Morgan State University
Department of English and Language Arts
Guidelines for PhD Comprehensive Exam Reading Lists
(revised 9/16/2016)
After satisfying all course requirements (but no later than one semester following the completion of
coursework), students must sit for and pass the PhD comprehensive examinations. The examination takes
place over two consecutive days, usually in late February to early March (spring) and late October or
early November (fall). The exams are created, administered, and graded by the student’s dissertation
committee. The committee bases the exam on the student’s two reading lists. Students should consult the
Coordinator of Graduate Studies during the semester in which they plan to take the exam for the
examination dates.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Committee Formation for the PhD Comprehensive Exams
After the coursework and foreign language requirements have been completed, students take the PhD
comprehensive examinations, which are based on the student’s PhD reading lists. Students, in conjunction
with their committee, must develop two reading lists of 75-100 texts each, containing a balance of
primary and secondary texts (The appropriate balance will depend upon the concentration area and topic
of each list.). Guided by faculty advisors, PhD students may develop reading lists for their preliminary
examinations with a creative or scholarly concentration.
Composition of the Committee
Prior to developing the exams, students must first select a dissertation committee, composed of a
committee of three faculty members. This committee includes one chair (advisor) and two other members
who guide the student through the exam and dissertation process. After forming a committee, the student
should maintain regular communication with the advisor and other committee members and periodically
consult the graduate coordinator to confirm time-to-degree expectations. The third faculty member may
include (with the chairperson’s approval) members from other departments or members from outside the
University.
Membership of the dissertation committee should remain constant. However, under extraordinary
circumstances, a student may request a substitution in, or a faculty member may ask to be dismissed from,
the membership of the dissertation committee. Such requests must be approved, in writing, by the faculty
member leaving the committee and by the graduate coordinator.
Once the committee is formed, the student must complete the departmental form “Dissertation Committee
Contract.” This form lists the members of the student’s committee and must be signed and deposited with
CGS according to the stated timeline.
PhD Reading Lists: Coverage
The separate lists should reflect two areas of specialization (a primary area of specialization and a
secondary area). The “area of specialization” or “topic area” for each list should be selected by the student
Guidelines for Creating Reading Lists
and his/her dissertation committee chair and should reflect a scholarly or creative concentration in
recognized academic literary or creative fields. The texts will serve as the basis of both the
comprehensive exams and the primary research for the dissertation. The lists should be complementary,
but not duplicative.
As you start compiling your reading list for the PhD written examinations, keep in mind that the area
covered by the written exam should be noticeably broader than the area covered by your dissertation. The
broad area of specialization covered by the exam — and represented by the works you select for your
reading list — should include the more specific research area you intend to inhabit while writing your
dissertation but should usually not be limited to that focus. You can think of your reading list for the
exam as representing multiple research areas, and multiple teaching areas, and you can plan on marketing
your research interests and teaching expertise to search committees in terms of these areas when you go
on the academic job market.
The topic/major field reading list should reflect the tailored research area of interest for the dissertation
and will serve as a springboard for dissertation research and writing. It is recommended that the student
develop an optional “rationale” justifying the texts on the lists as it will help articulate how the texts will
support the dissertation. For students planning to complete a creative dissertation, please see the
additional information for creative writing reading lists (below).
The secondary field reading list will include texts that represent the broad area of interest or
concentration for the student. It will ensure broad coverage of the field of concentration and complement
the first (topical) list. The secondary area list will also consist of 75 -100 texts that focus on an area
distinct from the research/topic field. The list may have a general orientation toward the texts and
scholarly resources important to developing a range of undergraduate courses in a
recognizable/marketable area in an historical period or in an interdisciplinary or nontraditional genre or
method. Examples of the latter include women's studies, American studies, composition, religion and
literature, film and/or popular culture, crime fiction, and science and literature. It should not repeat texts
listed in the topic list.
Composition of the Lists — Content
The PhD Examination reading list consists of two parts: a topic/major field and a secondary area.
Generally, the topic area examination list focuses on primary and secondary materials that provide an
intellectual and theoretical basis for the dissertation; and the secondary field examination establishes a
professional working knowledge of the candidate’s selected secondary area or field (American Medieval,
Renaissance, African American literature, Rhetoric, etc.).
