Humanities Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Depending on each student's background, additional preparation in the broader humanities or course work in specific subject fields may be required. HUM-600 and HUM-618 are prerequisite courses. Ten core classes need to be completed. Total credits, including required core coursework and doctoral fee credits accrued during the dissertation phase will vary for each student. Payment of the 3-credit doctoral fee each fall and spring until the dissertation is successfully defended accords students part-time status through continuous enrollment in HUM-680. Excluding official leaves of absence, students have have 7 years to defend from matriculation into the program.

All students admitted into the Ph.D. in Humanities Program are required to demonstrate a research proficiency in a language other than English. Students whose first language is not English are exempt from the requirement. No graduate credit will be awarded for language courses. Having second-language proficiency should enable students to use resources for their courses and for their dissertations that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. To meet this requirement, students may have taken a language at master's level or a two-semester, Intermediate Level course at the Undergraduate level, where they achieve a grade of B or better. Students not able to fulfill the above can take a short online course in Reading and Translation offered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, details of which can be provided by the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies  (gradoffice@salve.edu). The decision as to whether prior proficiency or attainment should gain credit is solely at the discretion of the Program Director, Dr. Troy Catterson.

Timeframe for Completing the Language Proficiency Requirement:

Students are strongly encouraged to demonstrate language proficiency in the first or second year of the program. The second-language proficiency requirement must be passed prior to the Comprehensive Exam. 

Humanities Curriculum

Program Phases

Students progress through three phases:

• Proficiency phase ending with completion of classwork
• Qualifying phase leading to doctoral candidacy
• Dissertation phase culminating in an oral defense of the completed thesis

Students complete ten core courses and any electives which may need to be taken.

Students fulfill the first step in the qualifying phase by taking the subject fields examination. The examination may be taken in any fall or spring semester after the proficiency phase has been completed after the first semester has been completed.  The subject fields or disciplines for the exam are developed from the area of inquiry and concentration paper topic. The student begins by developing a preliminary reading list in the subject fields. The reading list is then approved and supplemented by the examining faculty in those fields. The major field examination must include at least two fields/disciplines. The oral exam is administered by the examining faculty at the end of the semester. The format for the exam is determined by the examining faculty and may include written components. The goal is to provide students with a focused framework for study and an opportunity to demonstrate achievement at a high level. Success in the oral examination does not entirely depend upon the student's ability to answer one specific question or group of questions. The examiners will be alert to gauging whether the student's responses demonstrate evidence of serious preparation for the examination. More importantly, however, they will be assessing what the student does know and whether there are significant gaps in knowledge that need to be remedied before the student can proceed to the dissertation phase. The grade report for the exam and examiner feedback will be useful for each student in preparing for the dissertation proposal.

The Comprehensive Examination

Students qualify for doctoral candidacy after successfully passing the comprehensive examination. The exam follows satisfactory fulfillment of any prerequisites, demonstration of proficiency in language translation and in the program area of inquiry, any required special subject preparation, and completion of required core/elective credits. In the comprehensive exam students are expected to demonstrate an advanced understanding of the humanities and the program area of inquiry. This written examination is based on core/elective courses and may include special subject area questions for individual students. The exam requires students to demonstrate excellence in summary analysis, explanation, citation, integration and critical evaluation. All doctoral examinations are graded according to the following guide:

The Comprehensive exam is graded A-F.

Students will pass this exam if:
     •  All four grades are B- or better.
     •  One grade is Not Passing (NP) and one of the other three grades is B or better.
Students will fail this exam if:
     •  Two grades are NP.
     •  One grade is NP and three grades are B-. 

The Dissertation Phase (3 credits each fall and spring semester until the dissertation is successfully defended)

Following successful completion of the comprehensive examination, students advance to doctoral candidacy and enter the third program phase. Students must enroll in HUM-680 each fall and spring until all degree requirements are completed. Each semester's work is graded A-F. Students must enroll in dissertation research and pay the doctoral fee each semester until the dissertation is officially accepted by the University. Before beginning, research students publicly present a fully developed dissertation proposal, which must be presented and approved during the first academic year of the dissertation phase. When the dissertation proposal is accepted, students proceed to research and write a scholarly dissertation under the guidance of the dissertation committee (the mentor and two readers).

Dissertation Proposals

Dissertation research proposals are completed and scheduled for public presentation in the fall or spring semester of the first academic year of the dissertation phase. The proposal is approved by the faculty mentor, two readers, and the graduate program director. Topics and approaches must contain original contributions to knowledge within the scope of the humanities and the student's area of inquiry. To be approved, the proposal must provide convincing evidence that the dissertation will make an important contribution to the existing literature, the methodology will yield a legitimate interpretation of the problem considered or test of the thesis/hypothesis, and that the relevant literature is well understood.

As the dissertation is being written, students undergo ongoing review of the work. After the dissertation is completed, students engage in a public oral defense of the work. The degree is awarded upon the dissertation committee's positive recommendation. Following final revisions, dissertations are formally presented to the University for acceptance and in partial fulfillment of the Ph.D. in the humanities. Doctoral students are expected to complete their dissertation at Salve Regina within seven years of passing the comprehensive examination. For rare and compelling reasons, a request for a one semester extension may be presented in writing to the graduate program director, who will make the final decision regarding the extension request.

Degree Plan for Ph.D. in Humanities