AFTER THE CE: PROSPECTUS PRESENTATION
Passing the CE starts students on a new "clock" for Ph.D. qualification. The exam sets the date
for developing and presenting a dissertation prospectus and filing for Ph.D. candidacy. Students
are expected to complete their Prospectus within one long semester of the date of the CE.
Students will not be expected to present a completed project, but should be able to explain the
approach to the project being taken (in terms of existing scholarship and methodology, for
example).
In order for students to proceed to candidacy, the committee will need to approve the prospectus
and recommend to the Graduate Advisor that students be advanced. Only after a successful
presentation can students expect a faculty member to "sign on" to a dissertation committee.
Within one week after the successful prospectus defense, students should confirm the
dissertation committee's willingness to serve and apply for candidacy with the Graduate School.
Details:
1. Presentation is open to the public.
2. The Program in Comparative Literature may circulate copies to students seeking
examples.
3. The presentation is a work-in-progress seminar, intended to be diagnostic and
constructive, and all present should be encouraged to question and comment in that vein.
4. The presentation is usually one hour in length.
5. The presentation will start with the student's introducing and outlining the dissertation
orally (15-20 minutes), followed with a question-and-answer session.
Prospectus will consist of:
1. 10 to 20 pages in length
2. A detailed working outline for the dissertation
3. An introduction that indicates:
a. The student's methodology or approach
b. A brief review of the literature
c. An explanation of why this project is significant
d. A description of the materials and problems to be discussed and the kind of
conclusions expected
4. Brief descriptions of each chapter
5. A core bibliography of both primary and secondary works.
Prospectus will:
1. Represent the student's abilities to undertake work on a topic in depth within the context
of existing scholarship and critical methodologies.
2. Demonstrate a student's ability to apply a breadth of knowledge to a project leading to
future scholarly and teaching specializations.
3. Be considered successful if the student can offer a coherent project focus and strategy for
writing and can answer possible fundamental questions or objections to that strategy or
focus.
Prospectus goals:
1. Solicit questions and ideas from all members of the audience to help students gauge the
feasibility of the project, to gain information about sources and resources, to find
problems in the intellectual strategy or the means of presentation of the topic early in the
writing process
2. Aid students in formulating a plan of work and project model (which, may be modified
later) that will enable a timely completion of the project
3. Allow all faculty on a dissertation committee, not just the director, to have input into the
project's formulation
4. Allow faculty members to decide if they wish to be part of the student's dissertation
committee
5. Create a pool of possible replacement committee members (since more faculty will be
familiar with the work), should a committee member be unable to serve
6. Give students practice in presenting work orally, well in advance of needing to do so at
professional interviews
Other requirements:
1. Contact the graduate coordinator with the date and time of presentation to reserve room.
2. Provide dissertation committee AND the graduate coordinator with a copy of the
prospectus at least one week prior
