Doctoral Candidacy
To earn a PhD at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; pass certain examinations; fulfill residence and Mentored Experience Requirements; write, defend, and submit a dissertation; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of doctoral degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Doctoral Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 51 (Note: Remission applies for a maximum of 72 graduate-level units.)
- Degree Length: 5 years
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 credits but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
- Grade Requirement: B-
Required Courses
The PhD requires 51 units of courses that are home-based in German. Students who complete interdisciplinary graduate certificates will be required to enroll in additional units as specified by the certificate-granting department or program. Students may not exceed 72 units of course credit.
These rules regarding required courses taken at Washington University apply to students joining the department with a bachelor’s degree. Students entering with a master’s degree may already have fulfilled some of these requirements. The fulfillment of Washington University requirements with courses completed elsewhere should be discussed with the Director of Graduate Studies, who will make a determination about the transfer of credits.
Minimum Grade Requirement: B-
Students are encouraged to take a thematic and historical spread of courses in German-language literature and culture; these courses should be chosen in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. In addition, the following courses are required of all students.
Theory and Methods
- One seminar addressing theories of literary and cultural analysis (GERMAN 5530 Theories of Literary and Cultural Analysis [3 units] or equivalent)
Pedagogy
- GERMAN 5051 Introduction to the Teaching of German (1 unit)
- GERMAN 5052 Teaching Practicum (1 unit)
- GERMAN 5053 Theory and Practice of Foreign Language Pedagogy (2 units)
- GERMAN 5061 Apprenticeship in the Teaching of Literature and Culture I (1 unit)
- GERMAN 5062 Apprenticeship in the Teaching of Literature and Culture II (1 unit)
Total units: 6
Thematic and Methodological Areas
At least one seminar must be taken from any three of the following four categories. In rare cases, subject to the approval of the department chair and the Director of Graduate Studies, a course from outside of German might fulfill one of these categories. Course descriptions for each seminar offered in the department will indicate which of these categories is covered in the seminar.
Category I: Translation Studies
Translation theory and practice are central to literary and cultural studies. With its interest in the cross-cultural exchange and circulation of texts, themes, motifs, genres, and ideas, Germanic Languages and Literatures is committed to performing and assessing theoretically the function and value of “translation” in the widest sense of the term, including both interlingual translation and other forms of textual transformation and adaptation.
Category II: Media Studies
Courses in this category facilitate broad, theoretically informed, and historically grounded thinking about the effects of media transformation on cultural production and consumption as well as on the self-conceptions of authors (artists, composers), producers, and consumers (readers/viewers/listeners). They explore how media — including manuscripts, books, periodicals, photography, radio, television, film, digital media, and other forms — not only “mediate” but also structure knowledge, cultural exchange, artistic expression, perception, and indeed experience itself. They also build on the frameworks of media theory, critical theory, and media ecology to ask timely questions about the aesthetics, ethics, and politics of media. Attention may be given to competitions between media; to remediation, intermediality, and the mutual incorporations of media; and to the ways that new media reconfigure the conception, function, and imagined provenance of older media, both in the past and in the 21st century.
Category III: Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Race
Courses in this category examine the concepts of nationalism, ethnicity, and race — and, more broadly, historical and contemporary mechanisms, ideologies, and processes of group formation — through the historically contextualized study of literature, film, and other cultural artifacts, agents, and institutions. Perspectives examined could include those of insiders as well as those of outsiders or the deliberately excluded. Courses may focus on historical and contemporary cases and/or on the cultural and aesthetic responses to them. Possible topics include historical and theoretical perspectives on race and ethnicity; the experiences of Jews in German-speaking Europe, including acculturation, antisemitism, and the Shoah; relations between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires; German emigration to the United States and related aesthetic responses; contemporary immigration and immigrant communities in the German-speaking world; and new subcultures, new power relations, and new ideas of citizenship created by patterns of migration.
Category IV: Digital Humanities
Digital humanities is a diverse and evolving field that uses digital tools and computational methods both to answer existing research questions and to generate new questions in humanistic disciplines. Courses in this area may address topics ranging from the construction of digital archives to the analysis of macroscopic trends in cultural change, and they will often employ techniques from the field of data science. Courses in this category may also reflect on the broader impact of information technology on society and culture, including the ways in which new technologies can reshape our conventional understandings of key aesthetic, political, and anthropological categories such as authorship, creativity, privacy, influence, agency, and even the category of the human itself.
