Graduate Programs

Degree Requirements (requirements listed here are effective beginning Fall 2006)
In addition to meeting the requirements of the Graduate School, students must satisfy the following requirements.

• English 610: Doctoral Proseminar in Rhetoric and Professional Communication;
• 6 credit hours in research methods;
• 12 credit hours in core courses;
• 15 to 18 credit hours in courses in an area of specialization.

English 610: Doctoral Proseminar (3 credit hours).  Students must successfully complete English 610: Proseminar in Rhetoric and Professional Communication, during their first semester in the program. 

Research Methods (6 credit hours). Students must successfully complete two courses in research methods. The English Department offers four methods courses. With the advisor's approval, students may also substitute relevant methods courses offered in other departments across the university.

• Engl 548: Graduate Study in Empirical Research
• Engl 601: Qualitative Research
• Engl 602: Quantitative Research
• Engl 603: Rhetorical Criticism

Core Courses (12 credit hours). Students must successfully complete at least one course in each of four core areas. 

Core Composition Courses

• Engl 664: Composition History and Theory
• Engl 571: Composition Pedagogy and Practicum [designed for first-semester English Dept. graduate assistants]

Core Critical/Cultural Studies Courses

• Engl 517: Graduate Study in Critical Theory
• Engl 668: Rhetorical/Cultural Studies

Core Professional Communication Courses

• Engl 512: Graduate Study in Writing in the Workplace
• Engl 572: Technical & Professional Communication: Theory and Pedagogy

Core Rhetoric Courses

• Engl 518: History of Rhetoric
• Engl 519: Modern Rhetorical Theory

Specialized Courses (15-18 credit hours)
Students must successfully complete 15-18 credit hours in a specialized area. Students define their specialized area, a coherent set of related courses drawn from both inside and outside the Department of English, in consultation with their doctoral committee. Possible specializations include Border Rhetorics and Cultures; Writing Program Administration/Writing Center Administration; Assessment; Pedagogy; Literacy Studies; Identity and Political and Social Rhetoric; Multimedia Rhetoric and Design; Intercultural Rhetorics; Writing Across the Curriculum; Workplace Communication; and the Rhetoric of Science.

Transfer Courses (up to 18 credit hours)
Students may apply 18 hours of master's level work to the 54-hour coursework requirement with departmental approval. In consultation with an advisor and the Doctoral Committee, students petition for transfer credits when they are filing the Program of Study with the Graduate School.

 

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Requirement 2: Qualifying Portfolio
Qualifying Portfolio
During the second semester of coursework, students will submit a portfolio to the Rhetoric and Professional Communication faculty for purposes of review and evaluation. The qualifying portfolio allows students to demonstrate that they have the requisite reading, writing, and critical skills to successfully pursue the Ph.D. Students will discuss and begin to prepare the Qualifying Portfolio in English 610. The Qualifying Portfolio consists of a file compiled during the first six months of doctoral study and submitted on March 1. The Rhetoric and Professional Communication faculty will assess the portfolio in the form of a first-year review by April 15. Students will then meet with their advisors to discuss the portfolio and first-year review letter. The portfolio will include:

• an academic profile in which students assess their relevant professional background and their previous, current, and future graduate level work. This includes a discussion of the students' plans and goals related to coursework, research, teaching and professional development;
• a critique of a scholarly article (the selection of which is approved by the Engl 610 instructor) within the field of rhetoric and professional communication, not to exceed 1500 words

Through this portfolio, students will:

• establish a plan shaping their academic careers;
• provide evidence of specific research interests and a clear research trajectory; 
• demonstrate the reading, writing, research, and critical skills required to successfully pursue the Ph.D.
  
  
  

Requirement 3: Comprehensive Examinations
Comprehensive Exam
The comprehensive exam ensures that students have achieved the criteria listed below and are ready to undertake dissertation research and writing upon successful completion of the exam. Through the exams, students show the knowledge they have acquired not only through course work but also from their independent studies. Comprehensive Exam Criteria
Students who successfully complete the exam will demonstrate the following:

• Depth and breadth of knowledge in fields that make up rhetoric, composition, cultural studies, and professional communication, particularly as this relates to coursework in the program.
• Familiarity with important issues, tensions, theories, and research within the specific areas of focus related to a chosen area of specialization.
• Ability to synthesize information and make connections across various sources of information.
• Ability to form an argument that is situated within the field and relevant to others.
• Ability to write clearly and concisely.
  
  

The Comprehensive Exam Committee
The Comprehensive Exam Committee is the same as the Doctoral Committee. This committee must include at least four Graduate Faculty members. The committee is composed of three members of the Graduate Faculty from the Department of English and one member of the Graduate Faculty from another department. The committee chair/advisor must be from the English Department.

