Examination Information
Please see the Comparative Literature Graduate Manual.
The Plan of Study
The student, in consultation with the Chair of Comparative Literature, begins preparation for the drafting of a Plan of Study. This process includes the choosing of a committee - for the M.A., an M.A. Advisory Committee; the Ph.D., a Ph.D. Preliminary Examination Committee - and a major professor who will chair that committee. At the M.A. level, the committee will typically be composed of the major professor plus two other committee members; at the Ph.D. level, the major professor plus three others. It is the student's responsibility to approach each of these professors in order to ascertain their willingness to participate on the committee.
The student, in consultation with the major professor, drafts a proposed Plan of Study. This must be submitted using the Electronic Plan of Study guidelines provided by the Graduate School. This must be submitted to the Chair of Comparative Literature no later than the 10th week of the student's second semester in the M.A. or Ph.D. program. The Chair of Comparative Literature will either approve this plan or suggest revisions.
Language Requirements
Graduate students in Comparative Literature at Purdue University are required to demonstrate proficiency in two languages in addition to English. If a student is a native speaker of a second or third language, this can fulfill the requirement with approval from the Director of Comparative Literature. Proficiency in additional languages can be shown through:
- A minimum of two years of undergraduate coursework in those languages
- Completion of language courses offered at Purdue up to the 200 level
- Passing a proficiency exam conducted by a faculty member affiliated with the CMPL program
The proficiency exam entails translating a 500-word text from the target language into English without errors. The text will not be provided in advance and will be relevant to the student’s individual study project. These exams must be completed before taking preliminary exams and defending the prospectus, and are mandatory for earning an MA or PhD in Comparative Literature at Purdue University.
Preparation for Written Examinations
Written examinations are typically administered in the 10th week of the student's fourth semester in the M.A. or Ph.D. program, following the guidelines of either English or Languages & Cultures, as appropriate. The major professor, as Chair of the M.A. Advisory or the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination Committee, must present the Chair of Comparative Literature with the complete text of a proposed written examination by no later than Monday of the 8th week of the semester in which the examination is to be administered. The Chair of Comparative Literature will either approve this proposed examination or suggest revisions.
Examination questions are typically composed by the major professor and the other members of the M.A. Advisory or the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination Committee, according to the general guidelines. Occasionally some examination questions are contributed by faculty other than those on the student's committee; in such instances the contributing faculty should also be asked to read and grade the student's answers to the questions these faculty have composed.
The major professor, as Chair of the M.A. Advisory or the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination Committee, must arrange for a room in which to administer the examination. Reservations for a conference room or a computer should be made early - no later than six weeks before the date of the examination - in order to assure availability.
Grading Procedures
Each member of the M.A. Advisory or the Ph.D. Preliminary Examination Committee will receive a copy of the student's examination papers. The committee chair is responsible for coordinating the grading of the exam. The grading scale is as follows: HP (High Pass, work distinguished by excellence and an unusual ability to relate to important scholarship in the field); P (Pass, entirely satisfactory and solid work with a good command of the prescribed texts); LP (Low Pass, acceptable but undistinguished work); or F (Failure, unacceptable work requiring that the examination be taken again). Written comments may or may not be provided.
Grading should be completed with all feasible dispatch. The period between the administration of a written examination and the aware of a grade can be very stressful for the student, so it is important to keep this as short as possible. In no case should the entire grading process exceed 14 days beyond the first day of the examination itself.
Dissertation Prospectus and Prospectus Defense
After successful Prelims (both written and oral exams), all graduate students should send a "Prospectus "about their dissertation as being planned to all their committee members and get feedback and approval before a formal "Prospectus Defense" date can be scheduled with the dissertation committee. Once that is successfully passed and once all the course requirements are met, then the student can be advanced to candidacy and be officially A.B.D. ("all but dissertation) which is then also recorded electronically by Purdue Graduate School. Then the only thing left will be completing the dissertation writing and getting it accepted and approved by the committee and Graduate School.
This document called "Prospectus" is a 10-page summary of the planned dissertation (not counting the bibliography which is submitted as well).
This document called "Prospectus" is a 10-page summary of the planned dissertation (not counting the bibliography which is submitted as well).
It consists of five points: 1) Explain the title or "research problem", 2) contextualize it, give "benchmarks" or related scholarship that already exists so far, 3) explain the theoretical framework or your approach in Comparative Literature studies, 4) say (already as precisely as possible!) what YOUR innovative or original contribution with this dissertation to the field of scholarship will be, 5) give a summary of each part of your dissertation and indicate the expected timing of each part, say explicitly when you will complete it. Then attach the bibliography or references and submit it to your committee.
Students may choose to provide the Prospectus before the Prelims and then combine the oral Prelims with the Prospectus Defense, but most students prefer to take the Prelims and complete them before submitting their Prospectus and scheduling a separate Prospectus Defense. You may talk to your chair of the committee or the director of CMPL for that matter if you are unsure which venue works better for you.