The major field list should reflect the student's area of professional specialization (poetry, 16th-century
British literature, 20th-century American fiction, rhetoric and composition, folklore). The secondary field
list might be a related field (For instance, a student with a major list in African American literature might
have a minor list in twentieth-century American fiction, or one studying Romanticism might have a minor
list in transatlantic colonial literature.), a secondary field (film or linguistics if the student is studying a
literary field; a literary field if the student is studying rhetoric or folklore), a genre or sub-genre (creative
non-fiction, the sonnet, etc.), or an area of thematic focus (Transcendentalism, nature poetry, etc.). The
criticism and theory will vary depending on the topics of the major and minor lists. In cases where the
major and minor lists consist primarily of literary works, the criticism and theory list must include
sections covering the major works of criticism and/or theory in those fields. The remainder of the
criticism and theory list, up to its entirety in cases where both the major and minor list include substantial
secondary reading, can be organized around a major subfield of criticism or theory (poetics,
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Guidelines for Creating Reading Lists
psychoanalysis, the history of the novel) or a particular theme (Theories of the Middle Class; The Role of
Religion in Contemporary Fiction; Medieval Conceptions of Gender).
A primary “work” refers to a play, a long poem or prose piece, a selection of multiple poems, short
stories, or essays, a novella, or a novel; for fields such as rhetoric or theory, primary works refer to key
books and essays that together capture their historical development. A secondary “work” can refer to a
book, a long essay, or a group of short essays. The candidate’s list will reflect both breadth and depth of
reading and a sense of the history of criticism throughout the specialty field as well as contemporary
critical approaches to the works. Generally speaking, the candidate should avoid listing “dated” (more
than 20-years old) critical texts on the lists, with the exception of seminal texts or those otherwise
recommended by the committee. In assembling selections of poems, essays, excerpts, etc., candidates
should not use undergraduate-oriented anthologies such as the Norton or Bedford anthologies; instead,
candidates should research and choose an authoritative scholarly edition that surveys adequately – for a
PhD-level exam – each author’s writings. All items should be numbered clearly, and lists should be
arranged chronologically or in some other systematic fashion.
Creative Dissertation Option
While most PhD candidates in the Department of English write dissertations of a traditional, researchoriented nature, a candidate may choose to write a creative dissertation, which may take the form of a
novel, a novella, a book-length collection of short fiction or a collection of poetry. To exercise this option,
the candidate must have taken a sufficient number of creative writing courses as part of the PhD
coursework. In addition to the “creative” part of the dissertation, such a dissertation must also contain a
section of scholarly research related to the creative writing. This section will demonstrate the
correspondence between the candidate’s academic studies and the creative project. The overall length
required would be comparable with that of other dissertations approved by the department.
.
The precise nature of the scholarly research component should be determined by the candidate in
consultation with the dissertation committee and the graduate director. Candidates wishing to undertake
such a dissertation must complete all departmental requirements demanded for the research-oriented PhD
degree.
Creative Dissertations— Comprehensive Examination Reading Lists
The creative writing reading lists follow the same format as the scholarly lists, including being composed
of two lists of 75-100 texts each, containing a balance of primary and secondary texts. The creative
writing lists should be composed of texts that will prepare the doctoral candidate for a comprehensive
understanding of poetics and/or aesthetic approach. Creative writing students design lists in literature,
composition and rhetoric, and/or literary theory that complement the creative work they do in their
dissertations. The topic/concentration area lists should include texts that demonstrate that the candidate is
conversant with the basic theoretical and critical works pertinent to the study. The texts on the list may
serve as a draft of the “Review of Literature” section in the proposal and provide the basis for the critical
introduction to the creative dissertation.
The development of creative dissertation reading lists may be guided by the recommendations below:
The topic/major field reading list. The development of creative writing dissertations involves academic
research outside the disciplinary boundaries of literature in English. In the dissertation proposal for
creative writing projects, students will be expected to define the guiding question or set of questions;
therefore, the selection of lists for the primary/topic area lists should reflect texts that will help the student
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Guidelines for Creating Reading Lists
address a basic thesis (or hypothesis); a delineation of how the works to be studied or the creative writing
produced relate to that (hypo)thesis; the theoretical/methodological model to be followed; and how the
creative project will be situated in the context of prior scholarship (i.e., its importance to the field). As
with research-based lists, it is recommended that the student develop an optional “rationale” justifying the
texts on the lists as it will help articulate how the texts will support the dissertation.
