Seminar Requirement

All doctoral students must take, here at Iowa, at least three seminars in their prospective field(s) of concentration, and preferably more.

Numbered at or above the 400-level, seminars are the most highly focused and specialized courses the department offers, and offer practice in the skills necessary for researching and writing the dissertation. Normally these courses assume prior related work (or its equivalent) in at least two courses at a lower level and culminate in a major research project aimed at publication. It is a good idea to begin taking seminars as soon as you begin to focus your field of concentration.

Seminars in other departments or in the Writers Workshop do not automatically count toward the English Department seminar requirement.

The seminar requirement must be completed before students are elegible to take the comprehensive examination.

Possibility for Substitution

The following pages provide details about the various aspects of the Ph.D. in English.

• Graduate home
• Steps to the Ph.D.
  Policies & Procedures
  • Commencing Study
  • Distribution Requirement
  • Seminar Reqirement
  • Foreign Language Requirement
  • Other Requirements
  • Qualifications
    • Application for Candidacy form (PDF)
  • Comprehensive Exam
  • Dissertation
  • After the PhD
• Admissions
  
• Funding
  
• Courses 
  
• Current Grad Students
  
• Graduate Placement
  
• PhD Student Publications

See Also:

• The Graduate College
• Graduate Assistanship Bulletin Board
• Graduate College Sources of Financial Support