The PhD program at Waterloo integrates literary study with language study in the areas of rhetoric, professional writing, discourse analysis, composition theory and multimedia design and critique. It is designed to prepare candidates for posts in upper-level research and teaching in universities and other settings. Enrolment is highly selective and limited to no more than eight full-time candidates who begin their program of studies in the autumn of each year.
Admission Requirements
Students may be admitted to the PhD program upon completion of an MA program in English. Although candidates normally enter PhD studies from Master's programs, it is possible for outstanding candidates to enter directly from an Honours BA. Because enrolment in the program is limited, only candidates with an 85% average and up will be considered. In addition to submitting the University Application to Graduate Studies, applicants should complete a Plan of Study detailing plans for their PhD studies and describing their goals once their studies are completed.
Deadline: Completed applications must be received no later than January 31. Late applications will not generally be considered.
Financial Assistance
The Department attempts to provide funding over the four years of doctoral studies for students accepted into the Ph.D. program and who require assistance Candidates requesting financial assistance will be guaranteed a minimum amount of support which will be composed of external grants awarded to that candidate together with university scholarships and teaching assistantships. All eligible PhD candidates must apply for external scholarships (Ontario Graduate Scholarship and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council doctoral fellowship), and such awards count toward the financial support total.
More information on the Ontario Graduate Scholarship can be found at the OGS website.
Further information on the SSHRC doctoral fellowship can be found at the SSHRC website.
Degree Requirements
Graduate Supervisor
PhD candidates will arrange for a graduate supervisor no later than the end of their first year in the program.
Language Requirement
This requirement must be fulfilled at the time of approval of the thesis topic.
Candidates may elect to complete either of the following:
- two languages other than English (French, German, Greek, Italian,Latin, or some other language of particular relevance to their studies) at a basic level;
or
- one language other than English at an advanced level.
Completion of the basic level reading knowledge requires satisfactory completion of an appropriate first-year undergraduate course (two terms) or successful sitting of the basic level departmental language examination in each of the two languages offered. One of these may have been used to complete the MA language requirement.
Those who offer a single language may do so by completing an advanced course (two terms) in that language or by satisfactorily sitting an advanced level examination in the proposed language. This advanced level examination, which is prepared and marked by the appropriate language department, examines the candidate's ability to read, understand and analyze critical texts in the proposed language as well as to translate passages into accurate English.
Course Requirements for the PhD
The PhD requires the completion of six one-term (0.50 unit weight) graduate level courses beyond the Master's degree.
- 1 Literature course
- 1 Rhetoric and Communication Design course
- 4 electives
Students may include among their electives one approved course from the graduate offerings of another department or university. Students may also take one directed reading course as part of their program, in the event that no satisfactory course is available.
Course Grades Required
To graduate candidates must receive an average of 78% in their courses. To remain eligible for funding, candidates must maintain an 80% average. If a student receives one failing grade or two grades lower than 70%, the Graduate Studies Committee will review the candidate's standing in the program. The candidate may be asked to withdraw.
Area Examinations
At the end of their course work and preliminary to registering for dissertation credit, candidates are required to sit three examinations. Two of these examinations will be drawn from one area in each of the prescribed literary and language areas.
Candidates declare when registering to sit the first exam, which is their primary area of expertise.
The third examination, a two-hour oral, is based on the reading list and the written responses in the candidate's exam in the primary area of expertise.
- Literary Areas:
- Old English Literature
- Middle English Literature
- Renaissance English Literature (16th-17th centuries)
- Restoration and Eighteenth-Century English Literature
- Nineteenth-Century British Literature
- Twentieth-Century British Literature
- Canadian Literature
- American Literature
- Postcolonial Literature
- History of Literary Theory and Criticism
- Language Areas:
- History of Rhetorical Theory and Criticism
- Discourse and Text Analysis
- Composition Theory and Pedagogy
- Multimedia Critique, Design and Theory
Dissertation
When a candidate has selected a supervisor, the graduate officer will appoint two other members of the faculty to form a dissertation committee. The dissertation will be an original study on a topic agreed upon by the candidate, graduate supervisor, and the dissertation committee. The dissertation will normally run 250 to 400 pages of typescript.
Oral Defense
Once a candidate submits the dissertation for assessment, a committee for the oral defense will be struck.
Time Limits
The PhD program requires a minimum of two years of full-time study to complete and a maximum of four years of full-time study beyond the MA.