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Home  > Graduate > Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

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Admission Requirements

Students are accepted under the general regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applications must be submitted through the School of Graduate Studies online application website. Their dossier must include the following documents: one copy of the official transcript from each university attended must be sent by the Registrar directly to the Department in a sealed envelope; two academic letters of recommendation; and a sample of written work in French completed as part of the applicant’s bachelor's or master's program in French literature or linguistics as appropriate.

This written work should be a copy of the M.A. thesis if available. Applicants holding a master's degree must submit a statement of purpose in French (maximum 500 words) which clearly outlines the area in which the applicant intends to pursue research in French literature or linguistics.

• Admission to the Ph.D. program is available via one of two routes:
  
  • An appropriate bachelor's degree with high academic standing from a recognized university, that includes at least seven full-course equivalents in French language and literature/linguistics, with an average grade of at least an A- in the overall program. Admission is limited to exceptionally qualified applicants.
  • An appropriate master's degree in French literature or linguistics with high academic standing from a recognized university, with an average grade of at least an A- in the applicant's overall program.
• An A- average does not automatically lead to admission. Each dossier is studied by the Admissions Committee, which takes into account all relevant factors.
• Applicants must satisfy the Department that they are capable of independent research in French literature or linguistics at an advanced level.

Program Requirements

A PhD student shall pursue a program of study and research in French Literature or Linguistics, as approved by the Department.

The timetable of the Doctoral program and the nature of the Field Examination are as follows:
(This schedule represents the progress of a student admitted on the basis of a master’s degree. In the case of students admitted on the basis of a bachelor’s degree, for “first year” read “second year”, for “second year” read “third year”, etc.)

1. Course work

• A student admitted on the basis of an appropriate bachelor's degree must complete 4 full-course equivalents during the first year of the program and 3.5 additional full-course equivalents during the second year. With the Department’s permission, the student may take up to one full-course equivalent in the first year of the program, and one full-course equivalent in the second year, outside the Department. Students in literature take FRE 1200Y and FRE 1201H as part of their program; students in linguistics take FRE 1103H, FRE 1104H, FRE 1125H, and FRE 1201H as part of their program. To remain in good academic standing and to continue in the Ph.D. program, a student must complete 4 full-course equivalents, with an average grade of at least an A-, by the end of the first year of the program and complete the remaining 3.5 full-course equivalents, maintaining an average of at least an A-, by the end of the second year.
• A student admitted on the basis of a master's degree must complete 3.5 full-course equivalents during the first year of the program. With the Department’s permission, the student may take one full-course equivalent outside the Department. Students in literature take FRE 1200Y, unless this course or its equivalent has already been completed, and FRE 1201H as part of their program; students in linguistics take FRE 1103H, FRE 1104H, and FRE 1125H unless already completed, and FRE 1201H as part of their program. To remain in good academic standing and to continue in the Ph.D. program, a student must complete 3.5 full-course equivalents, with an average grade of at least an A-, by the end of the first year of the program.
  Essays for half-courses are to be between 3500 and 5000 words in length.

2. Thesis topics

By September 15 of the second year of registration, in the case of a student admitted to the Ph.D. program on the basis of a master’s degree, otherwise by September 15 of the third year of registration, a student must register a thesis topic with the Department. The proposal must be signed by the faculty member who has agreed to direct the thesis and by the two faculty members who will serve on the student’s supervisory committee.

3. Language requirement

By the end of the first year of the Ph.D. program, in the case of a student admitted on the basis of a master’s degree, otherwise by the end of the second year of the Ph.D. program, the student must demonstrate a reading knowledge of Old French or of another language (excluding French and English), as approved by the Department.

4. Field Examination

The Field Examination is designed to demonstrate that the student is sufficiently familiar with the primary and secondary works in his/her field to be able to proceed to original research and preparation of the doctoral thesis.

No later than the second session of the second year of registration in the Ph.D. program, in the case of a student admitted on the basis of a master’s degree, otherwise no later than the second session of the third year of registration, a student must pass the two parts of the Field examination: a written part to be taken by March 15 and an oral part taken by April 30.

N.B. The dates given below represent the latest a given requirement must be completed. Students are encouraged to undertake earlier completion, provided the supervisory committee concurs.

In the second year:

It is the responsibility of the student to approach a professor in the French Department whose specialty is in the Field chosen. Professors' fields of specialization are published in the Faculty Research Interest section of this site.

