Course of Study

1. Upon entering the Program students work closely with the faculty members of their academic field (especially the convener) and the Director of Graduate Studies. Along with the matriculation committee, they assist students in the formulation of the first year of their programs and with the choice of courses.

2. By the middle of the second year the doctoral student participates in the selection of a principal advisor who will become the chair of their permanent guidance committee. Together they select a committee that comprehends the student's range of interests and prospective program. As a rule the preliminary examination committee becomes the final dissertation examination committee. (Changes in either committee may, however, be made with the approval of all the committee, the Committee on Doctoral Committees, and the Dean of the Graduate School.)

3. The faculty committee, in consultation with the student, sets the preliminary examinations (guidelines), which are intended to test competency in the appropriate fields as well as the student's readiness to undertake the research and writing of a dissertation. There are four written exams--generally a four-hour exam in the student's major, a three-hour exam in a broadly conceived dissertation area, and three-hour exams in each of the student's two minors--followed by an oral exam.

4. Within six months after completing the preliminary exams, the student prepares a dissertation proposal (procedures for approval of dissertation topic) to be approved by their committee.

5. The dissertation must be completed in eight semesters after prelims. (Extensions are granted in unusual circumstances.) Before, or at the start of, the semester in which the student intends to defend the completed dissertation, he or she must file an "Intention to Receive Degree" with the Graduate School. This form, giving the exact title of the dissertation must be approved by the DGS and the chair of the dissertation committee. Note that it must be submitted one month before the dissertation is to be defended, and no later than January 25 preceding the May commencement, August 1 for a September degree, and December 1 for a December degree. Students who plan to finish in a specific semester must be sure to file this form. If plans change and a student is unable to finish, he or she simply completes the same form again the subsequent semester.

6. The defense of the dissertation involves an oral exam once the written thesis has been accepted. Students must submit a copy of the dissertation in the approved format to the committee AT LEAST three weeks in advance of the defense.

Students admitted directly to the doctoral program often hold the M.A. or M.Div. degree or have done substantial equivalent work, although increasingly, students with strong backgrounds in Religious Studies are entering the doctoral Program with no degree beyond the B.A. Students applying for the M.A. only are evaluated with the standards of the Ph.D. in view. Completion of the M.A. usually takes from one to two years, depending on the student's preparation and intentions. For students going on to the Ph.D., the University permits the substitution of an appropriate alternative to the M.A. thesis.