General - MA program - PhD program
General
1) For general rules that apply to all graduate students at OSU, see the Graduate School Handbook.
2) Students receiving fellowships must enroll in a minimum of 12 credit-hours (not counting audited courses) per semester if they have not yet advanced to Candidacy; post-Candidacy students receiving fellowships must enroll in 3 credit-hours per semester (Graduate School Handbook, 10.4).
3) Graduate Teaching, Research, and Administrative Associates must meet minimum Graduate School registration requirements to remain eligible for their funding. These Associate positions are normally regarded as 50% appointments (usually entailing teaching one class). Students with 50% or greater appointments who have not reached Candidacy must enroll in 8 credit hours for Autumn or Spring, or 4 for Summer; pre-candidacy students with 25% appointments must register for 4 credit hours each semester or 2 units in Summer. The minimum enrollment for Post-Candidacy Graduate Associates appointed at or above 50% is reduced to only 3 credit hours during any semester (Graduate School Handbook, 9.1).
4) After passing candidacy exams, PhD students should enroll in 3 units of NELC 8999 Research in Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures: Dissertation under their advisor’s direction every Autumn and Spring semester.
5) Before advancing to Candidacy, PhD students must meet the Graduate School’s residency requirement by completing at least 24 Graduate credit hours and being registered full-time for at least two consecutive semesters after completing their first 30 hours of graduate credit. These first 30 graduate credit hours may be transferred to OSU from previous Masters degrees, a process which students are responsible to initiate (Graduate School Handbook, 7.2).
6) PhD students may only count, in the fulfillment of residency requirements, their enrollment in Graduate-level courses. Credit hours from any course numbered below the 5000-level, offered as research-oriented language training (e.g., GERM 6101/2, French 6571/2, etc.), or taught by other OSU Graduate students will not count toward the satisfaction of residency requirements and will not apply toward the completion of the any graduate degree (Graduate School Handbook, 4.1).
7) All PhD students (excepting those first admitted to the Graduate School prior to Autumn 2008) must either enroll every Autumn and Spring semester or formally request a Leave of Absence in advance of their non-enrollment once they reach Candidacy. This includes students performing fieldwork and receiving outside fellowships. Any student failing to satisfy the Graduate School’s Continuous Enrollment policy will be required to pay all past due tuition and late fees before re-enrolling or graduating (Graduate School Handbook, 7.8).
8) All MA and PhD students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater for all graduate credit-hours completed at this university to graduate. Students who do not maintain a 3.0 average may be removed from the program (Graduate School Handbook, 6.5/7.13).
9) Students appointed as GAs for both Autumn and Spring semesters earn tuition and fee waivers for the immediately following Summer Semester (Graduate School Handbook, 9.5). This is a very good time to enroll in OSU’s FRENCH 6571 French Reading for Research I or GERMAN 6101 Basic German for Graduate Students to satisfy the modern research language requirement for the PhD.
Requirements for the MA in NESA
30 units of courses. Typically this is achieved over four semesters.
1. NELC 5568 Studies in Orality and Literacy (3 units)
2. One of these courses (3 units):
CLAS 5401 Methodologies for the Study of Ancient Religions
NELC/CS 7301 Theorizing Literature
CS 7360 Theorizing Culture
CS 7370 Theorizing Religion
3. Fifteen (15) units of NESA-department courses (or any course cross-listed with NESA-department courses), including at least
a. Six (6) units at 5000-level or above in one or two departmental language areas (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, NELC)
b. Six (6) units at 6000- or 7000-level in one or two departmental language areas
c. Three (3) units at the 8000-level in one language
d. Six (6) units of further courses relevant to the student's studies
e. Three (3) units spent on the MA Final Project: either a written thesis, written exam, and oral defense or three written exams and an oral exam. By the beginning of the fourth semester, the student should have recruited an MA Committee consisting of two graduate faculty members appointed in NESA with relevant expertise who will evaluate the student's performance. Choose one
i. Register for three units of NELC 5193 with your advisor who will supervise your research for and writing of a Master's thesis (MA thesis). This MA thesis is to be defended orally in time to submit the Graduate School's Thesis Approval form by the published deadline (typically the final Friday of regularly scheduled classes).
ii. Register for three units of NELC 5193 with your advisor, who will supervise your preparation for three written examinations and an accompanying oral examination, all of which must be completed in time to submit the Graduate School's Master's Examination Report form by the published deadline (typically three Fridays before Commencement).
No more than seven (7) of these thirty units may be taken as non-graded (S/U or PA/NP). This includes NELC 5193.
Furthermore, MA students must demonstrate reading competence in at least one language of modern secondary scholarship besides English, usually French or German. (Competence in English is assumed as it is the medium of instruction at OSU and does not satisfy the requirement.) This competence is demonstrated by one of the following:
a. A grade of B or higher in either FRENCH 6571 French Reading for Research I or GERMAN 6101 Basic German for Graduate Students.
b. Passing the proficiency exam offered by the department in charge of that language.
c. Petitioning the Graduate Studies Committee to consider other evidence of competence, such as an undergraduate major or minor in a language of modern secondary scholarship.
d. Passing a 6000-level or higher-level course in such a language.
A student expecting to graduate with the MA must submit the Application to Graduate form to the Graduate School at gradforms.osu.edu no later than the third Friday of the semester of graduation. Mark your calendar.
