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Mentoring Committees
The Graduate Program Committee will assign a First-Year Mentoring Committee for each incoming graduate student. The Mentoring Committee will consist of an Advisor from the Department and one or two members, who may or may not be from the Department. The assignment of the First-Year Mentoring Committee will be based on compatibility of interests and the equitable distribution of faculty mentoring assignments. Normally, no faculty member may be assigned to more than three mentoring committees for any entering cohort. First-Year Mentoring Committee assignments will be communicated in writing to the faculty members and students involved. A new Mentoring Committee will be constituted by the student in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies at the end of the second semester.
Purpose of the Mentoring Committee
The First-Year Mentoring Committee assigned to a student (and the reconstituted committee in future years) is expected to assist the student in conceiving and carrying out a course of study appropriate to the student’s interests. In particular, the Mentoring Committee will advise the student on course selection and funding opportunities both inside and outside the Department; facilitate useful contact with faculty in other disciplines and, where appropriate, at other institutions; and, advise the student on issues of professional preparation such as conference participation, teaching opportunities, and publication possibilities.
Students must meet with their Mentoring Committee at least twice a year, once at, or preferably before, the beginning of the Fall semester, and once at the end of the Winter semester. At these meetings, the Mentoring Committee will review the progress made by the student up to that point and, with the student, plan his or her program. The Mentoring Committee will solicit feedback from the instructors the student has worked with, and will submit a yearly report to the Graduate Program Committee on the progress of the student. The Graduate Program Committee will in turn orally report to the Department and in writing to the student. The digest of evaluations of the course instructors and the Mentoring Committee will be made available to the student.
In preparation for these meetings, the Mentoring Committee should review all pertinent documents and evaluations, and the student should submit to the committee in writing any specific concerns he or she would like addressed.
Before November 1 of the second year, students should meet with their Mentoring Committee to plan for the preparation of the Fourth Term Review dossier.
Changes in the Mentoring Committee
Given the realities of changing interests, faculty leaves, and new faculty appointments, any student may propose changes in the composition of his or her Mentoring Committee at any time. Proposed changes in the constitution of the Mentoring Committee must be communicated in writing to the Graduate Program Committee, which will notify the members of the Mentoring Committee of the proposals.
Faculty members may request to withdraw from a Mentoring Committee in writing to the Graduate Program Committee. The Graduate Program Committee will inform the student and the other members of the Mentoring Committee of the proposal in writing.
The Graduate Program Committee will make final Decisions regarding the constitution of the Mentoring Committees.
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Language Requirements
The specific language requirements will be determined in consultation with the Graduate Advisor. Generally, the student will be required to demonstrate a high degree of proficiency in the Asian language most relevant to the student’s research plans. In some cases this will involve both modern and pre-modern forms of that language.
Students are also required to demonstrate at least reading proficiency in a second modern or pre-modern language relevant to their proposed research. This requirement can be satisfied by completion of approved sequences of coursework in the language or by passing an approved test whose results are evaluated by a faculty member appointment by the Graduate Program Committee. In that case, that appointed faculty member would notify the Graduate Program Committee of the results of the test in writing.
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Course Work
Each student will be expected to complete a minimum of 36 credit hours of graduate credit. Out of these, 24 credit hours must be completed by the end of the fourth term (second year). Language courses normally do not count toward this requirement. Applicants with an M.A. from another program or university should be aware that their prior graduate work would not necessarily fulfill any of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.
The Department offers courses for graduate credit at the 500, 600, 700, and 800 levels. Courses at the 400 level are normally designed for undergraduate students. A 400 level course may be taken for graduate credit if the course is approved for graduate credit by being listed in the Rackham Bulletin or approved by the sponsoring department, or if the student, with the instructor’s guidance, completed additional reading and writing assignments. There is no limit imposed by either Rackham or the Department on the number of 400 level courses that can be taken for graduate credit. However, students who want to take more than two 400 level courses should consult their Advisor first.
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Fourth Term Review
By the end of each student’s fourth term in the program, the student’s Mentoring Committee will complete a comprehensive review of his or her progress in the Program. The Mentoring Committee will meet with the student no later than the end of the first month of the fourth term to discuss this review.
Fourth Term Review Dossier
The student will provide, by a date set by the Graduate Program Committee (usually in the middle of January), the following for the Mentoring Committee to review:
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all of the student’s term papers, regardless of whether the courses were in the Department or not. If a course did not require a term paper, representative assignments from the course will be submitted. Students may, if they wish, attach or otherwise submit comments to the papers explaining the purpose or goals of the paper, their more current thinking on the topic, or its relevance to the field.
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a Qualifying Paper submitted to the Mentoring Committee and presented to the Department. The Qualifying Paper can be a revised version of a seminar paper.
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student's teaching evaluations and the Language Program Director’s written observations on the student’s teaching (if the student has been a GSI in a language course). If the student has not been a GSI in a language course, the Mentoring Committee may ask for an evaluation of the student’s language abilities from an appropriate language instructor. If the student has been a GSI in a non-language course, relevant student evaluations and a written evaluation of his or her performance in that course by the lead instructor will be submitted.
