Doctor of Philosophy Degree Program

The Ph.D. Program provides a more advanced course of study and requires a greater degree of individual work than does the Master’s Program. Students may be admitted directly the the PhD program with a B.A. or they may also be admitted with a Master’s degree or equivalent (e.g., Staatsexamen) in German Studies or a related field, and a demonstration of scholarly potential. The Ph.D. candidate specializes within a chosen area of German Studies. The Ph.D requires at least 6 courses (18 credits) beyond the M.A. degree. Students entering with the Phd program with a B.A. take a total of at least 15 courses (45 credits) and are awarded an M.A. degree after they have sucessfully compelted 30 credits in the program.

The structure of the Ph.D. Program allows for a great deal of individual flexibility in defining study areas and the opportunity for interdisciplinary work. To coordinate an individualized course of study that also provides a good familiarity with principal issues of the field, Ph.D. students should choose an adviser by the end of their first semester in the program. Courses should be chosen by the student in consultation with the adviser and Graduate Program Director in order to provide the basis for comprehensive examinations, reflecting expertise in the knowledge areas and practices of the discipline, and a foundation for dissertation work. Demonstration of these skills is then provided by the four comprehensive examinations, usually scheduled for the student’s fourth semester of Ph.D. work.

Areas of examination: Four areas are determined by candidates in consultation with their adviser and are subject to the approval of the Graduate Program Director. These areas may include: a literary period, a genre or theme (over two centuries), an author, or another topic, issue, or problem (e.g., film, literary theory, feminist theory, German women writers, the German Lied, exile literature, or theories of resistance). The content of these fields is flexible, determined in consultation with the exam committee and should relate to the dissertation topic. Some examples of fields are: film and media studies, medieval poetry, cultural history, German-Jewish culture, minority literature, post-war literature, Holocaust historiography, social and literary theory. Fields are finalized at the beginning of the sixth semester (if entering with a B.A.) or the third semester (if entering with an M.A.). For each field, students have the following options: (1) A five-day take-home exam about ten pages; (2) A three-hour formal exam (Klausur); (3) An annotated syllabus on the field. Two of the exam fields must be taken as option (1). Only one exam field may be taken as option (3). Students then demonstrate knowledge of their fields in an additional oral examination.

With approval of the Graduate Program Director, component courses may be substituted or an equivalent course taken at another institution.

Courses will be chosen from the courses in German Studies offered by the department in consultation with the adviser and the Graduate Program Director. If a candidate's field of specialization necessitates taking courses in other departments, approval must be sought from the adviser and the Graduate Program Director.

Language Requirement
Candidates for the Ph.D. will be required to show advanced proficiency in one foreign language (other than German or English) pertinent to their field of specialization.

The university has a partnership agreement with the universities of Baden-Württemberg. Students may enroll in any of the universities of Baden-Württemberg at any time during their graduate studies.

Note: All teaching assistants doing coursework for the M.A. or Ph.D. participate in a one-credit practicum each year to enhance their teaching skills and to participate in coordination of the language program. For details, refer to the Teaching Assistant contract and the Graduate Employee Organization regulations.