CONTENTS
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
- Introduction
- The Department and the Program
- The Program M.A. Thesis
- The University Library’s Near East Collection
- Extra-curricular Activities
- The Graduate Student Committee
- Graduate Funding
II. BYLAWS RELATING TO M.A. STUDENTS
III. BYLAWS RELATING TO Ph.D. STUDENTS
- Pre-Generals Students
- The General Examination
- Post-Generals Students
- The Submission of the Dissertation and the Final Public Oral
- Miscellaneous
- Appendix: The Role of the Director of Graduate Studies
DEPARTMENT AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Department Chair
M. Qasim Zaman
Director of Graduate Studies
Michael A. Cook
Program Director
Bernard A. Haykel
Department & Program Manager
Karen N. Chirik
Business Manager
Angela R. Bryant
Graduate/Undergraduate Administrator for both Department and Program
James L. LaRegina
Office Coordinator/Administrative Assistant to the Chair
Judy A. Schedneck
Events & Program Coordinator
Linda R. Kativa
Editorial Assistant
William M. Blair
Technical Support Specialist
Tammy M. Fortson
Administrative and Lab Coordinator
Gayatri B. Oruganti
Transregional Institute Manager
Joyce M. Slack
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
1. INTRODUCTION
This Handbook is intended to provide practical information on the policies, procedures, and resources of both the Department of Near Eastern Studies and the Program in Near Eastern Studies. Other sources of information you may wish to consult are the relevant sections of the Graduate School Academics webpage and our website. The latter includes profiles of all faculty members in the NES Department, as well as those of members of other departments who are affiliated with Near Eastern Studies.
A successful graduate student’s career at Princeton falls into two distinct segments: a period of course work, culminating in the General Examination (hereafter “Generals”); and a period of dissertation research, leading to the submission of a dissertation, a public oral examination, and the award of the Ph.D. The main elements in this career are spelled out in more detail in Section II. Note that all students must fulfill the one-year residence requirement before taking Generals. This means that they must be regularly enrolled and engaged in full-time study at Princeton for at least one academic year, during which they must reside in Princeton or the immediate vicinity.
2. THE DEPARTMENT AND THE PROGRAM
Near Eastern studies at Princeton are pursued in one of two institutional contexts: either in the Department of Near Eastern Studies or in the Program in Near Eastern Studies. The latter is an interdepartmental program concerned mainly with the modern Middle East. The Department and the Program share office space in Jones Hall and overlap considerably in terms of interests, faculty, and students. The departments participating in the Program in Near Eastern Studies, in addition to the Department of Near Eastern Studies itself, are Anthropology, Economics, History, Politics, Sociology, and the Woodrow Wilson School. Arrangements can sometimes be made with other departments to cover students with special interests.
All candidates for the Ph.D. are initially admitted to departments; even if they later enter the Program, they continue to belong to a department, and must fulfill its academic requirements. Thus, Ph.D. candidates who elect to join the Program fulfill both departmental and Program requirements. It is the task of the Program Director and faculty to help students work out a curriculum which meets both sets of demands. This does not necessarily entail additional requirements, and in most cases arrangements are made to secure exemption from, or modification of, certain departmental requirements. Ph.D. candidates wishing to join the Program should consult with the Director, in addition to speaking informally with other Program faculty.
For students contemplating careers in government, business, or journalism, where a Ph.D. is not a requirement, the Program in Near Eastern Studies also offers a two-year degree curriculum leading to the M.A. as a final degree. This special program is governed by an Interdepartmental Committee. The Program Director oversees the student’s course selection, master’s thesis, and examinations. If, however, you have been admitted to pursue a course of study leading to the Ph.D., this no longer concerns you.
The general guidance given below concerning the number of courses to be taken, language requirements, financial aid, extracurricular activities, and the Graduate Student Committee applies equally to both Departmental and Program students (whether M.A. or Ph.D. Candidates).
The Department normally has around thirty enrolled graduate students. Program students for the M.A. number about five. At any given time a good many students may be pursuing research outside Princeton.
3. THE PROGRAM M.A. THESIS
Candidates for the M.A. in Near Eastern Studies will present a thesis by May 1 of the second year on a subject agreed upon with the student’s adviser. The thesis must be approved by the adviser and a second reader selected by the Program Director. The last stage is an oral examination which centers on the defense of the M.A. thesis, but also tests the student’s overall grasp of the two-year program of study.
4. THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY’S NEAR EAST COLLECTION
For assistance with bibliographic questions concerning Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and general Near Eastern area studies or to request the acquisition of new materials in these areas, contact:
For assistance with bibliographic questions concerning Turkish and Turkish studies, contact:
William Blair
Dillon Court West 09
258-8746
blairw@princeton.edu
For questions concerning current serials or for assistance in locating material in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, contact:
Kim Leaman
A-16-G Firestone
258-5307
kleaman@princeton.edu
5. EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
In addition to a number of social occasions, the Department and Program organize conferences, seminars, public lectures, a weekly brown-bag lunch lecture series, and occasional meetings on topics of general or particular interest to the scholarly community. Graduate students are encouraged, and indeed expected, to participate in these activities insofar as their schedules permit, and students often take the initiative in organizing such activities.
6. THE GRADUATE STUDENT COMMITTEE
Each Department is required to constitute a Graduate Student Committee selected by the students themselves, normally with representatives of different years. Such a committee provides a forum in which graduate students can discuss common concerns, and it can make representations to the faculty concerning matters of instruction, procedure, or policy that students believe to warrant discussion or review. In addition, the Department and Program have set aside a small budget for the Committee’s operation, and students may agree to contribute an additional amount of their own. The Committee may plan occasional social gatherings and, subject to funding, public lectures or small conferences. A periodic gathering in which students present their research in progress, to which members of the faculty are invited to respond, has been organized in the past. There is also a Graduate Student Union which is active in the University at large.
At the beginning of each academic year the DGS, working with the Chair of the Graduate Student Committee, should convene a meeting to welcome new graduate students to the Department. At the same time they should make arrangements to assign each entering graduate student to an informal graduate student mentor.
7. GRADUATE FUNDING
While it is not possible to give full details of this arcane subject, here are some points which are worth bearing in mind.
The key figure in determining the level of your funding is your base, that is to say the figure you were offered and accepted at admission, normally for five years. You can rely on continuing to receive at least this figure during the term of your contract, provided you make satisfactory progress and remain in good standing.
You may receive more than your base in one of several ways.
(1) You may be awarded a fellowship, whether by the University or some outside organization, in which case you will receive whatever that fellowship pays, which may be substantially more than your base. Normally such fellowships are for one year, and they have no effect on your base for subsequent years. The Graduate School policy may be reviewed here.
(2) Some programs on campus offer “top ups.” For example, students whose studies touch importantly on Judaic studies may be awarded a modest “top up” to their stipends by the interdepartmental Program in Judaic Studies, this is normally continued throughout the five years, as long as the student’s interests continue to pertain to Judaic studies.
An important category of fellowships is the FLAS awards. These are federally funded (and thus subject to decision-making in Washington); but they are administered through the Graduate School and the Program. They are restricted to U.S. citizens who are taking modern Near Eastern language courses. They have a beneficial side effect: unlike a normal Princeton stipend, a FLAS fellowship is not reduced when a graduate student receives remuneration as a teaching assistant. However, since graduates are normally most eligible for these fellowships at the start of their careers and most likely to teach toward the end of their careers, this conjunction is rare.
(Please note that FLAS is currently not available.)
II. BYLAWS RELATING TO PROGRAM STUDENTS
M.A. students must discuss the courses they wish to take with the Program Director. The course load is four courses in each one of the first three semesters and one course in the fourth semester, during which the student prepares her or his thesis. In the first two semesters, three of the four courses must be seminars, and one a language course. In the third semester, at least two of the four courses must be seminars, and at least one a language course. In the fourth semester, the course has to be a language course. Of the six seminars taken in the first year, at least three must be taught by regular, affiliated, or visiting NES faculty members, including NES 500. Of the two or three seminars taken in the third semester, at least one needs to be taught by regular, affiliated, or visiting NES faculty members. The language(s) need(s) to be Middle Eastern or directly relevant to the student’s M.A. thesis.
III. BYLAWS RELATING TO Ph.D. STUDENTS
1. PRE-GENERALS STUDENTS
i. Course load
The minimum number of courses that a student is expected to complete each year is six. Of the six, at least three must be graduate seminars taught by members of the Department, affiliated faculty, or visiting NES faculty. Normally, courses in European languages do not count among the six required courses each year. Normally, reading courses (700-level courses) do count, but students must obtain prior approval from the Director of Graduate Studies. For the purposes of reckoning a student’s course load, precepting in a Departmental undergraduate course counts as the equivalent of a graduate seminar taken in the Department. The same relief may be claimed in the fall semester by students taking Generals in January and in the spring semester by students taking Generals in May. Students taking Generals in October are not eligible for this relief.
