Mission Statement

The Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition provides graduate training in the history and theory of rhetoric; theory and empirical research in composition; an area of British or American literature; linguistics; and the relation of rhetoric and composition to allied fields (e.g., critical theory, cultural studies, cognitive psychology, educational research). Goals for the Ph.D. are that students will 1) gain specialized and current disciplinary knowledge; 2) write a dissertation in which they initiate and complete specialized research that addresses an original and significant question in rhetoric and composition; 3) acquire experience and expertise as writing teachers.

Admission to the Ph.D.
Openings in the doctoral program are limited; therefore, admission is competitive. All doctoral degree applicants should present the following documents:

1. Complete transcripts of previous undergraduate and graduate work;
2. Three academic letters of recommendation that speak to the applicant’s potential for success in a doctoral program; at least one of these should address the applicant's teaching abilities and/or potential;
3. A written statement of no more than a thousand words detailing the applicant’s professional goals in the field of rhetoric and composition;
4. Scores on the Graduate Record Examination General Test;
5. A sample of scholarly, critical writing (15-20 pages);
6. International students must also present scores of at least 600 on the TOEFL Examination (paper test) or at least 210 on the TOEFL Exam (computer test);
7. Application for Graduate Teaching Assistantship, available at http://coldfusion.louisville.edu/webs/a-s/english/gtaapplication.pdf. This application should be sent directly to the Department of English. All other materials should be sent to the Graduate Admissions Office in Houchens Building.

The English Graduate Committee reviews applications for the doctoral program in rhetoric and composition and makes all admission decisions. Applicants must have a Master’s degree at the time of matriculation. Completed applications are due no later than January 5th for Fall admission only.

All applicants must fulfill the general requirements of the Graduate School.

All doctoral students are expected to complete a minimum of 51 graduate hours, distributed as follows:

Ph.D. Language Requirement
Each doctoral student must demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language and either a second foreign language, an advanced level of proficiency in the first foreign language, or a research or retrieval skill (ordinarily statistics or a computer language) approved by the Graduate Director.

Time Limit and Residency for Ph.D.
All work for the Ph.D. must be completed within six years of admission to the program.

A year of full-time residency in the English doctoral program consists of the completion of two consecutive semesters of nine hours each.

For students holding Graduate Teaching Assistantships, a year of full-time residency in the English doctoral program is eighteen semester hours within a single academic year. Students ordinarily take nine hours of course work and teach six hours in the fall and spring terms, though some choose to take two seminars plus three dissertation hours during some semesters.

Professional Requirements
Sometime during their tenure in the doctoral program, students must participate in a year-long supervised teaching-intern program. Intern experience may include teaching in regular first-year and advanced writing courses and tutoring in the Writing Center. Students who wish to complete their intern experience at another institution must make specific arrangements to do so with the Director of Graduate Studies in English. Such arrangements require the approval of the English Graduate Committee.

Graduate Teaching Assistants automatically fulfill the professional requirement once they have completed one successful year as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Comprehensive Preliminary Examination
When students have completed coursework, satisfied foreign language requirements, and received the approval of the Graduate Committee, they may sit for the Comprehensive Preliminary Examinations. (See the Graduate Program Guidelines for a detailed explanation of these examinations.)

Admission to Candidacy
Students will be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. after they have completed coursework, met the foreign language and professional requirements, and passed the comprehensive preliminary examinations; they remain doctoral degree candidates until they complete the dissertation.

Dissertation
The doctoral dissertation requires the equivalent of a full year of graduate work and involves registration in at least 12 credit hours in English 690.

The Dean of the Graduate School, upon the recommendation of the Director of Graduate Studies in English, in consultation with the student, will appoint the dissertation director and reading committee. Proof that the prospectus has been approved must be submitted to the Graduate School at least nine months before the final dissertation oral examination.

Guidelines for writing the dissertation prospectus are included in the English Department’s Graduate Program Guidelines. The dissertation will be submitted, in the form prescribed by the Graduate School (see http://graduate.louisville.edu/pubs/theses-dissertations/ for the current guidelines), not less than six weeks before the end of the term in which the doctoral degree is to be conferred.

Final Oral Examination
The defense of the dissertation will be scheduled at least three weeks before the end of the term. The dissertation will then be revised according to the dissertation committee’s recommendations. One copy shall be submitted to the Graduate School and one bound copy to the Department of English. Along with the dissertation, the candidate shall submit an abstract for publication in Dissertation Abstracts.

Chair
Susan Griffin, Professor

Professors

Dale B. Billingsley, Associate University Provost

Beth Boehm, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs,  Interim Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies; Associate Provost for Faculty Personnel

Thomas B. Byers

Geoffrey A. Cross

Julia C. Dietrich

Alan C. Golding

Dennis R. Hall

Suzette A. Henke, Thruston B. Morton, Sr. Professor

Bruce Horner, Endowed Chair of Rhetoric and Composition

Debra Journet

Min-Zhan Lu

Estella C. Majozo

Carol Mattingly

Sena J. Naslund

Jeffrey T. Skinner

Associate Professors

David Anderson

Matthew Biberman

Karen Chandler

Paul F. Griner, Director of Creative Writing

Karen Hadley

Aaron Jaffe

Karen Kopelson, Director of Graduate Studies

Glynis Ridley, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Mary I. Rosner, Director of the Writing Center

Susan Ryan, Vice Chair

Ann Elizabeth Willey

Bronwyn T. Williams

Joanna Wolfe, Director of Composition

Assistant Professors

Brian Leung

Gabriela Nuñez

Andrew Rabin

Instructor

Elaine Wise, Chair of Humanities

Emeritus/Emerita

Lucy M. Freibert

Robert Miller

Karen A. Mullen

Harold E. Richardson

Mary Ellen Rickey

Thomas A. Van