The general requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in English follow those outlined under general requirements for the Ph.D. degree in this catalog. Completion of forty-two semester hours of graduate credit beyond the M.A. degree constitutes the minimum requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Ten classes are required beyond the M.A. degree. Twelve hours of the forty-two total must be allocated for the dissertation. If one enters directly from the B.A. degree, then sixty-six hours of graduate credit beyond the B.A. constitutes the minimum requirement (with twelve hours of this total for the dissertation). Eighteen graduate classes are required beyond the B.A. degree. In addition, the English Department requires of all Ph.D. students, during the undergraduate, master’s, or doctoral periods of study, one course in Old English Language, one course in introduction to graduate studies (ordinarily a course in bibliography and research), and one upper-level course in linguistics or critical theory or rhetoric and composition. The candidate for the Ph.D. degree is required to take one course in each of four categories and four courses in an area of concentration. Normally, the student will concentrate her/his seminars in one of the categories of English and American literature that she/he has chosen as a concentration. A seminar may be repeated if the content is on a different topic. Students are expected to take the available seminars in the area of their special research. Although a minor is not required, one is possible. Both the major and minor may be and usually are taken within the department in the areas of either English or American literature. Minor courses and any other courses outside of the department may be taken up to 12 hours of graduate credit; these courses must be directly relevant to the student’s area of major study. Candidates will be examined on one area from those listed under “Specific Course Requirements” (see “General Requirements for the Doctoral Degree” provided by the English Department), on one historical area contiguous with the major area and another historical area, and on one open area (e.g., a genre, a major author, critical theory, rhetoric, linguistics, etc.). All Ph.D. students must demonstrate intermediate-level proficiency in two foreign languages. To determine the means of satisfying the foreign language requirement, students should consult the statement appearing under “Specific Degree Requirements” in this catalog. The preferred foreign languages for programs in the Department of English are French and German, but students may select any modern foreign languages or classical languages, provided that they are necessary for the dissertation and are approved by the Graduate Program Director.