Program Requirements

Students must meet with the Director of Graduate Studies at the beginning of each quarter for consultation about their programs and progress toward the degree. Students who wish to enroll in Slavic 596 and 597 must obtain prior permission from the instructor with whom they plan to work before the Director of Graduate Studies can include the course on the study list.

All graduate students in the department receive a written evaluation of their progress each year.

Candidates for the M.A. follow a foundational program in Russian language and literature. Concentration in linguistics or a language and literature other than Russian is permitted with the consent of the DGS if course offerings permit.

Demonstrated proficiency in Russian (or another Slavic / area language – see above) is required for the M.A. degree: students must have taken equivalent coursework or pass a departmental language proficiency examination which tests ability to translate from the target language to English and vice versa. This examination may be retaken each quarter until a pass grade is achieved, within the time limits for completion of the M.A. degree, and must be passed before the Second Year Review (spring quarter of their second year). The language proficiency examination is offered at the beginning of each quarter.

Students should also begin their studies of a second Slavic or another area-related language (to be determined in consultation with the DGS) during the M.A. period, but will not be required to complete it until prior to their doctoral exams.

A minimum of 40 units is required for the degree. The following courses are obligatory:

• Slavic 200A
• Slavic 201
• Slavic 202
• Russian 211A or Russian 291A
• Russian 212A or Russian 292A
• Russian 212B or Russian 292B
• Russian 213A or Russian 293A
• Russian 213B or Russian 293B
• One course chosen from Slavic 230A, 230B or 230C
• One elective course chosen from the Departments of Comparative Literature, ELTS, History, Linguistics or other related field, or other Slavic Department offerings

Substitutions are allowed with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Students may be required to take one or more courses from Russian 201A-201B-201C if it is determined that their level of competence in Russian is below the level necessary for literatures courses in the program.

Courses in the 500 series may not be applied toward the M.A. course requirements.

Not required.

Not required.

Second Year Review

Students in the Department of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures are required to undergo a Second Year Review during the spring quarter of their second year.

Applications for advancement to candidacy must be submitted no later than the second week of the quarter in which the Second Year Review is to be taken and are accepted only if students have passed the Russian Language Proficiency Examination or have completed equivalent coursework. The Director of Graduate Studies will then convene a review/exam committee comprised of three faculty members to serve on the Second Year Review; all three faculty members must be from the Department of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures.

Students are required to choose two seminar papers (with or without revisions) from different historical /literary periods, chosen in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, and circulate them among the review committee no later than Week 6 of the Spring quarter in which they are participating in the Review. The papers serve as tangible evidence of successfully completed academic tasks. Students are advised to submit two papers totaling 30-50 pages of written work. They are permitted to revise or work on these papers after the seminars in which they were submitted have concluded, but they are not required to do so. Papers should demonstrate mastery of course material covered in years one and two and potential for future research, but need not be relevant to possible dissertation topics. Papers should also demonstrate mastery of documentation protocols.

Students should review these papers in advance, and should be able to speak knowledgeably about their content. Both form and content are evaluated and discussed during the review. The Second Year Review will consist of a formal conversation (1 hr 30 mins) with the chosen committee to assess the student’s readiness to pursue the PhD. The committee’s decision about the results of the Second Year Review are communicated to the student in writing within 24 hours of the completion of the Review.

Students who enter the program with a comparable M.A. in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures must hold a Second Year Review, but will not be awarded an M.A. from UCLA. The results of the Second Year Review for students who hold an M.A. are recorded as follows: (1) Pass with permission to continue toward the Ph.D.; (2) Pass with reservations and specific recommendations for improvement with permission to continue toward the Ph.D; or (3) Fail without permission to continue toward the Ph.D. Students may fail the Second Year Review/M.A. if they are unable to demonstrate the level of mastery necessary for success in the more advanced stages of doctoral study. The faculty will not permit students to retake the Second Year Review. Students who fail the Second Year Review will be recommended for academic disqualification.

Students who do not hold a M.A. in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures upon entering the Ph.D. program may be awarded an M.A. contingent upon successful completion of the Second Year Review, coursework, and language proficiency requirement. The results of the Second Year Review for students who do not hold an M.A. in Slavic, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures upon matriculation are recorded as follows: (1) Pass, with an M.A. and permission to continue toward the Ph.D.; (2) Pass with reservations, with an M.A. and specific recommendations for improvement with permission to continue toward the Ph.D; (3) Pass with a terminal M.A.; or (4) Fail without an M.A. or permission toward continue to the Ph.D. Students may fail the Second Year Review/M.A. Exam if they are unable to demonstrate the level of mastery necessary for success in the advanced stages of doctoral study. The faculty will not permit students to retake the Second Year Review. Students who fail the Second Year Review will be recommended for academic disqualification.