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a 3 to 5 page statement of purpose and direction, indicating the relationship between the student’s completed and planned course work and future research and teaching plans.
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an up-to-date copy of the student’s transcript
The Mentoring Committee will also review the records of evaluations submitted by faculty members at the conclusion of each graduate course. These evaluations will be submitted to the department.
Discussion with the Committee
No later than two weeks after the deadline for submitting dossiers, students will meet with their Mentoring Committee. The meeting will be scheduled for one hour and a half. The Committees should draw upon the dossier to help the student identify strengths and to offer suggestions for improvement and possible directions for research, as well as to evaluate the breadth and coherence of the student’s course work and its relation to his or her future plans. In addition, the Committee and the student together should explore possible areas for the development of his or her portfolio. Part of the discussion may be conducted in the student’s research language.
Results of the Discussion
With all due speed, the Mentoring Committee will provide the Graduate Program Committee with a written summary with detailed comments and suggestions. The Committee will recommend whether or not the student should continue in the Program. The ultimate decision will be made by the Graduate Program Committee and communicated to the student in writing.
A student who is determined ineligible to continue in the Ph.D. Program may receive an M.A. degree, if all requirements for the M.A. degree are completed.
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Preliminary Examinations
Date of the Preliminary Examinations
During the Fall term of the third year, the Mentoring Committee and the student will jointly decide the areas for the preliminary examinations for the student, and identify and obtain the consent of the supervisory faculty members for the respective areas.
The preliminary examinations must be completed before the beginning of the seventh term.
Structure of the Preliminary Examinations
The preliminary examinations are designed to encourage breadth and evaluate competency in specific fields. Students will be tested in two areas, both must be different from the specific focus of the student's intended dissertation topic. The preliminary examinations will consist of two take-home exams, each given on a Friday and to be returned on Monday. Each exam shall consist of providing a clear and succint answer to one question to be chosen from a given choice of three targeted specific questions. Answers should not exceed 25 pages. If both written exams are completed successfully, then an oral exam is scheduled within two weeks of the completion of the written exams. The oral exam addresses both fields chosen for the written examinations.
Results of the Preliminary Examinations
The results of the preliminary examinations will be reported in writing by the supervisors to the Mentoring Committee and the Graduate Program Committee within one week of completion.
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Candidacy
A student will be considered a Candidate after the successful completion of 36 credit hours in approved courses, satisfaction of the first and second research languages requirement, and passing of the preliminary examinations.
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Dissertation Committee
Upon reaching candidacy, a student, in consultation with his or her Mentoring Committee, selects a Dissertation Committee. It will consist of a Chair from within the Department and at least three other members (including a cognate member).
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Prospectus
Prospectus Date
By at least December 1 of the fourth year each student will present to, and discuss with, the student’s Dissertation Committee a dissertation prospectus of 10-15 pages double-spaced.
Description of the Prospectus
A student will establish the structure and content of his or her prospectus in consultation with the Chair of their Dissertation Committee.
Presentation of the Prospectus
The date for the presentation of the prospectus will be set in consultation with the Dissertation Committee. Two weeks before the presentation, a two-page abstract of the prospectus will be circulated in the Department. This abstract will include the place and time of the presentation, which will be open to interested faculty and students. The Graduate Program Committee will be informed by the Dissertation Committee in writing as to the results of the presentation.
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Portfolio
Portfolio Date
At an appropriate time before the completion of the degree, each student will present to the members of his or her Dissertation Committee a portfolio.
Description of the Portfolio
The portfolio will include a written statement of the student’s conception of how his or her research program and teaching or related experiences lend themselves to employment in a given field as he or she currently conceives it; a list of materials or experiences, broadly conceived, that have contributed to the student’s preparation; as well as whatever other materials that are specifically appropriate to the field or fields involved. Students interested in post-secondary teaching might include sample syllabi, including one each for possible courses to be taught at the introductory undergraduate level, the advanced undergraduate level, and the graduate level, as well as notes on approaches for teaching the given topics.
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Dissertation and Oral Defense
The Ph.D. dissertation must be based upon original research and demonstrate mature scholarship and critical judgement, as well as familiarity with the tools and methods of research. It should be a worthwhile contribution to knowledge in the student’s specific field. Students are advised to familiarize themselves thoroughly with the various Graduate School rules governing the format and deadlines for the dissertation.
Date of the Defense
Two complete copies of the dissertation, in the form in which it is to be defended and in compliance with the Graduate School rules for formatting, will be submitted to the Department for inspection by the faculty at large a full two weeks before the date of the oral defense.
Oral Defense of the Dissertation
After the dissertation has been submitted, a final public oral defense on the dissertation and related topics will be held. The Department and the student will be informed of the outcome according to the relevant Graduate School rules.
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