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 PhD 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
The language requirement must be fulfilled by the time the candidate's thesis topic has been approved.
Candidates may satisfy the requirement by either attaining or demonstrating;
- advanced competence in a language other than English, including all natural languages, ancient and modern, and excluding middle English but not Anglo-Saxon, or
- basic competence in two languages other than English, including all natural languages, ancient and modern, and excluding middle English, but not Anglo-Saxon.
Proof of competence may take four forms:
- successful completion of two term of undergraduate study in a language for basic competence or two terms of advanced undergraduate study for advanced competence
- successful sitting of an exam at the appropriate level set by a department of the University
- completion of degree-level study in that language at another university
- evidence of other kinds that is deemed sufficient by the departmental Graduate Committee.
Professionalization Training Requirement
A course on the development of research skills and professionalization, to be offered to second-year PhD students in the fall term of every year, that will meet weekly. The course will cover such topics as: preparation for area exams, preparation of a dissertation proposal, bibliographical skills, teaching strategies, the job market (academic and non-academic), conferences, writing for publication, c.v. preparation, interview technique, and writing of grant applications.
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
Thesis Proposal
Upon successful completion of the area examinations, candidates begin full-time work on their dissertations. Candidates must first prepare a dissertation proposal which includes a 3000-word description of the proposed research and a working bibliography of the primary and secondary texts that will serve as the source material for that research. These documents should be prepared in consultation with the supervisor and the other members of the candidate's supervisory committee. When candidates feel their proposals are ready for review, they will meet formally with the supervisory committee, who will ask questions and offer further suggestions for improvement. At the conclusion of this meeting, the supervisory committee will file a report in which they will grade the proposal as either "Approved for submission to Graduate Committee", "Approved subject to minor revisions" (these can be approved by the supervisor alone once completed), "Referred for substantial revision", or "Rejected". Candidates whose proposals are rejected may, at the discretion of the supervisory committee, be permitted to submit a new proposal within a time period determined by the committee. Upon approval of the proposal, the documents will be submitted to the Graduate Committee of the department for approval. The deadline for submission to the Graduate Committee will normally be December 1st for the third year of registration in the PhD program, or six months after the completion of the area examinations. Candidates who fail one or more of their area examinations must first re-sit the relevant area examination or examinations before submitting the dissertation proposal. Failure to submit a dissertation proposal by the deadline will normally result in candidates losing their satisfactory standing in the doctoral program along with their internal funding. If the submitted dissertation proposal is deemed to be unsatisfactory by the Graduate Committee, candidates must revise and resubmit within a period to be determined by the Graduate Committee. Candidates who fail to submit a satisfactory proposal in the second attempt may be required to withdraw from the doctoral program.
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.