Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric
Website: https://twu.edu/english-speech-foreign-languages/graduate-programs/phd-in-rhetoric/
Rhetoric provides the coordinating force for the study of composition, linguistics, literary theory, and literature within the field of English. The doctoral program in rhetoric prepares graduate students to be scholars and leaders of discourse and technology which utilizes language to inform, persuade, express, and explore ideas. In keeping with the university's mission of empowering women, the program also encourages scholarship on gender issues in the field of rhetoric. Graduates are qualified to pursue professions in both academic and non-academic settings: teaching and research in institutions of higher education, administering writing programs, using technology for teaching writing, or pursuing careers in writing and editing in business settings.
Coursework consists of a core set of rhetoric classes, a self-designed area of specialization, and electives to ensure students have both a broad knowledge base and a deep understanding of their desired sub-field(s). Comprehensive exams in the history of rhetoric, applied rhetoric, and the self-designed area take place at the end of formal coursework. Students can expect a minimum of 12 credit hours to complete the dissertation, including 3 hours to craft the dissertation prospectus.
We offer a range of face-to-face, online, and hybrid graduate courses to allow our working, commuting, and parenting students the opportunity to balance rigorous academic course work with their busy lives. Our face-to-face graduate courses are offered one day per week, typically in late afternoon or evening. While our online offerings provide the flexibility to meet a variety of student needs, the program is not intended to be a fully-online program and cannot be completed through online classes only.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Proficiently organize large amounts of information and analyze complex ideas in order to communicate key concepts via concise and compelling oral and written statements.
- Effectively design and conduct research projects that challenge existing knowledge and provide needed answers or solutions to problems.
- Formulate and defend sophisticated arguments while employing clear, articulate, professional-quality prose.
- Lead teams of writers and content producers to create and edit rhetorically effective communications by setting clear goals, encouraging creativity and innovation, and providing targeted feedback.
Admissions
All students must meet the University requirements as outlined in the Admission to the TWU Graduate School section of the catalog.
This academic program may have additional admission criteria that must also be completed as outlined on the program's website.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours Required
At least 90 semester credit hours beyond the baccalaureate, including at least 12 semester credit hours for dissertation. Applicants to the program are expected to have earned a master's degree prior to beginning the doctoral program. At least one degree, either the bachelor's or master's, should be in English, Writing, Rhetoric, or a closely related field. The number of hours from the master's degree that may count towards the 90 hours required for the Ph.D. depends on the age and content of the courses completed. Applicants are encouraged to discuss the transfer of courses with the Graduate Program Coordinator.
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| Rhetoric Core | 24 | |
Minimum of 24 semester credit hours in historical, theoretical, and applied rhetoric | ||
| Rhetoric and Composition: Theory and Practice | ||
| Rhetoric and Composition: Theory and Pedagogy of Electronic Texts | ||
| History of Rhetoric I | ||
| History of Rhetoric II | ||
| History of Rhetoric III | ||
| Research Methods in Rhetoric and Composition | ||
Rhetoric Electives: 6 semester credit hours in rhetoric, writing, or linguistics | ||
| Area of Specialization | 15 | |
Minimum of 15 semester credit hours chosen in consultation with the advisor and advisory committee | ||
| Theory Component | 3 | |
Additional courses, including those from other departments, may be substituted with prior approval. | ||
| Professionalization | 3 | |
| Introduction to Graduate Studies in English (required of all doctoral students who have not already had a similar course) | ||
| Independent Study Option | 3 | |
In consultation with the advisory committee chair, a student may elect to take a three hour indpendent study course to prepare for comprehensive exams. If a student perfers not to take this option, s/he may take an additional course in the area of specialization. Only one independent study course may be counted on the degree plan. | ||
| Electives | 30 | |
To complete 90 semester credit hours beyond bachelor's degree. | ||
| Dissertation | 12 | |
Students can expect to enroll in a minimum of 12 semester credit hours on the dissertation. | ||
| Total SCHs | 90 | |
Minor
A minor is optional (six to nine semester credit hours). It must be in a discipline in which TWU offers a graduate degree.
Residence Requirements
Students are strongly encouraged to enroll full time for at least two consecutive semesters.
Qualifying Examination
The Qualifying Examination is administered at the close of course work. Students must be enrolled at TWU in order to take the exam. The examination may be taken only during April, July, or November of each year. The written examination has three parts: Historical/Theoretical Rhetoric, Applied Rhetoric, and the student's Area of Specialization. For the Area of Specialization, the student may choose a literary period, a topic, a practice, or a question that crosses texts and artifacts (in the broadest sense) and remains grounded in the social, historical, cultural, critical, and theoretical texts that inform them. Students submit a formal written proposal for the Area of Specialization, which requires approval by the Graduate Studies Committee at least six months prior to the exam date. Within one month of successfully completing all three portions of the written examination, an oral examination is held. Students may attempt the exam (in whole or in part) twice. Failing the qualifying exam (in whole or in part) twice will result in the student being removed from the program.
Dissertation Defense
A public oral examination covering the area of the completed dissertation and areas related to it is required.
Research Tools
Doctoral students are required to take two research tools, each equivalent to a minimum of 6 semester credit hours at the graduate level or 12 semester credit hours at the undergraduate level.
- Required Research Tool (6 graduate semester credit hours)
The following courses from the Rhetoric Core make up one research tool: ENG 5343 and ENG 6083 - Required Research Tool (6 graduate semester credit hours or 12 undergraduate semester credit hours)
Students may choose two courses from the following English courses to make up their second research tool: ENG 5083, ENG 5283, ENG 5363, ENG 6283, ENG 6313, ENG 6323, or ENG 6343
Courses listed above may be repeated when the specific topic of investigation varies.
Students may also choose 1-2 research courses taught in other disciplines, such as information retrieval, ethnography, or statistics, as approved by the advisory committee and department chair; or 6 semester credit hours of graduate-level or 12 semester credit hours of undergraduate-level language courses.
Students are advised to select research tools that complement their Area of Specialization.
Students must receive a B or higher in all research tools. English and non-English courses may count toward the 90 semester credit hours of the degree, at the discretion of the advisory committee and department chair. Undergraduate courses taken as research tools may not be used in the semester credit hours that count toward the graduate degree.
Graduation Requirement
To allow for program-level assessment, Ph.D. candidates must submit a copy of the dissertation to the Graduate Program Coordinator at the time of final submission to the graduate school. Submission of the dissertation to the coordinator is required for graduation.
