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Doctor of Philosophy Program in French

Degree Requirements: To qualify for the doctorate, a student must satisfactorily complete graduate studies totaling at least 72 points (at least 32 points in residence at New York University), pass an oral and written qualifying examination and a dissertation proposal examination, and then successfully defend a dissertation. The degree of Master of Arts is prerequisite to the Doctor of Philosophy. All doctoral candidates in French should complete at least one course (including M.A. work) in each of seven areas of French and Francophone literature and one course in literary theory.

Fields of Study: In consultation with the director of graduate studies, doctoral students may enroll in a limited number of courses outside the department in areas related to their interests, or they may choose a field of study of up to five courses in another discipline: linguistics, art history, cinema studies, performance studies, or comparative literature.

Certificate of French Studies: Students taking 16 points in summer courses or academic year core courses at the Institute of French Studies within, or in addition to, their course work for a degree in the department are awarded a professional Certificate of Achievement in French Studies (see the Institute of French Studies section of this bulletin).

Joint Degrees: Students may take the Ph.D. with a special focus in French literature in cooperation with the Institute of French Studies. This option is suited to candidates with a strong background in literature and in history or political science who intend to teach literature and civilization at the college level. Students must take 18 courses evenly divided between literature (19th and 20th centuries) and Institute of French Studies courses (see the Institute of French Studies section of this bulletin).

Foreign Language Requirement: Knowledge of a second foreign language is required by the French department for the doctorate and must be demonstrated before completion of 60 points by any of the methods described in the Degree Requirements section of this bulletin or by passing with a grade of B or better a graduate course taught in that language. A petition to approve a language other than German, Italian, Spanish, or Latin as the second foreign language is considered by a departmental committee on the basis of the need of that language for the student’s work.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination: An examination composed of a two-hour oral portion and a take-home written portion is taken on completion of the required course work. This examination is structured as a series of inquiries (major authors, genres, and special topics) selected by the candidate, in consultation with the faculty.

Dissertation Proposal Examination: As soon as possible, but no later than two semesters after the successful completion of the Ph.D. qualifying examination, the student must submit a dissertation prospectus on which he or she will be orally examined for one hour.

Admission to Candidacy: When the student has completed at least one year in residence and all course and language requirements and passed the Ph.D. qualifying examination and the dissertation proposal examination, the student is formally admitted to candidacy for the doctorate, and a dissertation committee is appointed.

Final Oral Defense: When the dissertation is completed and approved by the adviser and readers, an oral examination is held at which the candidate presents and defends research results to a faculty committee of five.