English and Cultural Studies, Ph.D

The Ph.D. degree program normally entails four years of study. The admission requirement is an M.A. with marks of at least A- in two thirds of the applicant’s Masters level courses. In recent years, successful candidates typically achieved an average of A (at least 85%) in their upper-level undergraduate and M.A. coursework. The Graduate Studies Committee will give consideration to matching candidates’ proposed projects with the research expertise of available faculty members.

Program Requirements

Coursework

Ph.D. candidates will successfully complete five graduate courses: four one-term graduate courses in Year 1 of the program, and the Doctoral Seminar, in year 2. Up to two one-term courses relevant to the student’s research interests may be taken outside the department, subject to permission by the offering departments and the ECS Graduate Studies Committee.

Thesis Proposal

By March 1 of the first year of the program, students must identify an area of specialization and submit a preliminary thesis proposal (with bibliography) signed by a potential supervisor and reader for approval by the Graduate Studies Committee. With the guidance of their supervisory committee and their peers in the year 2 Doctoral Seminar, students will develop a detailed thesis proposal. The detailed proposal, signed by members of the student’s supervisory committee, is due by June 30 of the second year.

Comprehensive Examination

Students are required to take a Comprehensive Examination in an area related to their intended field of research specialization. This examination, which takes place in the second year of study, consists of two papers, a Field Survey and a Topic Paper, which will be defended in an oral examination. The Field Survey should show broad expertise in the wider field of knowledge the candidate’s research will engage. The Topic Paper describes how the candidate’s dissertation intervenes in that field and the particular contribution it will make. A reading list for the Comprehensive Examination must be approved by all members of the supervisory committee during the first year of the program. Both papers are researched and written concurrently by the candidate, and each should be between 25 and 30 double-spaced pages in length. The Oral Examination will follow within 10 days of submission. The candidate’s performance in the Comprehensive Examination will be assessed on a pass/fail basis for the Field Survey, the Topic Paper, and the Oral Examination. Please check the English and Cultural Studies Graduate Handbook for additional details and due dates.

Doctoral Seminar

This course, completed in Year 2 of the program, focuses on practical elements of research and other aspects of professionalization in literary and cultural studies. Required for PhD students; pass/fail.

Thesis

During the third and fourth year of the program, the candidate will write a scholarly thesis and will defend it at an Oral Examination.

The thesis will take one of three possible forms:

A traditional thesis, normally 200 to 250 pages in length (not including bibliography);
A research-creation thesis, consisting of a body of creative work along with an analytical prose component normally 100 to 125 pages in length. Research-creation theses must present sustained, reflective research set directly and actively within the creation process itself, and must address clear research questions theoretically contextualized within relevant fields of inquiry.
A sandwich thesis, normally 150 to 200 pages in length (not including bibliography). In accordance with McMaster’s Thesis Preparation Guide, sandwich theses must consist of a minimum of three scholarly works on a unified theme, either previously published or exhibited, submitted for peer-review, or prepared for publication/exhibition but not yet submitted. These works must be accompanied by substantial introductory and concluding chapters addressing the methodologies, theories, and approaches that unify and inform the research.