The student must submit by September 15 of the second year of the doctoral program, his/her thesis subject form indicating the aims, the general framework and issues, the methodology and the corpus of the doctoral thesis. This form must also contain the names and signatures of the thesis supervisor(s) and members of the supervisory committee. The student's thesis subject must be approved by the Curriculum Committee and by the General Assembly of the Graduate section of the French Department. Once the thesis subject is approved, the student will then meet at least once with the supervisory committee to clarify and specify the thesis topic.

By November 15 of the second year of the doctoral program, the student will produce a written document of approximately 10 pages (double-spaced) outlining the major area — the literary or linguistic corpus, the methodological and theoretical perspectives and approaches — from which the thesis will be derived, together with a thematically organized bibliography indicating the primary and secondary works relevant to this area that the student is expected to know in detail. This document will form the basis for the written part of the Field Examination. The thesis supervisor will certify to the Department that the document is satisfactory by signing a copy which is to be kept in the Department. The student will then distribute a copy to each member of the supervisory committee.

The written part
The written part of the Field Examination is a take-home examination to be completed by March 15 of the second year of the doctoral program (Ph.D. II.) The goal of this examination is to evaluate the student’s familiarity with the general area of expertise within which the specific thesis topic will subsequently be located. It is not specific to the proposed thesis topic. The examination will contain four questions divided into two sections: two questions will deal with the primary works or corpus presented in the November document, and two questions will deal with relevant theoretical and methodological issues indicated in that document; the student must answer one question in each section. All questions and answers must be in French. The written part is evaluated by three voting members of the thesis supervisory committee solely on the basis of content (Pass/Fail). A simple majority (two positive votes out of three) is required for successful completion. The student must pick up and sign for the questions at the French Department one week before the date for submitting the examination to the Department.

A student may not proceed to the oral part of the examination until he/she has successfully completed the written part. In the case of a failure, the supervisory committee will meet with the student in order to discuss the weaknesses that caused the failure and to make specific recommendations concerning the student's program. The committee may recommend that the written part of the examination be retaken in whole or in part within a specific period of time; it may also recommend termination of the student's program.

The student may retake the written part of the examination once only. Retaking it will modify neither the general time limits for completion of the doctoral dissertation, nor the period of time funding is provided to the student by the Department.

The oral part
The oral part of the Field Examination is to be taken by April 30 of the second year of the doctoral program. It is based on a document consisting of a 15-20 page (double-spaced) thesis proposal accompanied by an appropriate bibliography. The preparation of the document is entirely the responsibility of the student. This part of the examination will be conducted in French. Exceptions may be made only for extra-departmental members of the supervisory committee.

Students must submit their written document to each member of the supervisory committee and to the Department one week before the date of the oral part of the examination which will be chaired by an officer of the Graduate section of the French Department, or delegate, who does not vote on the student's performance.

The student will make a 20-minute oral presentation, followed by questions from the committee. Evaluation of the oral part of the examination is on a Pass/Fail basis and takes into account both the written document and the oral presentation. A simple majority (two positive votes out of three) is required for successful completion.
The written document and accompanying bibliography must be filed with the French Department by the student once he/she has passed the examination.

In the case of a failure, the supervisory committee will make specific recommendations concerning the student's program. The committee may recommend that the examination be retaken within a specific period of time; it may also recommend termination of the student's program.

The student may retake the oral part of the examination once only. Retaking it will modify neither the general time limits for completion of the doctoral dissertation, nor the period of time funding is provided to the student by the department.

Results in the written and oral parts of the Field Examination shall be communicated to the officers of the Department by the Supervisory Committee, normally via the thesis supervisor; the Department will then communicate the results to the student.

STUDENTS HAVE THE RIGHT OF APPEAL WITHIN AND BEYOND THE DEPARTMENT.

5

Between the completion of the field examination components and the oral examination on the thesis, the student will meet with the supervisory committee at least once a year, and more frequently if required.

6

Thesis and oral examination on the thesis. Periodically the Department organizes a workshop on how to prepare for the thesis defence.

Failure to satisfy and complete the above requirements in a manner consistent with the Department's timeline for completion of the PhD degree will result in loss of good academic standing and guaranteed funding.

The recommended completion time for the Ph.D. program is four years:

YEAR I

• Coursework
• Language requirement normally to be completed by end of year

YEAR II

• Field Examination to be completed by end of second term

YEARS II AND III

• Thesis undertaken

YEAR IV

• Thesis completed

© 2011 University of Toronto Department of French Studies