Eleven courses are required (of which eight must be graduate level). Students in Literature take one course in literary theory and criticism (M201A), one course in Portuguese linguistics, and eight elective courses. Students in Linguistics take nine elective courses and one course in literature.
Foreign Language Requirement: Students must show proficiency in one language other than Portuguese or English by passing a departmental reading exam or passing a course of at least level 3. Comprehensive Examination: Students choose four exam areas within the Literature concentration or the Linguistics concentration and take two-hour exams in each. The exams are based on reading lists for each exam area that the student has chosen. For further information, please see the Preliminary Exams section of this website. Evaluation of the Student: Once the student successfully completes all requirements for the degree, the department faculty meet to evaluate the overall performance of the student in coursework, exams, and a writing sample. If the student has passed the exams the faculty must decide, based on the above, whether the student should continue in the doctoral program or should receive the MA degree and not continue. COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PH.D. IN AFRO-LUSO-BRAZILIAN LITERATURE, CREATIVE WRITING AND VISUAL CULTURE (worksheet):
After the B.A., a minimum of 20 graduate courses are required. Graduate courses completed for the M.A. degree may also count toward the 20. Students may take up to four UCLA graduate courses (or 16 quarter units) outside the department for credit with the approval of the dissertation advisor.
For the track in Afro-Luso-Brazilian Literature, Creative Writing and Visual Culture: of the 16 graduate courses, one must be a theory course, one course must be pre-1900s, one course must be creative writing and/or translation studies, and one course must be on visual culture. A total of six courses (24 units) may be taken in other departments and/or as directed research (596). Foreign Language Requirement: Besides proficiency in Spanish and Portuguese, students must demonstrate a reading knowledge of one other language, by passing a departmental reading exam in those languages or passing a language course of at least level 3. Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations: After all course requirements and foreign language requirements are completed –usually during the 2nd year of the Ph.D. program, or the 4th year for those entering without an M.A.– the student assembles an exam committee consisting of three departmental faculty and an external member from another department. The student then takes a three-hour written exam in the field of specialization, based on a reading list of approximately forty books covering the broad field of the dissertation, prepared in consultation with the advisor; s/he writes a forty-to-sixty page qualifying paper related to the topic of the dissertation, essentially a chapter draft; and s/he produces a twelve-to-fifteen page dissertation prospectus, featuring an overview of the main questions and a summary of distinct chapters, to be accompanied by an extensive bibliography. Two weeks after submitting the qualifying paper and prospectus to the committee, the student undergoes a two-hour oral examination, after which s/he is deemed to have advanced to candidacy. Dissertation and Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation): When the student completes the dissertation, s/he must defend it at the final oral examination. The full doctoral committee is in attendance. |