” below). At the end of the sixth quarter, after the Pre-Qualifying Meeting takes place, the student must submit the “Pre-Qualifying Meeting Worksheet” (see the “Forms” page of the website) to the department to confirm the details and completion of the meeting. The Committee Chair will verify that the information is accurate and that the student has been given approval to move forward with the qualifying process.

Reading Lists Requirements

• Each reading list will have at least 50 works.
• Compilation of the works will be done under the direction of their Committee Chair and in consultation with other Doctoral Committee members. 
  • In general, each list and the paper will be supervised by a specific member of the committee. 
  • There is no standard list of required works for individual specializations or the department as a whole.
• Each reading list should cover two suitably diverse topics in terms of genre, author, historical period, a problem of theory or method, and/or national traditions. 
• One list must be framed within a historical period resembling those used to define jobs and divisions in the MLA.
• The two topics should not overlap in terms of the historical period covered, and students are strongly encouraged to cover as broad a range as possible. 
• Lists may focus on literature, film, theory, or other forms of cultural production.
• They must contain an appropriate mixture of primary and secondary materials, i.e., major critical and theoretical reflections on the works as well as the works themselves.

Reading List Justifications

Students will preface each list with a brief (one- to two-page) statement that explains the logic behind the list and that answers questions such as these:

• Why did the student choose this particular topic?
• What broad questions guide research in this area?
• How do the texts on the reading list fit into contemporary scholarly/theoretical debates?

Sample copies of reading lists and justifications are available for students to consult as models in preparing their own lists. Please contact the Graduate Coordinator for samples.

Research Paper Abstract

During this quarter, students will also determine a topic for the research paper and prepare a one-page abstract of that paper. The research paper will be due one month before the student’s written Qualifying Exam. The research paper will represent work in a third distinct area of study, with a minimum of overlap regarding materials prepared for the two reading lists. The research paper, when completed, should demonstrate the student’s awareness of relevant research on the topic and make a clearly stated contribution to the field. Ideally, it will contribute to dissertation research.

Pre-Qualifying Meeting

Near the end of the 6^th Quarter, the student, in consultation with the Committee Chair, arranges the Pre-Qualifying Meeting with the entire Doctoral Committee to discuss and approve the reading lists and the research paper abstract. When the date and time of the meeting has been established, the student may contact the Graduate Coordinator to request a meeting room in the department be reserved for them. This meeting may also be held remotely if the student and committee prefer.

Prior to the meeting, the student will have prepared and circulated to members of the Doctoral Committee the following:

1. The two reading lists
2. The two reading lists justifications, describing the rationale, scope and focus of each list
3. The one-page abstract of the qualifying research paper

After the meeting, the student will complete the "Pre-Qualifying Meeting Worksheet" online (See the “Forms” page of the website), to confirm the details and completion of the meeting. The Committee Chair or Co-Chairs will verify that the information is accurate and that the student has been given approval to move forward with the qualifying process. Upon successful completion of the Pre-Qualifying Meeting, students can begin reading toward the qualifying exam in the summer following Year 2.