In general, audited courses do not fulfill course-load requirements. However, an exception may be made once in a student’s years of required courses, subject to the prior approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. This option cannot be exercised in the first semester of the first year nor for undergraduate Near Eastern language courses.
ii. Course choice
Students must give the Director of Graduate Studies advance notice of their proposed course choices and then register through TigerHub. Students in their second and third years should speak with their advisers (see subsection vi, below) prior to finalizing their choices with the Director of Graduate Studies. Any subsequent changes, including any decision to drop a course, must be discussed with the Director of Graduate Studies in a timely way.
iii. Performance in courses
The grading conventions of the Department are the following. “A” grades (A+, A, A-) indicate good performance, and a solid record of such grades constitutes a basis for readmission. “B” grades (B+, B, B-) mark an adequate but undistinguished performance; a preponderance of such grades calls in question the capacity of the student to go on to Ph.D. work. “C” grades (C+, C, C-) mark inadequate performance, and an accumulation of such grades (and of any lower grades) constitutes a basis for termination. Pass/D/Fail is not an option for students in the Department.
All courses must be completed in the semester in which they are taken. The Department does not recognize the grade of “Incomplete,” and a student whose transcript shows such a grade will not be eligible for readmission until it has been replaced by an acceptable grade. The Department does not normally accept the submission of co-authored papers.
iv. Special course requirements for first-year students
All first-year students are expected to take a minimum of three courses in the fall semester, and normally at least two of these must be graduate seminars taught by members of the Department, associated faculty, or visiting faculty in NES.
All first-year students normally take NES 500 in the fall semester.
In the fall, first-year students have the obligation to submit a paper in each of two graduate seminars taken with members of the Department, in addition to NES 500, unless one of their courses is a language course. In the second semester they must take at least one seminar with a Department member.
Normally, no first year graduate student will be asked to precept unless necessity requires it.
v. Summer plans
Students should discuss their summer plans with the Director of Graduate Studies at the beginning and end of the spring semester. Instructions on applying for summer funding from entities in the university are available in the Student Activities Funding Engine (SAFE). Applications to the NES program will only be considered if the student has also applied to other appropriate funding sources.
vi. Finding an academic adviser
All first-year students are provisionally assigned the Director of Graduate Studies as their adviser. In the course of the first year, each student, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, should seek out a faculty member appropriate to his or her interests who is willing to assume the role of academic adviser. The student is encouraged to take a course with the faculty member, and/or arrange to meet with him or her as needed throughout the first year. The faculty member in question will normally assume the role of adviser from the beginning of the student’s second year. The adviser has primary responsibility with regard to the overall guidance of the student with respect to readying the student for Generals and guiding the student through the Ph.D. dissertation. Any change of adviser at a subsequent stage should be discussed with the Director of Graduate Studies.
The Department requires that students acquire the languages, European and Near Eastern, necessary for research in their field of choice before embarking on dissertation research.
vii. European language requirement
No student may proceed to Generals or be admitted to a third year before demonstrating to the Department’s satisfaction a reading knowledge of a European language of scholarship, other than English, with a significant secondary literature on the student’s field of interest. Normally this language will be French or German.
Students who already possess sufficient knowledge of either French or German to satisfy the requirement should obtain certification in the fall semester by taking the relevant examination administered at that time by the French and German Departments, respectively. Students who need a period of study to attain the necessary proficiency in French or German are encouraged to take the appropriate summer course at Princeton. Passing the summer course constitutes certification. Native speakers are exempted.
The Department will not make ad hoc arrangements for students who fail to take advantage of these opportunities.
Students wishing to offer a European language other than French or German should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies at an early stage.
Students should plan to meet this requirement as early as possible. Since admission to a third year depends on prior compliance with the requirement, and the readmission process takes place in the spring, a student without adequate knowledge of a European language will almost certainly have to take a summer course at the end of the first year. This in turn means applying for funding in the spring of the first year.
viii. Near Eastern language requirement
No student may proceed to Generals or be admitted to a third year before demonstrating to the Department’s satisfaction a research-level competence in the primary Near Eastern language on which the student’s dissertation is expected to be based.
Any one of the following will normally be deemed to satisfy this requirement:
(1) Native competence in the language.
(2) Completion with grades in the “A” range of two of the Department’s third and fourth-year courses in the language.
(3) Completion with grades in the “A” range of two graduate seminars taught by Departmental faculty in which substantial amounts of material are read in the language.
