French PhD Exam and Dissertation

Each student and his or her advisor should schedule the advisory conference by the end of the first year of enrollment.

The PhD advisory committee is composed of five members of the graduate faculty, including at least one regular graduate faculty member (not retired) at the University of Oklahoma from outside the major department. The committee member whose academic specialty is the student's dissertation field is the chair of that committee. Students should prepare for distribution to the advisory committee a list of the undergraduate and graduate courses already completed in the major and minor fields, degrees earned, and a statement of the area of specialization within the major. The committee then meets with the graduate advisor and the student to plan the doctoral program in keeping with the Department and University requirements and the student's specific needs and interests. The committee also decides what previously acquired credit may be applied to the PhD program.

All PhD students must complete and submit to the Graduate Liaison an Advisory Conference Report at least one semester before taking the General Examination. The Graduate Liaison files the report of the PhD Advisory Conference with the Graduate College, signed by all members of the advisory committee. All subsequent changes in the program must be approved by the committee and the Graduate Liaison.

Changes in the composition of the committee must be approved by all faculty involved and reported to the Graduate College on the proper forms.

Students who have completed or nearly completed all required coursework file a Graduate College application for the General Examination requesting that the committee be authorized to administer the PhD General Examination. The student must explain on this form all variations from the original report of the advisory committee. The committee may give the examination after obtaining authorization to do so.

No PhD examinations, whether written or oral, may be scheduled during University finals week.

One semester in advance, the student works with his/her director to come up with three potential questions in each of the three fields. The committee is sent the list of potential questions, along with a reading list and bibliography for the exams, and asked for feedback. After all committee members who wish to do so have offered feedback, the questions are finalized and distributed to the committee. The committee chooses one question for each of the three fields (the student is no longer copied on emails at this stage). The student has two weeks to complete the exams at home. The exams will cover the following three areas:

Major field or topic (taken directly from the student’s field of specialization, such as nineteenth-century French prose)
Secondary field (a field outside of the student’s specialization that has a direct relation to the major field, such as French travel narratives)
Genre and/or critical/theoretical field (related to the topic and/or methodological approach adopted by the student, such as the history of the novel or narratology)
Part I of the written component (focusing on the Primary list) should be between approximately 15-20 double spaced pages; Parts II & III (focusing on the Secondary list) should each be between approximately 10-15 double spaced pages.
The finished product is to be sent electronically to all committee members by 5:00 p.m of the last day of the 2-week exam period.

An oral examination will be scheduled within two weeks after the written examination as a follow-up to the written exams. No PhD examinations, whether written or oral, may be scheduled during University finals week.

When the majority of the committee decides that the student's performance is clearly satisfactory or unsatisfactory, the committee shall inform the Graduate College Dean by letter within seven (7) days after completion of the oral portion of the examination. The letter must be signed by the entire committee, and any dissent from the majority opinion must be specifically noted.

In the case of inadequate results on the examination, two minor areas of the examination may be retaken. Failure in the area of specialization within the major and/or in more than two minor areas requires the retaking of the entire examination.

Upon successful completion of the PhD General Examination, students who do not hold an
MA degree in their major field may be awarded one by making application and paying the required fees.
During the fall or spring semester following the qualifying exams, the student, working with the dissertation advisor, will write a dissertation prospectus approximately 10 pages in length. By the end of the semester in question, the student will be expected to conduct an oral defense of the prospectus. In order to facilitate the process, the prospectus will be circulated among members of the committee at least two weeks before the oral defense.

The prospectus should include an overview of the topic, a brief discussion of the methodological approach to be adopted, an outline of the chapters, and a bibliography. The text of the prospectus should conform to appropriate professional guidelines.

In the event the committee does not approve the prospectus, the student may request an extension in writing. The dissertation committee will review all such requests. The student should note that the extension will not be automatically granted, but will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Graduate Teaching Assistants are expected to continue to fulfill their GTA duties during the two-week exam period.

Students in the PhD program are urged to choose a topic for their dissertation as early as possible.

Candidates conducting research or writing their dissertations enroll in dissertation hours (FR 6980) once they have successfully completed the general exams. Following the initial enrollment, a student must maintain continuous enrollment during each regular semester (summers excepted) in at least two hours of 6980, until the degree is completed or the candidacy discontinued. Exceptions will be made for military service. However, enrollment in 6980 is mandatory in any semester or summer session during which the student is actually doing dissertation work regardless of other hours of enrollment.

The advisory committee guides the student in the research and writing of the dissertation. As each chapter is completed, copies are distributed to committee members for approval and suggestions for revision.

Upon completion of the dissertation, one reading copy must be submitted to the Graduate College for approval before the final copies are made. The chair of the advisory committee schedules the defense of the dissertation which is attended by all committee members. The candidate must provide a complete copy of the dissertation to all committee members at least one month before the scheduled defense. The candidate must prepare an abstract and bring to the defense copies of the dissertation and all the forms to be signed by the committee members. If the committee approves the student's defense, all members sign the copies and the report of the final examination. If the defense is unsatisfactory, the committee prepares the report with appropriate recommendations. The candidate submits the report to the Graduate College. If the report is satisfactory, three copies of the dissertation are submitted to the library.

Candidates must comply with Graduate College regulations in applying for graduation and payment of fees.