As with the scholarly reading lists, the secondary area reading list for creative writing will include texts
that represent the broad area of interest or concentration for the student. It will ensure broad coverage of
the field of concentration and complement the first (topical) list. The secondary area list must also consist
of 75 -100 texts that focus on an area distinct from the research/topic field. For this list, students may
choose to augment selections from other areas of specialization already cited on the list, or the student can
elect to include other kinds of books related to the proposed doctoral research (including, among other
options, works of historiography, works of autobiography, etc.) — any titles that might be deemed
appropriate, in consultation with the committee chair. This is intended to give the student an opportunity
to practice the kind of study, normally expected of creative writers, who conduct research in support of a
creative project, often reading work in other fields, such as history, science, etc. Alternatively, the second
list may have a general orientation toward the texts and scholarly resources important to developing a
range of undergraduate courses in a recognizable/marketable area in an historical period or in an
interdisciplinary or nontraditional genre or method. Examples of the latter include women's studies,
American studies, composition, religion and literature, film and/or popular culture, crime fiction, and
science and literature.
Format and Submission of Reading Lists
When submitting approved reading lists, students should adhere to the following guidelines: 1) create a
cover letter or rationale explaining the intellectual rationale for the "Primary/Topic Area" and "Secondary
Area" designations; 2) ensure that both reading lists are clearly specified and include complete
bibliographic information (use MLA formatting style) on each item; 3) work with their committee chair
and COG to create a schedule and timeline for when the student plans to sit for the comprehensive exams,
4) attach the lists to the completed “Reading List Contract,” which includes the names of the readers, a
place for the readers to sign indicating approval of the lists, and agreement to assess the comprehensive.
After the readings lists are approved by the committee, the student will complete and submit the
departmental form “Reading List Contract,” which must be signed by the student and dissertation
committee. It must be deposited with the Coordinator of Graduate Studies prior to the Graduate School’s
deadline for registration for the comprehensive exams.
Interaction with Your Dissertation Committee
It is critical that you have regular interaction with your committee while compiling your reading lists for
the PhD written exam. Be sure to communicate regularly with the chair of your committee, in particular,
consulting with him or her about the coverage of your reading lists and about the number and types of
sources you are including. Whenever you are in doubt about how to proceed with your reading list, meet
with, and talk directly to, the chair of your committee. When your chair says you are ready to do so, share
your list with the other two members of your committee and ask them to respond to it. You should give
your reading list to your chair, and then to the rest of your committee, as early as possible, because the
committee members may well want you to make major changes to the list (for example, to add more
theory or to replace older secondary sources with more recently published material) before they feel you
are ready to schedule the exam.
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Guidelines for Creating Reading Lists
Exam Preparation
Once your entire committee has approved your reading lists, you will likely need to spend the next several
months preparing for the exam by reading your way through all the works on the list and carefully taking
notes on them. As you prepare for the exam, take thoughtful and well-organized notes, which you should
compile in a systematic/organizational schematic of your choice so that you can access the material
during a dedicated two- to three-week review period prior to the exam. While reading the texts on your
lists, you will almost certainly want to write summaries of some of the works (including specific quotes
from secondary material). prepared to synthesize the works — that is, to make meaningful connections
among them, rather than solely offering summaries of narrative plots, theories, and so forth.
When your committee assesses your responses to the exam questions, the committee will not expect you
to have generated publishable ideas and prose; however, be prepared to write exam responses that will
meet the expectations of your evaluators, which will include at least the following: 1) your knowledge of
your broad area of specialization; 2) your understanding of the current scholarly conversation(s) to which
your dissertation will contribute; 3) your ability to analyze intelligently, and to synthesize with purpose,
the works on your reading list; and 4) your ability to write coherent, detailed, and persuasive essays under
pressure.
Following successful completion of the exams, under normal circumstances, students should aim to
submit an approved dissertation proposal within one semester of passing their comprehensive exams.
For further information about the PhD Comprehensive Exams, please consult the Graduate Coordinator.
Specific information about the exam process, evaluation, and other related subjects is available from the
Graduate Coordinator’s office and in the “Guidelines for the Doctoral Exams and Dissertation Process:
Abridged Version.”
Sample Reading Lists and Exam Questions
The questions used on PhD written exams vary as widely as do the reading lists developed by students
who take the exams. However, you can consult the Graduate Coordinator to access samples of reading
lists developed by students in the department who have recently passed the exam, as well as samples of
exam questions recently used by the department faculty.
For further information, please contact the Graduate Coordinator, Joy Myree-Mainor, at
[email protected] or via the English office at 443-885-3165/1761.
This document reflects the original guidelines for the PhD Reading Lists created in 2013 and revised August 2015.
The specific rules regarding the make-up of the lists replicates the procedures outlined in “Guidelines for the
Doctoral Exams and Dissertation Process: Abridged Version” (approved 1/14/15).
Submitted by Joy Myree-Mainor, September 16, 2016.
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