International Writer's Track
Students admitted in the International Writer's Track take 4 semesters of COMPLITTHT 5210 Literature in the Making (3 units), or the equivalent. Six of these twelve units will count towards the 5 unit total.
Foreign Language Requirement
Students planning to work primarily on post-1700 materials must display reading proficiency in at least one language other than German and English. In most cases this language will be French, and the requirement may be satisfied by examination or by enrolling in and successfully completing FRENCH 4000 and FRENCH 4010. If a language other than French is particularly relevant to a student's research interests and planned dissertation topic, the foreign language requirement may be fulfilled by the achievement of an equivalent level of reading proficiency in that language, upon approval by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Students planning to work on pre-1700 materials must pass a reading exam in Latin. Reading knowledge of French is also strongly encouraged.
Examinations
Master's Examination
Students who enter with a bachelor's degree must complete an oral and written master's examination at the end of their second year. A student's performance on both the oral and written exams is one important element affecting the faculty's decision about whether the student will receive permission to proceed with their graduate studies.
Qualifying Examinations
Progress toward the PhD is contingent upon the student passing examinations that are variously called preliminary, qualifying, general, comprehensive, or major field exams. The qualifying process varies according to the program. In some programs, it consists of a series of incremental, sequential, and cumulative exams over a considerable time. In others, the exams are held during a relatively short period of time. Exams may be replaced by one or more papers. The program, which determines the structure and schedule of the required examinations, is responsible for notifying the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, of the student’s outcome, whether successful or unsuccessful.
Qualifying Examinations and Dissertation Prospectus
Students taking qualifying exams should display general knowledge and understanding of the primary materials, historical contexts, scholarly questions and theoretical frameworks that are likely to drive their future dissertations. The qualifying exam is usually taken during the fourth year of study for students entering with a bachelor's degree and during the third year for students entering with a master's degree. The qualifying exam process consists of four phases:
Phase 1: Development of a bibliography for the exams; filing of the Research Advisory Committee Form, which must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, no later than the end of the third year of graduate study
Phase 2: Preparation for and completion of two exams, each of which consists of a written portion and an oral portion
Phase 3: Creation and defense of a dissertation prospectus
Phase 4: Preparation and circulation of the dissertation abstract; filing of the Title, Scope and Procedure Form, which must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, no later than at the start of the fifth year of graduate study.
For the first exam, students are required to situate their primary materials and their author(s) in their respective historical contexts and periods with specific points of emphasis to be determined together with the exam committee. The second exam serves to frame the student’s primary materials in theoretical terms; it is meant to discuss in general terms one of the methodological approaches for the planned dissertation. The order of the exams may be reversed.
For information beyond what is presented here, please contact german@wustl.edu.
Mentored Experience Requirements
Doctoral students at Washington University must complete a department-defined Mentored Experience. The Mentored Experience Requirement is a doctoral degree requirement that is notated on the student’s transcript when complete. Each department has an established Mentored Experience Implementation Plan in which the number of units that a student must earn through Mentored Teaching Experience(s) and/or Mentored Professional Experience(s) is defined. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plans outline how doctoral students within the discipline will be mentored to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels. Some departments may elect to include Mentored Professional Experiences as an avenue for completing some units of the Mentored Experience Requirement. Doctoral students will enroll in ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction; ASGS 8020 Mentored Teaching Experience - Mentored Independent Teaching; or ASGS 8120 Mentored Professional Experience to signify their progression toward completing the overall Mentored Experience Requirement for the degree.
The Doctoral Dissertation
A Research Advisory Committee (RAC) must be created no later than the end of the student's third year; departments may set shorter timelines (e.g., by the end of the student's second year) for this requirement. As evidence of the mastery of a specific field of knowledge and of the capacity for original scholarly work, each candidate must complete a dissertation that is approved by their RAC.