Where a student has not met one of these criteria, the Department will administer a special examination.
ix. Study of further languages
All students are normally expected to study a second Near Eastern language up to second-year level prior to taking Generals. Ottoman and modern Turkish cannot be counted as separate languages.
Students may need to acquire additional languages appropriate to their fields of study.
2. THE GENERAL EXAMINATION
i. Introductory
A successful performance in Generals marks the transition from mandatory course- work to dissertation research.
The five Generals exams must be taken within one of the three annual examination periods designated by the Graduate School: roughly October; January; and May. The examination may not normally be taken earlier than October of the student's second year or later than October of the third year; other things being equal, students should aim to take Generals in May of their second year. Only students who have very extensive backgrounds in Near Eastern Studies prior to matriculation, have completed all language requirements, and have a definite plan for a dissertation should think of seeking the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies for taking Generals in the first year. In practice, this option has rarely if ever been exercised.
Generals consist of: (1) three written examinations on broad “fields,” each taken with a different faculty member (hereafter “the examiner”); (2) a written examination on research methods (“methodology”) involving the critical evaluation of sources for, and authorities on, some posed problem; and (3) a concluding oral examination. Normally the student’s adviser will both examine a field and at the same time set the examination on methodology.
Students are encouraged to consult the copies of past Generals questions.
The initiative in planning Generals rests primarily with the student, who should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies and his or her adviser at all stages of the process. The initiative in scheduling Generals rests with the student; the arrangements are made by the Graduate Administrator. All plans and arrangements are subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
ii. Long-term planning
When applying for readmission, all first-year students are required by the Graduate School to state the date when they expect to take Generals. Students should discuss this date and their plans for Generals with the Director of Graduate Studies at the end of their first year, and with their adviser at the beginning of the second year. Any subsequent changes of plan should be discussed with both.
From at least the end of the first year, a student should be thinking seriously about a dissertation topic; this affects the choice of adviser and hence the setting of the examination on methodology. At the same time, the student should consider possible Generals fields; the package of fields should make sense as a compromise between ensuring a broad grasp of a significant part of the Department’s coverage and building the necessary foundation for the projected dissertation. The oral examination needs no long-term planning.
Students should bear in mind that they have to satisfy all language requirements before proceeding to Generals. They should also take into account, so far as possible, the plans of faculty to go on leave.
iii. Organizing Generals
The three fields: The most elaborate preparatory work relates to the fields. The general definition of each field must be approved by the instructor and the student’s adviser, and a list of the examiners together with the agreed titles of the fields must be submitted in writing for the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies not less than four months before the examination period in which the student proposes to take Generals (for Generals taken in October, this means May; for those taken in January, September; and for those taken in May, January).
The detailed definition of each field must be approved by the examiner; it is the responsibility of the student to put together for discussion with the examiner a syllabus identifying the main topics to be covered (including an indication of any to which special attention will be devoted), together with a list of the main readings to be completed by the student.
The student must also consult with the examiner on the manner in which the field is to be studied. The alternatives are to take a regular course offered by the examiner, with or without modification of coverage, or to set up an individual reading course with the examiner, with or without written assignments; the initiative in setting up such a course rests with the student.
The following are examples of fields which have been offered: early Islamic history; medieval Islamic history; modern Middle Eastern history; Ottoman history; modern North African History; comparative politics of the Middle East; classical Arabic poetry, prose or philology; classical or modern Persian literature; modern Arabic literature; modern Hebrew literature; classical Islamic thought; modern Islamic thought; Jewish history in the medieval Islamic world.
While fields must normally be broadly conceived, in some cases a student may be permitted to choose one narrowly defined field involving close work on primary sources relevant to the anticipated dissertation project. One of the fields may be taken with an examiner from another Department or, in some cases (subject to the approval of the Graduate School), another university.
The fields are normally three-hour closed-book examinations.
The methodology examination: The student should discuss with his or her adviser the general nature of the exercise to be set, whether or not it will be open-book, and the duration of the examination. Six hours is a common duration though some faculty allow more time.
The oral examination: Most of this examination will be devoted to questions arising from the student’s responses in the written examinations, though, in the course of the conversation, examiners may extend the scope of their questioning.
iv. Scheduling Generals
It is the responsibility of the student to initiate the scheduling of Generals in cooperation with the Graduate Administrator and by personally communicating with the examiners. This must be done not less than four weeks before the beginning of the examination period. The student should first fix a date and time for the oral examination convenient for all concerned, and then proceed to schedule the written examinations.
The fields may be scheduled at any time during office hours. Scheduling the methodology examination will depend on the format. Normally the last written examination must end not less than three complete days before the oral examination.
