Checksheet for Rhetoric & Writing Program

I.  MASTER'S CREDIT: 30 hours

II. DOCTORAL COURSE WORK:  

At least 33 hours of courses.

All coursework, preliminary examination, and dissertation research hours must total at least 60 hours. 

RHETORIC AND WRITING CORE COURSES: 24 hours

_____ 6210 Intro to Rhetoric and Composition as a Discipline                                                                                        _____ 7210 Writing Program Administration
_____ 7220 History of Rhetoric and Written Discourse
_____ 7240 Rhetoric of Written Discourse
_____ 7260 Research in Rhetoric & Writing
_____ 7280 Computer Mediated Writing
_____ 7290 Publication in Rhetoric and Writing
_____ 7800 at least one special-topic seminar

Note: As the core of the program, these eight courses may not be waived or substituted

RHETORIC & WRITING ELECTIVES: At least 9 hrs required

Electives may be taken in any area relevant to research and teaching interests. Often students take additional R&W special topics courses. Special topics courses in R&W are taught by core faculty on a rotating basis. Recent topics have included writing assessment, cultural rhetorics, community literacies, decolonial theory and methodology, teacher research, online learning for English educators, and teaching grammar in the context of writing.

Electives can include other courses in English (Literature, TESOL Scientific & Technical Communication) or courses in other departments. Electives can be selected to develop a secondary area of research and/or teaching. R&W students sometimes use electives to pursue a graduate certificate in areas such as Scientific & Technical Communication, TESOL, or Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies. More information about certificates can be found on the Graduate College homepage; scroll to the bottom of the page to find certificate programs:

 http://www.bgsu.edu/graduate/graduate-programs.html

To pursue specialized research interests not addressed in core or special topics, students may take a 3-hour Directed Study course (e.g., ENG 7840) under the supervision of a core R&W faculty member. To initiate a directed study, first talk with the Program Director. After approval, talk to R&W core faculty members to identify someone able to mentor you in a given semester. Upon approval from the faculty member, complete an independent study form, available from the graduate secretary in the Department of English. Students must develop a course syllabus and reading list, in conjunction with the faculty mentor, and submit the documentation with the independent study form. These materials are required prior to registering for a directed study course in a given semester. No more than nine hours of directed studies may be counted toward the required number of hours for graduation. 

Registering for Prelim and Dissertation Hours

Following completion of course work, students continue to register for hours each semester. For the R&W PhD, six hours are required of ENG 7980: Readings for Preliminary Examination, and 21 are required of ENG 7990: Dissertation Research.

Those on assistantship must be registered for a minimum of 8 credit hours each semester.  Typically, in Fall of their third year students take 6 hours of 7980 and 2 hours of 7990. In the following three semesters of funding, they take 8 hours of 7990 each semester. When registering, each semester you will need to provide English’s Graduate Secretary with the name of your committee chair. This step is necessary because 7890 and 7990 hours are offered with different section numbers for each doctoral faculty member.

Course & Semester                                   Title

• ________________            ______________________
• ________________            ______________________
• ________________            ______________________

III. REQUIRED EXAMINATIONS AND DISSERTATION HOURS:

_____ ENG 7980 Readings for Preliminary Examination: 6 hours required 

_____ ENG 7990 Dissertation Research (21 hours required) Candidate must accumulate a minimum of 16 hours of     dissertation credit and may count a maximum of 21 toward graduation. (All graduating candidates must be registered for at least one dissertation research credit hour in the semester in which graduation is scheduled.)

IV. OTHER DEGREE REQUIREMENTS:

• Completion of Prelim Examinations                             _____/_____/_____
  
• Graduate Lecture                                                          _____/_____/_____
  
• Dissertation Defense                                                    _____/_____/_____
  
• Electronic Submission of Approved Dissertation       _____/_____/_____
  

Online Degree Audits

The Check sheet for the R&W Program is a document that lists program requirements and can help you plan and track your course work. It is available in hard copy from the Graduate Office and/or the R&W Program Director. For the most part, this document has been replaced by the university-wide online degree audit. Bowling Green State University offers an electronic degree audit to assist students and advisors with tracking progress toward degree completion. The degree audit matches completed, in-progress, and registered courses with requirements of the specified degree program to determine what requirements need to be met.

You can view your electronic degree audit through MyBGSU, under the Students option. For more information, including a tutorial that will help in understanding how to request and view your electronic degree audit, visit:

http://www.bgsu.edu/registration-records/degree-audit-info.html

For questions about the online degree audit, you may contact dars@bgsu.edu or 419-372-8223, the R&W Program Director, and English’s Graduate Coordinator.

BGSU-Department of English

Bowling Green, OH  43402 Tel: 419/372-6864

Checksheet Revised 10/2015; Updated to Web site 10/2015