A Title, Scope & Procedure Form for the dissertation must be signed by the committee members and by the program chair. It must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, at least six months before the degree is expected to be conferred or before the beginning of the fifth year of full-time enrollment, whichever is earlier.
A Doctoral Dissertation Guide and a Dissertation Template that give instructions regarding the format of the dissertation are available on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Both should be read carefully at every stage of dissertation preparation.
The Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, requires each student to make the full text of the dissertation available to the committee members for their review at least one week before the defense. Most degree programs require two or more weeks for the review period; students should check with their faculty.
The Dissertation Defense
Approval of the written dissertation by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is strongly recommended before the student can orally defend the dissertation. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee that examines the student during the defense consists of at least five members. Normally, the members of the RAC also serve on the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee is then additionally augmented to ensure that the following criteria are met:
- Three of the five members (or a similar proportion of a larger committee) must be full-time Washington University in St. Louis faculty members or, for programs involving Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partners, full-time members of a Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partner institution. All members must be authorized to supervise PhD students and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study. One of these three members must be the PhD student's primary thesis advisor, and one may be a member of the emeritus faculty.
- All other committee members must be active in research/scholarship and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study whether at Washington University in St. Louis, at another university, in government, or in industry.
- At least one of the five members must bring expertise outside of the student's field of study to the committee, as judged by the relevant department/program and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
The approval processes outlined in the RAC section of the Doctoral Council bylaws also apply to the doctoral dissertation committee, including approval of each dissertation committee by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
The student is responsible for making the full text of the dissertation accessible to their committee members for their review in advance of the defense according to program rules. Washington University in St. Louis community members and guests of the student who are interested in the subject of the dissertation are normally welcome to attend all or part of the defense but may ask questions only at the discretion of the committee chair. Although there is some variation among degree programs, the defense ordinarily focuses on the dissertation itself and its relation to the student's field of expertise.
Attendance by a minimum of four members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, including the committee chair and an outside member, is required for the defense to take place. This provision is designed to permit the student's defense to proceed in case of a situation that unexpectedly prevents one of the five members from attending. Students should not plan in advance to only have four members in attendance. If four members cannot attend, the defense must be rescheduled. The absence of all outside members or of the committee chair also requires rescheduling the defense.
Students, with the support of their Doctoral Dissertation Committee chair, may opt to hold their dissertation defense in person or by utilizing a virtual or hybrid format.
Submission of the Dissertation
After the defense, the student must submit an electronic copy of the dissertation online to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. The submission website requires students to choose among publishing and copyrighting services offered by ProQuest’s ETD Administrator. Students are asked to submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates separately. The degree program is responsible for delivering the final approval form, signed by the committee members at the defense and then by the program chair or director, to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Students who defend their dissertations successfully have not yet completed their PhD requirements; they finish earning their degree only when their electronic dissertation submission has been accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
Master's Degree Along the Way/In Lieu of a PhD
- Total Units Required: 36
- Degree Length: 2 years
See the Master's Examination section above for more information.
As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.
Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)
Philosophy of Teaching
German Languages and Literatures Philosophy of Teaching includes the following:
- Close mentoring of graduate students as they develop as teachers, scholars, and professionals.
- Preparing students for a variety of career options both within academia and in other sectors. We believe that both teaching and internship opportunities are critical for developing skills that translate across professional fields: organization, time management, flexibility and adaptability, public speaking, and the ability to give and receive constructive feedback. All students should have the opportunity to (and be encouraged to) take advantage of both Mentored Professional Experiences and Mentored Teaching Experiencess during their course of study.
- Specific values for Mentored Teaching Experiences:
- Thoughtful and intentional pedagogical training that includes an introduction to teaching in the profession, theories of second-language acquisition, and practical methods for classroom management and teaching.
- Preparing students who hope to pursue academic jobs for teaching expectations at a variety of types of institutions (including those where they may be asked to do multiple language courses in addition to language/culture content courses).
- Maintaining a supportive, collaborative teaching culture (facilitated through observation, conversation, and constructive feedback sessions).
- Providing opportunities for students to develop increasing independence and responsibility as teachers, beginning with co-teaching and potentially having the chance to teach as the instructor of record.
Preparatory Engagement
Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.