It is the responsibility of the Graduate Administrator to obtain the examination questions from each examiner well in advance. In no circumstance should the student have prior knowledge of the actual questions to be asked.
v. The examination itself
For each written examination, the student must obtain the examination from the Graduate Administrator at the pre-arranged time and must turn in the answers to the Graduate Administrator when time is up. E-mail may be used for both purposes.
The Graduate Administrator does not negotiate and cannot authorize extra time for general exams. Students who elect to write their exams in the Library or elsewhere on campus may receive permission from the DGS to take five extra minutes on both ends of the three hours for travel time. If there is a problem during an exam, approval for any extra time can be given by only the examiner or the Director of Graduate Studies.
Students will normally write their field exams on campus and will not take them at home. Electronic equipment for exams is provided in various locations on campus. If students choose to use their personal electronic equipment, they must make sure that it is in good working order and fully functional, including the ability to print, before they take the general exam.
The student will take the examination without being monitored. Students taking closed-book examinations are on their honor not to refer to books, notes, or computerized materials of any kind, and not to speak to anyone in the course of the examination.
The oral examination normally lasts about an hour and will be held in closed session.
vi. Evaluation of the student’s performance
Each written examination will be evaluated by the relevant examiner. After the oral examination, the examiners will agree upon an evaluation of the student’s oral performance and an overall evaluation for the examination as a whole. This evaluation will be reported to the Department with an appropriate recommendation.
Where the examiners agree that the candidate has passed his or her Generals in the “high pass” range, they will recommend to the Department that the student proceed to dissertation research.
In accordance with Graduate School policy, a student who fails the entire examination has the chance to retake it within one year. Otherwise, a student who does not achieve a high pass may be recommended for a terminal M.A. degree, provided all other requirements have been satisfactorily fulfilled. Where a student fails one part of the written examination the Department will determine whether the student may retake only that portion, or must retake the entire examination.
The examiners are expected to make every effort to agree upon an overall evaluation. If, nevertheless, they are unable to do so, they will report their views to the Department individually, and the outcome will be decided by the Department.
In reviewing any adverse or split recommendation, the Department must take into account the student’s overall record and any representation he or she chooses to make to the Department.
A student proceeding to dissertation research who wishes to receive an M.A. on passing Generals must submit an Advanced Degree Application to the Graduate School.
3. POST-GENERALS STUDENTS
i. The dissertation adviser
The student’s dissertation adviser is the faculty member who sets the examination on methodology and will normally have advised the student since the second year.
.In exceptional circumstances, a student may have two dissertation advisers; where this is so, one of them may be in another department. In such cases, the adviser who belongs to the Department will be the adviser responsible for all Departmental administrative purposes.
In rare cases a scholar from another institution may play a role in a student’s dissertation by giving advice that is central to the dissertation in a field not covered at Princeton. Such a person may be invited to attend and participate in the Final Public Oral (hereafter F.P.O.), if he or she can attend, subject to the approval of the Graduate School.
An adviser who goes on leave must make arrangements for the continued supervision of advisees in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.
ii. Dissertation prospectus
Every student must prepare a written outline about ten pages in length of his or her research plans within four months of taking Generals. This prospectus should be submitted to an ad hoc committee consisting of the student’s adviser, the Director of Graduate Studies, and a third faculty member nominated by the Director of Graduate Studies after consultation with the adviser and the student. The student will then meet with the committee to discuss the prospectus. The committee may ask for the substantial changes to be made before the student may advance to the research stage.
iii. Research outside Princeton and opportunities for funding it
Students are encouraged to spend a year abroad collecting material for their dissertations. Where possible students should secure outside funding for conducting research abroad and not use their Princeton fellowship. When a student obtains such outside funding, the Graduate School will normally stop the clock on his or her Princeton fellowship for the year, thereby enabling the student to bank their Princeton funding for an additional year of study. Note that some yearlong funding opportunities such as the SSRC and Fulbright fellowships are only for research; you should consider applying for them at the beginning of your third year with a view to spending your fourth year abroad; once you are writing up you may no longer be eligible to apply for them. All such plans are subject to the approval of the student’s adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies. Such students are assigned the status “in absentia” by the Graduate School and may continue to receive their fellowship while abroad.