NOTE: Credits toward the PhD are tallied cumulatively from all the coursework you have done post-BA. Thus, if you are planning on continuing beyond the MA to finish a PhD here, you should bear in mind that you may fulfill some PhD requirements in advance, while working on your MA.
Requirements for the PhD in NESA
The PhD requires 80 units beyond the BA ( = 50 units beyond the MA).
Note that any units earned in our MA program beyond the 30 required may count toward the PhD.
Credit beyond the 30 units must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee by the end of the first semester of enrollment beyond completion of the Master's degree. For example, if you earned 38 units in four semesters of work in our MA program, and were accepted to continue immediately in the PhD program and the Graduate Committee agrees to accept the remaining 8 units (as is normal), then a minimum of 42 further units is required rather than 50.
Students coming to the PhD program with a Master's degree from another institution must have the credit for that MA transferred to OSU for that credit to be counted. Normally, a student's MA degree will be assessed in the admissions process; a Master's degree in Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures or a similar field from another accredited institution may be equivalent to 30 units at OSU in transfer.
I. Coursework & credit-hours
The 80 units of post-BA coursework in total required for the PhD must follow this plan:
1. NELC 5568 Studies in Orality and Literacy (3 units).
NOTE: PhD students who have already taken this course at OSU while pursuing MAs have already fulfilled this requirement; they do not take it a second time.
2. One of these courses (3 units)
NOTE PhD students who have already taken one of these courses at OSU while pursuing MAs are not required to take more of them, but may do so for credit.
CLAS 5401 Methodologies for the Study of Ancient Religions
NELC/CS 7301 Theorizing Literature
CS 7360 Theorizing Culture
CS 7370 Theorizing Religion
3. At least twenty-four (24) units of NELC courses in a primary language and culture area of study at the 5000-level and above.
4. At least nine (9) units of NELC courses in a secondary language and culture area. These may be taken at an elementary or intermediate level (i.e. 1000-, 2000-, 3000-, and 4000-level) if necessary, but such courses do not count toward the 80 required to earn the PhD.
5. A minimum of fifteen (15) units in an ancillary or allied field (minor field), which may follow a disciplinary, theoretical, geographical, or methodological plan. This may include language courses at the 5000-level and higher. The rationale for this cluster of courses requires approval by your advisor.
6. At least eighteen (18) units of credit at the 7000- or 8000-level among all the courses beyond the MA.
No more than twelve (12) of the eighty units in total may be taken as non-graded (S/U or PA/NP).
Beyond these restrictions, courses are chosen in consultation with the student's Advisory Committee.
Beyond these restrictions, any course at the 5000-level or higher, if approved by the graduate committee, may count towards the degree.
Furthermore, students must demonstrate reading competence in at least two languages of modern secondary scholarship, usually French and German. (Competence in English is assumed as it is the medium of instruction at OSU and does not satisfy the requirement.) This competence is demonstrated by the same procedures outlined for the modern research language required for the MA.
All of the requirements listed above should be met by the end of the second year of PhD work (fourth year including MA work). By that time, students should have accumulated at least 68 credit hours; this will leave 12 units of dissertation work over four semesters to count towards the PhD.
II. Candidacy Examinations & Candidacy
At the end of the second year of PhD work, the student will take three written examinations in three different fields, followed by a two-hour oral examination within one month of the completion of the written portion of the examination.
To assess the three exams a Candidacy Exam Committee will be selected consisting of the student's advisor and at least two other faculty members with expertise in the areas of the examinations. At least two of the three must be NESA faculty members or formally associated with NESA; an outside committee member can be included with the approval of the NESA Graduate Studies Committee.
If the student's candidacy exams are not found to be satisfactory, the student can make another attempt with the permission of the Graduate School. The Candidacy Examination Committee must remain unchanged. A repeated attempt requires another oral examination to be scheduled.
III. Dissertation Prospectus and Dissertation
After passing the candidacy examinations, the student must enroll continuously in 3 units of NELC 8999 every semester.
The next and last step in the PhD is to write and defend a doctoral dissertation, essentially a scholarly monograph, demonstrating the student's ability to conduct original advanced research in the field of expertise. It is normal and recommended that the student finish the remainder of the PhD work in two years after passing the Candidacy Exams. No student is allowed to continue more than five years after passing the Candidacy Exams. There are four steps to the dissertation:
1. Appointment of Dissertation Committee
2. Writing and submission of dissertation prospectus
3. Upon approval of prospectus, researching and writing the dissertation
4. Two-hour Final Oral Examination on the dissertation
The student must select members of a Dissertation Committee (possibly the same as the Candidacy Exam Committee) chaired by a dissertation advisor. The Dissertation Committee must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.
The student then writes a dissertation prospectus and submits it to the Committee. The prospectus outlines the proposed research project of the student's dissertation, indicates the significance of the project, and explains the methods to be used.
The dissertation prospectus is normally fifteen to thirty pages, including extensive bibliography.
The prospectus should be submitted soon after the Candidacy Exams, certainly within one semester. If the student has passed the Candidacy Exams at the end of the second year of PhD work, then the immediately subsequent summer is usually sufficient to write the prospectus.
The Dissertation Committee reviews the prospectus and suggests changes before it is approved. Once the prospectus is approved by the committee, the student works continuously on researching and writing the dissertation.
Once the dissertation is completed and submitted, the student undergoes a two-hour Final Oral Examination on the dissertation. The Final Oral Exam Committee consists of the Dissertation Committee with the addition of a Graduate Faculty Representative appointed by the Graduate School.
[updated November 8, 2013]