The program is divided into two stages to ensure that students progress through their requirements in a logical, productive order and in a timely manner. Students must submit a petition to proceed into Stage II by September 1st of their fifth semester (Stage I) or October 15 of their third semester (for post-MA students).
The petition should take the form of a letter addressed to the Committee on Petitions to Proceed (COPP), giving the following information:
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The proposed first, second, and special fields, and the members of the faculty Advisory Committee, who must indicate their approval of the petition.
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A summary of the courses taken to date with the subjects of seminar papers completed. Pre-MA students should submit three seminar papers or two seminar papers plus an MA thesis, if they choose to write one. Post-MA students should submit with the petition two seminar papers and their MA thesis. These seminar papers should be polished and have been revised in accordance with faculty feedback. They are not expected to be ready for publication, nor should they be rough drafts. Rather they should represent the student’s best work to date. The student should describe in their letter the process by which they received and incorporated feedback to revise the papers they are submitting with the petition.
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The language requirements already satisfied and a timetable for completing those language requirements not yet fulfilled (see Section II.4 above).
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A provisional plan and timetable for completing the requirements of Stage II, including exams (see Section II.7 below), along with the principal faculty members under whose supervision the student intends to work. (The student should discuss all plans with the faculty members in question beforesubmitting the petition.)
No Incomplete grades can be outstanding when the petition is submitted.
The Committee on Petitions to Proceed (COPP) will review the letter and papers with care and use them as the basis for a decision about the student’s readiness to proceed to Stage II. Students will be informed in writing (normally by email) of the COPP’s decision.
If the petition is not approved by COPP, the student will be given one semester to remedy deficiencies and resubmit the petition. If it is denied a second time by the faculty committee, the student will be separated from the program.