Students in absentia should keep in regular contact with their advisers and the Director of Graduate Studies. They should report to their advisers in detail on the progress of their research. It is essential that a substantial report reach the adviser by the beginning of March, in time for the Department’s readmission process. Students in a position to send draft chapters to their advisers at this stage should do so.
iv. Research and writing in Princeton
Students engaged in research in Princeton are expected to produce written work for their advisers, who must read and return it with adequate comment in a timely fashion. No student in residence who fails to produce substantial written work over the course of the year will be readmitted. Students should discuss their writing plans with their advisers as often as necessary.
At the same time students should aim to submit copies of their draft chapters to two or three other faculty members for comment. Students should approach faculty members for this purpose after discussion with their advisers and should bear in mind that such faculty members are likely to serve in due course as official readers or examiners of the completed dissertation. From time to time the Department offers a graduate seminar in which post-Generals students read and criticize each other’s draft dissertation chapters. All students currently drafting such chapters are encouraged to participate.
Students should make every effort to devise and adhere to a schedule which enables them to submit their dissertations not later than the summer in which their funding comes to an end. The writing schedule and the timeline approaching potential dissertation committee members may vary from student to student and should be agreed upon with the student’s adviser.
4. THE SUBMISSION OF THE DISSERTATION AND THE F.P.O.
i. Long-term planning
A student whose dissertation is approaching completion should begin to plan for the Ph.D. examination. The whole process takes around three months, sometimes more, and only in rare cases less than eleven weeks. The process is likely to be prolonged if all or part of it takes place during the months of June, July, and August, if readers or examiners of the provisional text of the dissertation require extensive revision, or if one or more of the readers and examiners are not in residence in Princeton.
At the planning stage a student needs to become thoroughly familiar with the various sets of requirements that will have to be met. These are:
a) The requirements of the Graduate School, which may be found on the “Graduate School Academics” web page under the heading, “Processes.” In practice, the most important procedural requirements are subsumed under those of the Department, but students are responsible for checking the Graduate School requirements themselves.
b) The Requirements of the University Archives, which are set out on the Thesis Requirements page. These requirements cover the format and pagination of the dissertation and abstract, copyright, microfilming, illustrations, and the copies of the final text of the dissertation which must be submitted, with other materials, to the Mudd Library. The responsibility for meeting University Archives requirements falls exclusively on the student. The Department cannot clarify, interpret, or waive these requirements, and does not monitor a student’s compliance with them.
c) The requirements of the Department, with which the rest of this Section is concerned.
No dissertation may exceed 100,000 words unless the student, through the adviser, has obtained the prior permission of the Director of Graduate Studies in writing.
A student who wishes to submit a dissertation more than five years after passing Generals must notify the Director of Graduate Studies of this intention. The Graduate Studies Committee will then make a recommendation to the Department as to whether the dissertation should be received for consideration.
ii. Outline of the process
In outline, the stages of a successful defense are: the student submits notice of intention to defend; the Examining Committee is appointed; the adviser approves the provisional text as ready for submission; the student submits the provisional text of the dissertation to the Department; the readers read and report on the dissertation; the student makes any necessary revisions; the student submits the final text of the dissertation; the F.P.O.is scheduled and held; the degree is awarded.
A successful defense with no complicating circumstances would require around eleven weeks in all: four between the submission of the notice of intention to defend and the submission of the provisional text; three for the readers to read and report; two for the student to revise (less, if the revisions required are minimal); and two for the submission of the final text and for the F.P.O.to be scheduled and held. Further time would then be needed for the University to complete the formalities for the award of the degree.
iii. Notice of intention to defend
Not less than one month before submitting the provisional text of the dissertation, the student must submit to the Director of Graduate Studies a notice of intention to defend. This notice should comprise a copy of the provisional title page, table of contents, and abstract of the dissertation, accompanied by a covering letter stating the expected length of the dissertation in words, and suggesting the names of up to four possible readers or examiners, other than the adviser, for consideration by the Director of Graduate Studies. The letter should also cover any special circumstances, problems, or considerations likely to affect the scheduling of the F.P.O. and suggest a range of dates for it.
iv. Appointment of the Examining Committee
The Director of Graduate Studies, taking into consideration the suggestions of the student and in consultation with the adviser, will put to the Graduate Studies Committee a proposal for the membership of the Examining Committee. The Graduate Studies Committee will normally meet to discuss the proposal only in the event that the adviser or a member of the Committee is in disagreement with the proposal.
The Dissertation Committee consists of two principal readers and three F.P.O. examiners; these roles are normally performed by four faculty members. Normally the adviser will be the first reader of the dissertation and the Chair of the Examining Committee; the first reader may thus serve as one of the three F.P.O. examiners. The second reader, like the first, will report on the dissertation, but unlike the first reader will have no official function at the F.P.O. Thus the second reader is not obliged to attend the F.P.O. If the second reader wishes to take part in the F.P.O. but cannot physically attend, he or she may do so online.