The advisor's role in the committee is to work primarily with the student and to consult with committee members as necessary to best support the student and to ensure the quality of the student's work. Students should work on reading lists and exams questions first with the advisor. The advisor should meet regularly with the student, provide substantive feedback, and approve the reading lists and exam questions prior to the committee's approval. The role of the rest of the committee is to provide additional feedback to the student and approve the reading list and exam questions. The outside member functions as a Dean's representative and, depending on his or her expertise, may have a larger role in consulting with the student. The committee is also responsible for evaluating the exams. See Evaluation of Comprehensive Exams below for more details.

The Comprehensive Exam
The comprehensive exam consists of three parts: two written exams and an oral exam. The written exams cover the student's work in the core areas and in a more specialized area. For the written portions of the exam, the student chooses three of the four core areas to focus on along with an area of specialization. The oral exam covers the written portion of the exam as well as coursework. The exam process is described in more detail below. The Comprehensive Exam Process

1. The comprehensive exam process begins when the student has fulfilled all course work requirements. First, the student should develop readings lists and exam questions in preparation for the two-part written exam. This work is done in conjunction with the advisor and then the committee as a whole. Generally, this work and the exam can be completed in 4-6 months. Some students take longer.
   
   Reading lists are typically designed to include reading from coursework in addition to readings that the student, advisor, and committee feel are important in preparing the student for doctoral research. The content and length of the readings lists are determined by the student and committee with the advisor overseeing the process. Reading lists should be approved and signed by all committee members at least a month prior to the start of the written exam and copies of the lists should be filed with the Graduate Secretary.
   
   The written exam consists of four questions—three questions are based on three of the four core areas (i.e. composition, cultural studies, professional communication, or rhetoric) and one question is based on the specialized area. The student selects the three core areas to focus on as well as a specialized area. Each response should be 1500-2500 words. The student has thirty days to complete the exam. The advisor and Director of Graduate Studies administer the exam.
   
   The exam questions for the three chosen core areas are selected from the core area question lists (a set of 3-5 questions for each area) that are maintained by the RPC faculty chair. Using this set of questions, the student adapts one question for each of the three core areas. The revisions made to the questions should reflect the student's focus on the specialized area while maintaining the integrity of the core area. The exam question for the specialized area is initially drafted by the student. All four questions (three for the core areas and one for the specialized area) are then revised by the student in consultation with the advisor and committee. Once the advisor and committee approve the questions, the advisor files them with the Director of Graduate Studies. Please note: Copies of the readings lists and the exam questions are often made available to other graduate students in the program (as those students prepare for their own exams).
   
   During this time, the student typically enrolls in English 600 and works primarily with the advisor, consulting the committee only after revising based on the advisor's review of materials. The student is responsible for scheduling regular meetings with the advisor and communicating with the committee.
   

2. Following successful completion of the written exam, the student takes the oral exam, which covers coursework and the written portions of the comprehensive exam. The oral exam is mostly a conversation with the committee in which students are expected to demonstrate familiarity with rhetoric, composition, cultural studies, and professional communication and answer questions about key issues and important texts in the field. Passing the oral exam signals that the student is prepared to undertake research in a particular area of the field.
   
   

Evaluation of Comprehensive Exams
The three committee members from the English Department read the written portions of the exam and determine if they constitute passing work. They also provide written feedback on the exams that can help guide the student in content area expertise and academic writing. This evaluation process typically takes two weeks, after which the Director of Graduate Studies communicates the results of the evaluation to the student, who may then schedule the oral portion of the exam. All four committee members evaluate the oral portion of the exam and students are typically notified of the results of the exam evaluation shortly following the completion of the exam. In evaluating the written and oral portions of the exam, the committee uses the criteria listed at the beginning of this document.

Once students pass the comprehensive exam, they are prepared for undertaking dissertation research and should continue to work with the Doctoral Committee on planning for and carrying out that research. Students who fail part or all of the comprehensive exam will be required to retake the necessary part(s) within the following two semesters, contingent upon approval to retake the exam by the committee and the Dean of the Graduate School.

Note: Students should also consult the Graduate School requirements as well as the Ph.D. program requirements in addition to these guidelines.

Requirement 4:  Internship (6 credits)
Students will earn a minimum of 6 credits (English 597) for an internship. Students develop an internship plan in consultation with their advisors. The internship should complement the program of study and career objectives. Note: Students with professional experience equivalent to an internship may petition the Rhetoric and Professional Communication Committee for a waiver of the internship requirement. If the waiver request is approved, students will complete six additional hours of course work.