All students are required to take GERMAN 5051 and 5052. GERMAN 5053 is required for students who have no previous foreign language teacher training.
- GERMAN 5051 Introduction to the Teaching of German (1-credit course taken Spring Year 1 prior to first Assistant in Instruction [AI] or Mentored Independent Teaching [MIT] experience)
- GERMAN 5052 Teaching Practicum (1-credit course; corequisite taken during first year of AI/MIT)
- GERMAN 5053 Theories of FL Pedagogy (2-credit course; corequisite taken during first year of AI/MIT)
2 to 4 credits (Credits are included in the 51 total for the German PhD degree of 63 total for the dual German/Comparative Literature PhD.)
Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)
Assistant in Instruction (AI)
An Assistant in Instruction (AI) is a PhD student who is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. An AI receives mentorship from a faculty member related to best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each AI experience. To complete each AI assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for course numbers and details.
German offers AI opportunities for 5, 10, or 15 units. A minimum of three AI engagements or 35 units are required.
Observation/Guest Teaching AI (5 MER Units)
- Observing/Guest Teaching AI in 4000-level literature/culture courses in German, undergraduate seminar or lecture in another humanities department taught in English
- Tasks: AI confers with instructor of record about syllabus and class goals, assists with group work, leads two discussions or lectures.
- Frequency: Attends all class sessions, 3 hours a week for 14 weeks
Beginning Language Teaching or Observation/Guest Teaching AI (10 MER units)
- AI in Language courses 1010-2020
- Tasks: AI meets weekly with instructor of record, assists with group work and grading homework assignments, holds one office hour a week.
- Frequency: Depending on level experience, AI may start with designing a single activity for a lesson but will eventually take over teaching one day a week.
- Observing/Guest Teaching AI in 4000-level literature/culture courses in German, undergraduate seminar or lecture in another humanities department taught in English language.
- Tasks: AI duties of 5-unit Observation/Guest Teaching AI, and in addition holds office hours and assists with test/quiz/essay writing or grading.
- Frequency: 3 hours a week for 14 weeks
Advanced Language Teaching or Observation/Guest Teaching AI (15 MER Units)
- Teaching AI in Language courses 1010-2020 (advanced teaching):
- Tasks: AI duties of a 10-unit Teaching AI and in addition creates and participates in writing and evaluating assignments.
- Frequency: AI begins teaching one day a week with the opportunity for additional days of teaching after the midpoint of the semester.
- Teaching AI in Language courses 3010-3020:
- Tasks: Duties of a 10-unit Teaching AI and in addition, grades first drafts of essays.
- Frequency: AI teaches weekly writing tutorial and guest teaches in main section two times during the semester.
- Teaching Discussion Section of a Lecture course (e.g., GERMAN 3310)
- Tasks: Duties of a 10-unit Observation/Guest Teaching AI
- Frequency: AI teaches weekly discussion section and guest teaches in main section once during semester.
- Observing/Guest Teaching AI in 4000-level literature/culture courses in German, undergraduate seminar or lecture in another humanities department taught in English
- Tasks: Duties of 10-unit Observation/Guest Teaching AI, and in addition, student creates a fully fleshed out portfolio-worthy syllabus for a course teachable at an institution such as Washington University.
- Frequency: 3 hours a week for 14 weeks
Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT)
MIT is a semester-long experience for PhD students who engage as the primary instructor or co-instructor of a course under the mentorship of a faculty member as part of the MER. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MIT experience. To complete each MIT assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number (ASGS 8020) for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for more details.
German’s MIT is optional and available to students who have completed the 35 MER unit core. An MIT engagement is equal to 20 MER units:
- Instructor of Record for GERMAN 3130 (Conversational German)
- Tasks: Student designs the syllabus and is fully responsible for creating course content
- Teaching frequency: 90 minutes per week (1-credit course)
- Instructor of Record for Language Course GERMAN 1010-2010
- Tasks: Student is fully responsible for teaching the course, using syllabus and materials developed by faculty mentor
- Teaching frequency: 3 hours a week (3-credit course)
- Instructor of Record for English-language Course in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, the Writing Program, or Global Studies
- Tasks: Follows guidelines of the other department
Mentored Professional Experiences (MPEs)
The MPE is an unpaid professional experience for PhD students that allows students to develop skills and experiences relevant to their intended career outcomes. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MPE. To complete each MPE assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must submit the Mentorship Registration Request form for approval and register for the appropriate course number (ASGS 8120) for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for more details.