The two examiners are not obliged to report on the dissertation, but, like the adviser, must attend the final public oral.
Students should make sure they understand the distinction between the second reader and the examiners.
Normally the members of the Committee will be Departmental faculty members. Subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee, however, one member of the Committee may be a member of another Department or, in some circumstances, of another academic institution.
The appointment of the Committee is subject to the approval of the Graduate School.
Once the Examining Committee has been appointed, the student will be informed accordingly. The student should then work with the Graduate Administrator to fix a provisional date and time for the F.P.O., which is both realistic and convenient for all concerned. In due course the Graduate Administrator applies to the Graduate School to schedule the FPO, but not until the readers’ reports have been submitted and read by the DGS.
v. Adviser’s Approval
The adviser must notify the Director of Graduate Studies in writing that he or she has approved the complete dissertation for submission. Approval will not be granted unless appropriate and consistent standards of transliteration, format, and typography have been met.
vi. Submission of the provisional text of the dissertation to the Department
The provisional text of the dissertation is the text which will be given to the readers and examiners. It is provisional in the sense that the student may be asked to revise it, but is in no sense a rough draft; any dissertation submitted in such a condition will be returned to the student, who will have to begin the process again. Any dissertation exceeding 100,000 words will likewise be returned unless the student has obtained permission in advance.
The provisional text must be submitted in four softbound copies.
vii. Reports of the readers
The two readers must give their reports on the dissertation to the Director of Graduate Studies not more than three weeks after the submission of the provisional text. However, this will be extended in the event that one of the readers is not resident in Princeton.
Each reader’s report will be in two parts. The first is that required by the Graduate School. In this part, the reader states whether or not the dissertation is recommended for acceptance (with or without revision) and gives brief reasons for the recommendation. A positive recommendation means that the reader deems the dissertation a scholarly achievement worthy of public defense; it in no way prejudices the decision of the examiners at the final public oral. The second part is required by the Department. Here the reader notes, preferably in some detail, any sections or aspects of the dissertation which require revision; estimates the time needed for such revision; and gives an opinion as to whether or not it is necessary for the student to submit a revised provisional text. The Graduate Administrator gives copies of both parts to the student, the members of the Examining Committee, and the Director of Graduate Studies.
While the examiners are not required by the Graduate School to report at this point, they are encouraged to do so informally. Any written reports submitted by examiners at this stage, and in particular any calls for revision, will be distributed in the same way as the readers’ reports. They do not, however, normally go to the Graduate School. Revisions cannot be required at the final public oral; the examiners can only pass or fail the dissertation.
On the basis of these reports, the Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the adviser, will determine how much time the student will need to spend revising the dissertation, and whether the student must submit a revised provisional text to the members of the Examining Committee and in what form. In the event of disagreement, the Director of Graduate Studies will refer the question to the Department.
Typically dissertations require at least two weeks for revisions. Where the required period exceeds six weeks, the student will be required to begin the dissertation submission process again. Some dissertations are ready to be defended even before the two weeks, especially if the student has had enough feedback to do the revisions before submitting the provisional text to the readers.
viii. Revision
It is assumed that most students will need to make revisions, after which they must satisfy the readers and examiners concerned that the revisions have been completed. If the Director of Graduate Studies has so required, the student must submit a revised provisional text. The readers and examiners concerned must convey to the Director of Graduate Studies their satisfaction with the revision.
ix. Submission of the final text of the dissertation
Once the revision of the dissertation is complete and approved, the student will be authorized by the Director of Graduate Studies to submit the final text of the dissertation. This text must meet the full requirements of the University Archives. The student must provide the Graduate Administrator with a bound copy of the dissertation, for display in the Departmental Office, and a copy of the title page and abstract two weeks prior to the defense.
x. The Final Public Oral
At the same time the Director of Graduate Studies, having in hand positive reviews from the readers and confirmation that the necessary revisions have been completed, will instruct the Graduate Administrator to proceed with the arrangements for the F.P.O. and will complete the Ph.D. Dissertation Report and Request to Hold F.P.O. Examination form.
The Graduate Administrator will schedule the F.P.O. The Graduate Administrator will ask the dissertation adviser and the candidate for blackout dates and times and then contact all committee members to find a suitable date (for example, with the help of the internet service Doodle.com).
The Graduate School provides a helpful checklist for students preparing for the Ph.D. defense.
