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Ph.D. Program: Slavic Literatures

Training in the Ph.D. program in Slavic literatures, typically with concentration in Russian literature, involves additional coursework and research. This brochure describes a program focused on Russian literature. Parallel programs in Polish, Czech, Bulgarian and (formally) Yugoslavian literatures are available, in which instance Russian is the required alternative language and literature.

Coursework

At the Ph.D. level, students extend their understanding of the Russian literary tradition and broaden their perspective to include: the pre-modern and early modern periods (the Department offers courses in Medieval, Seventeenth-century, and Eighteenth-century literature); the relationship of Russian to other world literatures (the Department offers a course on the Russian Novel and Literatures of Western Europe and encourages students to take courses offered by programs in other national literatures); the cultural context of Russian literature (the Department offers courses on history of the Russian literary language, Slavic folklore, Russian cultural history, and Russian films). Participation in research seminars is expected.

Coursework in the Ph.D. program includes one semester of the second Slavic language at the advanced level and courses or independent study projects in the corresponding Slavic literature (this work is required of students whose minor field is a second Slavic literature). Ph.D. students usually continue to participate in the courses on literary/cultural history listed in the M.A. program. Students are encouraged to pursue individual interests, both within and outside the area of Slavic languages and literatures.

Independent Research Project

Students are asked to present an extended written research project on a topic of their choice, prepared in a form appropriate for publication in a scholarly journal. The project normally develops out of prior work in a seminar. (It may serve as preparation for the special field portion of the Ph.D. qualifying examinations, and may lead to exploration of a dissertation topic.) The project must be completed and approved by a committee of relevant faculty prior to the Ph.D. qualifying examinations.

Language Skills

Students who entered the program with an M.A. from another institution are asked to pass a reading and oral examination in Russian during their first year at Berkeley.

Before taking the Ph.D. exams, students of literature must demonstrate a reading knowledge of two of the following: one Slavic language other than the major language, French or German. For the second Slavic language, examination is not required from students who took at least three semesters of the language, either at Berkeley or in summer language schools.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations

The Ph.D. qualifying examinations in literature test the candidate's ability to analyze individual texts and to conceptualize the place and function of texts and events in historical and theoretical perspectives. The examinations consist of two four-hour written examinations and one three-hour oral examination. The two written examinations cover the following areas: A). a special field of the student's choice within the major field of study, usually Russian literature/culture (e.g. a period, genre, author, or topic) and B). the minor field (a second Slavic literature or another minor field approved by the Department's Committee on Graduate Studies).

The special field is meant to provide the candidate with an opportunity to develop individual areas of interest. (It may be, and often is, related to the independent research project already completed, and to the eventual dissertation topic.) In recent years, Berkeley students selected such special fields as "the poet and history in Russian Romanticism;" "women writers in the 1830s: social role, genre, and Western models;" "Slavic folklore/oral literature;" "sexuality and culture in twentieth-century Russia." To prepare for the examination in a second Slavic literature, the candidate may also focus on a specific area, in accordance with individual interests.

Dissertation

Following successful completion of the Ph.D. examinations, a student selects a dissertation topic and prepares a prospectus. The student (advanced to Ph.D. candidacy) then proceeds to write a dissertation under faculty guidance.

Completion of the Ph.D. degree usually takes four or more years: ideally, two years for course study and two years for the dissertation.