MPE for German is optional. Up to three MPE engagements at 60 MER units each are allowed.
MPE placements may be on or off campus; recent placements include the Arts & Sciences College Office, Olin Library, Special Collections, Center for the Humanities, Public Scholarship, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Missouri History Museum. Students will be matched according to their scholarly interests and/or the professional skills they are looking to develop. Students lay out their responsibilities prior to beginning the MPE that is signed by them and their mentors. They are evaluated at the end of the MPE.
Required Pathways for Completion
Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.
Requirement: 95 units total of MTE and MPE Experiences with a core and three potential tracks.
“Core” = 35 units of AI experiences (minimum one language course AI and one round of observing/syllabus writing AI). Most students will complete Core A. Cores B and C are available options for students who come with more teaching experience or who would like more varied observational experiences in advanced courses or in courses outside of the German department.
A. 0 × 5 + 2 × 10 + 1 × 15
B. 2 × 5 + 1 × 10 + 1 × 15
C. 1 × 5 + 0 × 10 + 2 × 15
Three potential tracks = 60 units of varied numbers of advanced AI (15 unit), MPE (20 unit), or MIT (20 unit) experiences, depending on the student's professional goals.
Track 1 — Goal: Diverse Teaching/Professional Portfolio = 95 units
- Core: 2× Teaching AI/Language courses (10 units) + 1× Observation AI (15 units) = 35 units
- Track requirements can be fulfilled through the following:
- 2× Teaching AI (15) + 1× Observation AI (10 units) + 1 MPE (20) = 60 units
- 1× Teaching AI (10) + 1× Observation AI (10 units) + 2 MPE (20) = 60 units
Track 2 — Goal: Independent Teaching = 95 units
- Core: 2× Teaching AI/Language courses (10 units) + 1× Observation AI (15 units) = 35 units
- Track requirements can be fulfilled through the following:
- 2× Teaching AI (15) + 1× Observation AI (10 units) + 1× MIT (20) = 60 units
Track 3 — Goal: Focus on Professional Experiences / Teaching Creative Praxis = 95 units
- Core: 2× Teaching AI [1× Language course (10 units), 1× Upper-level course in English (15 units; ideally related to creative praxis) + 1× Observation AI (10 units) = 35 units
- Track requirements can be fulfilled through the following:
Pathway #1
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8010 |
Take three times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take three times |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take one time |
Pathway #2
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8010 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take three times |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take one time |
Pathway #3
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8010 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take four times |
Pathway #4
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8010 |
Take four times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take two times |
Pathway #5
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8010 |
Take three times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take two times |
Pathway #6
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8010 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take two times |
Pathway #7
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8010 |
Take three times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take three times |
| ASGS 8020 |
Take one time |
Pathway #8
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8010 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take three times |
| ASGS 8020 |
Take one time |
Pathway #9
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8010 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take four times |
| ASGS 8020 |
Take one time |
Pathway #10
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8010 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take three times |
Pathway #11
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8010 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take three times |
Pathway #12
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8005 |
Take one time |
| ASGS 8015 |
Take two times |
| ASGS 8120 |
Take three times |
Optional Activity: Teaching Intensive Pathway (TIP)
The TIP is an optional pathway for those students whose career interests lie in academia or another field that would benefit from extended teaching experiences. This immersive experience allows students to further explore the breadth and depth of teaching best practices and pedagogy related to their respective field. Students who are interested in participating in this elective experience must formally request to participate, which is subject to program approval. Due to this experience being an elective, unpaid experience, students who participate in the TIP will not receive compensation.
Students may apply to this track (a short statement of intent to the Director of Graduate Studies that will be approved by the German faculty) after completing the “core” 35 units. This TIP does not count toward the other 60 units required for MTE.
Optional Pathway
UG Spanish Seminar
| |
|
| ASGS 8120 |
Take one time |