Languages and Literatures Option
Major Language Requirement
3 years (6 semesters) of an Asian language offered by the Department. An examination of the student's competence will be Part One of the student's PhD preliminary examination. The form of the examination will be determined by the faculty member administering the examination. Elementary and intermediate languages taken in the course of fulfilling this language requirement cannot be counted toward the "credit requirement" described below.
Minor Language Requirement
2 years (4 semesters) of another Asian language, or 1 year (2 semesters) of two other Asian languages offered by the Department. Elementary and intermediate languages taken in the course of fulfilling this language requirement cannot be counted toward the "credit requirement" described below.
Additional Language/s
It will be the responsibility of the student's PhD adviser to establish additional language requirements (if any). This should be attended to as soon as the adviser is chosen. At that time the Department Chair, the student's PhD adviser (if different from the Chair), and the student will sign an Adviser/Additional Language that will be filed with the Graduate Coordinator. The student must complete the additional language/s requirement before taking any part of the PhD preliminary examination.
A note about languages
The Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia recognizes the study of the following languages as relevant for its PhD track in Languages and Literatures: Arabic, Filipino, Hindi, Indonesian, Nepali, Pali,Persian/Tajik, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish and Turkic (Tatar, Uzbek), Urdu, and Vietnamese. Students interested in receiving recognition for other languages should address their inquiries to the Department Chair.
Credit Requirement
39 credits taken in courses numbered 300 or higher. Course work taken for the MA count towards the 39 credits. Elementary and intermediate language courses do not count toward the 39 credits. "Directed Study" and "Independent Study" courses are not accepted toward the fulfillment of the 39 credits unless approved in writing in advance by the Academic Programs Committee.
- Two courses in Literature, one of which may be taken in either the Department of Linguistics or in the Department of Comparative Literature.
- Four seminars or pro-seminars in the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia. At least 3 must deal with one or more languages and literatures.
- (Optional) Up to 3 credits in Research and Thesis (990) used to satisfy the M.A. research requirement; however, these credits do not satisfy the requirements in a or b.
- Additional courses in the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia to bring the total to 39 credits. With prior approval in writing by the Academic Programs Committee, courses with 25% or more Languages and Cultures of Asia content can be taken in other Departments to bring the total to 39 credits.
PhD Minor – Optional
The purpose of the minor is to give breadth to a PhD major. The course work for the minor is in addition to the course work required for the PhD major. A PhD Minor Agreement Form must be on file with the Graduate Coordinator prior to taking the preliminary examination. There are two kinds of minors: Option A and Option B.