Following section 2 of the checklist, the student may start the Advanced Degree Application or ask the Graduate Administrator to do it for him or her.
The student is responsible for providing the Graduate Administrator with the title page of the dissertation and the dissertation abstract and for submitting the dissertation (one bound and/or final copy) to the NES office.
While the Graduate Administrator will obtain approval of the Prior Presentation and Publication form, the student must provide answers to the form’s questions.
The Graduate Administrator makes sure the readers turn in the readers’ reports and submits the Ph.D. Dissertation Report and Request to Hold Final Public Oral Examination.
Finally, if the student wishes to complete the Ph.D. Dissertation Embargo Request and Approval form, he or she must complete it and turn it in to the Graduate Administrator, who will obtain approval signatures.
The Graduate Administrator will notify the Department when the Graduate School authorizes the F.P.O., as detailed in checklist section 2. With the exception of the F.P.O. Examination Report, which the Graduate Administrator prepares, the student is responsible for all items in sections 4 and 5 of the checklist.
All checklist forms are available on the Graduate School web site.
As soon as authorization for the F.P.O. is received from the Graduate School, the Graduate Administrator will post an announcement indicating the date, place, and time of the oral, and send a copy to the student and all departmental faculty.
After the F.P.O. examination, the Chair of the Examining Committee and the two examiners will decide immediately whether the student has passed. In the event of disagreement, the matter will be referred by the Director of Graduate Studies to the Graduate Studies Committee, which will normally refer it to the Department. A student who does not pass the examination may only retake it once, after an interval of at least a year.
In cases where an appearance for the F.P.O. would constitute a substantial financial hardship for the student, the Director of Graduate Studies, after consulting with the adviser and obtaining the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee, may recommend that the F.P.O. be conducted by Skype or a similar technology.
Family members and friends may witness the F.P.O. remotely if the incoming sound is switched off so that they can listen but their sound cannot travel into Jones Hall. The candidate is responsible for ensuring that the internet connection is switched off after the F.P.O. is completed and while the committee deliberates over the candidate’s performance.
xi. The award of the degree
This process is completed by the Graduate School and other University authorities, the Department playing no further role.
xii. Miscellaneous
Copies of this section of the Bylaws should be sent by the Graduate Administrator to any readers or examiners who may from time to time be appointed from outside the Department.
xiii. Role of the Graduate Administrator
The Graduate Administrator is the gate-keeper for the entire process and walks the student through it. The student must be in touch with him or her at every stage, keeping him or her informed and following his or her guidance as regards deadlines.
5. MISCELLANEOUS
Any student who is absent from Princeton for a period of more than five weekdays during the semester must obtain the prior permission of the Director of Graduate Studies. Such permission will not be granted without the approval of the student’s adviser.
Any student with an academic problem, or a non-academic problem likely to affect adversely his or her academic progress, should discuss it with the Director of Graduate Studies, normally after first discussing it with his or her adviser.
A lounge is located in Jones Hall. This facility is open to both Department and Program students and faculty. Student mailboxes are located in the lounge, and important notices concerning job opportunities, conferences, seminars, and fellowships are posted there. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are available as well.
APPENDIX: ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE STUDIES (DGS):
The Director of Graduate Studies has primary responsibility for all Departmental administration concerning graduate students as such.
The Director of Graduate Studies is not obliged to take any administrative action in June, July or August, but will normally be willing to do what he or she can for students seeking to submit dissertations in this period.
The Director of Graduate Studies maintains direct contact with all students of the Department, monitors their progress and plans, and organizes the major events of their time in the Department from admission to the Ph.D. examination.
The Director of Graduate Studies is the adviser of all first-year students.
It is the duty of the Director of Graduate Studies to maintain contact with students in absentia, either directly or through the student’s adviser.
Any student seeking administrative action by the Department must put the request to the Director of Graduate Studies.
A student may appeal an adverse decision of the Director of Graduate Studies to the Graduate Studies Committee, with or without the support of his or her adviser.
The Director of Graduate Studies is ex-officio the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee. While the Director of Graduate Studies has the discretion in the application of Departmental rules needed for smooth administration, all issues raising larger questions of policy or involving significant departure from normal Departmental practice must be referred to the Committee whenever time constraints permit.
Administrative assistance to the Director of Graduate Studies is provided by the Graduate Administrator.
All Departmental dealings with the Graduate School relating to individual students are normally conducted by the Director of Graduate Studies.
The Director of Graduate Studies does not handle questions relating to summer funding; on this students should consult the Director of the Program.
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