 

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Requirement 5:  The Doctoral Committee and the Dissertation (18 credits)
The dissertation process includes five components: 

1. the Doctoral Committee
2. the dissertation proposal and proposal hearing
3. 18 hours of dissertation credit hours
4. the dissertation
5. the dissertation defense

Early in the second year of the program (after passing the qualifying portfolio), students should choose an advisor and begin exploring possible dissertation topics. Students will constitute a Doctoral Committee of faculty members inside and outside the department of English. This committee is normally composed of three members of the graduate faculty from the Department of English and one member of the graduate faculty from another department. Each committee must include at least four Graduate Faculty members. The Committee's responsibilities include approving the course of study, administering and evaluating the comprehensive examination, and serving as the committee for the dissertation and its defense.

After passing the comprehensive examination, the students begin full-time work on the dissertation. Early in the dissertation process students develop a formal dissertation proposal comprising a definition of the problem to be explored, a literature review, a methodological or theoretical section, and a working bibliography. With the chair's approval, the proposal is submitted to all members of the doctoral committee. The proposal must be approved by all members of the committee who then sign off on the proposal. A copy of the sign-off sheet and the approved proposal are stored in student departmental files.

During this period, students enroll in ENGL 700 (Doctoral Dissertation); a minimum of 18 credits of ENGL 700 is required for the student to graduate. Students who achieve ABD (all but dissertation) status must register for a minimum of 3 credits of 700 each semester until they complete the dissertation and pass the final oral examination; the dissertation must be completed and approved within 5 years after the comprehensive examination.

After the dissertation is completed, students defend the dissertation in a final oral examination.

The 54 credits of coursework, 6 credits of internship, and 18 credits of dissertation sum to the minimum of 78 hours past the bachelor's necessary for the completion of the degree. In addition, students need to comply with all requirements and deadlines established by the Graduate School, including the requirement of at least two semesters of full-time study in residence.

 

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Graduate Assistantships
Students interested in being considered for Graduate Assistantships should also submit an Application for Financial Support.

Ph.D. students can expect five years of Graduate Assistant support (10 semesters) and some summer teaching is available. The graduate stipend for 2008-2009 is $16,000 for the academic year for Ph.D. students, with an increment upon finishing comprehensive exams. An assistantship requires twenty hours of work per week; normally this includes teaching one course and performing additional duties such as working in the writing center, working on the department's publications, or other instructional assignments. For the first year, Graduate Assistants pay tuition at the in-state tuition rate. After the first year, Graduate Assistants will be responsible for establishing New Mexico residency so that they can continue to pay tuition at the in-state rate. All new Graduate Assistants are required to attend a weeklong teaching orientation that begins the week before classes start. In addition, all new Graduate Assistants are required to enroll in English 571: Composition Pedagogy and Practicum during their first semester as assistants.

Note: Ph.D. students teach a range of course, including first-year writing, business and technical communication, and writing in the humanities and social sciences. Graduate students occasionally are offered appointments in other colleges and become involved with research and development projects, especially in Business, Engineering, Education, and the Graduate School.

 

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Application Procedures
Admission to the doctoral program in Rhetoric and Professional Communication will be determined by the English Department's Rhetoric and Professional Communication Committee. The Committee will consider any material that an applicant presents, but a completed application must include the following:

1. A completed Application for Admission to Graduate School: http://gradschool.nmsu.edu/admit-form.html
   
   
2. Complete official transcripts of all college work sent to the Graduate School. (Note: The Graduate School requires transcripts from all institutions attended, not just degree-granting institutions.)
   
   
3. A completed Application for Study in English http://www.nmsu.edu/~english/apply/application.html
   
   
4. A curriculum vitae or professional resume.
   
   
5. A statement of purpose addressing personal, academic and professional interests and experience. This statement should also indicate how our program is appropriate for the applicant's research interests and career goals.
   
   
6. A statement of teaching interests and qualifications, with a description of relevant experience (required only of applicants requesting a graduate assistantship).
   
   
7. Samples of writing. These samples should include academic work that reflects strong research potential. They may also include work done as a professional communicator, such as grant proposals, research reports, manuals, program evaluations, or brochures. Work whose authorship is either shared or unspecified should be accompanied by a brief statement clarifying the applicant's role in the project.
   
   
8. Three letters of recommendation from professors, employers, or others qualified to evaluate potential for graduate work, along with a completed recommendation form. If applying for a graduate teaching assistantship, these letters should also address experience or potential as a teacher.

Note: The first two items on the list should be submitted to the Graduate School. All remaining items should be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies in the English Department. An application cannot be considered until all items are received. We also encourage applicants to submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to the Graduate School. Applicants who wish to be competitive and who are applying for a graduate assistantship should complete the application procedure by February 1 for Fall admission. .