 

None.

From admission to conferral of the degree should not exceed six quarters.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	6	6	9

Following completion of the above requirements students choose their principal adviser and future dissertation director from among the ladder faculty.

Students must meet with the Director of Graduate Studies at the beginning of each quarter for consultation about their programs and progress toward the degree. Students who wish to enroll in Slavic 596, 597 and 599 must obtain prior permission from the instructor with whom they plan to work before the Director of Graduate Studies can include the course on the study list.

All the department’s graduate students receive a written evaluation of their progress each year.

Doctoral students may choose a specialization in either literature or applied linguistics.

In addition to their major field of study, students may create an optional sub-specialty (minor field) at the Ph.D. level that consists of at least four courses approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. The courses come from graduate offerings in one or more departments or programs. These include the following departments or programs: Anthropology, Art History, Classics, Comparative Literature, English, Film, Gender Studies, History, Indo-European Studies, language and literature departments (ELTS, Spanish & Portuguese, etc.), Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, and Theater. The courses also may come from graduate offerings within this department. Students are urged to pursue certificates in Critical Theory, Digital Humanities, Greek or Latin, and/or professional degrees in other recognized programs.

Proficiency in a second Slavic or another area-related language is required for the Ph.D. degree. The selection of the language is to be determined in consultation with the student’s dissertation advisor and proficiency in the language must be attested by coursework and/or proficiency exam (as approved by the dissertation director). Reading knowledge of a research language may be required as determined by the doctoral committee.

Before the formation of a doctoral committee, students must take the following courses:

• Russian 204
• Russian 211B or 291B
• Russian 220A
• Russian 214 or 200-level topics on contemporary Russian literature or culture
• Polish C280 or Ukrainian C280
• One elective (an advanced 200-level literature course or seminar)

Although teaching experience is not a formal requirement for the degree, students are expected to serve as a teaching assistant during their graduate study.

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

All students are expected to have a sound general knowledge of both Slavic philology and literary history.

Written Examinations

Students take three take-home exams across 72 hours where they will be expected to produce 7,500 words of original writing. The PhD Exam committee consists of four committee members chosen by the student (the committee chair must be from the department and is usually the dissertation director; one member may be external to UCLA). The written examination will consist of three parts:

1) Comprehensive or major fields exam: Based on a department PhD reading list and completed coursework (about 40 entries, selected in consultation with all members of the committee). Students will be given four questions from which they must answer two from two different periods (1,500 words each) – answers should aim to demonstrate the student’s range and comprehensive command of the material.

2) Dissertation topic: Based on a reading list compiled by the student in consultation with all members of the committee (about 40 entries, includes primary sources, history / theory as appropriate, and secondary sources). Students will be given four questions, from which they must answer two (1,500 words each) – answers should aim to demonstrate the student’s in-depth knowledge and place the material within a larger theoretical and/or historical framework.

3) Minor field exam: Based on a reading list compiled by the student in consultation with appropriate members of the committee (about 20 entries, includes primary sources, history / theory as appropriate, and secondary sources). Possible minor fields are: another Slavic or non-Slavic literature; film; linguistics; music; other. Students will be given two questions, from which they must answer one (1,500 words) – the answer should aim to demonstrate the student’s comprehensive command of the material.

All examinations are prepared and approved by the unanimous consent of the Ph.D. Examination committee.

Oral Examination

Students who receive a grade of pass on the written examinations are admitted to a two-hour University Oral Qualifying Examination, which is designed to test the fields of major interest and general background, and which typically includes discussion of the dissertation topic. Students should be prepared to demonstrate thorough knowledge of the material they did not address in the written portion of the exam.

After considering students’ overall performance in both the oral and written examinations, the committee assigns a cumulative grade. A pass grade entitles students to write a dissertation. At the committee’s discretion, students may be required to retake any or all portions of the Ph.D. examinations within two quarters following the first attempt.

Formal Lecture

Students are required to deliver a formal lecture in the California Slavic Colloquium no later than two calendar years after advancement to candidacy.

Conference Presentation

Students are required to present their work at the California Slavic Colloquium (or another professionally recognized conference) during their time in the program or no later than two calendar years after advancement to candidacy.

Preparation of Prospectus and Prospectus Defense

The dissertation prospectus is a formal document that includes a narrative (12-15 pages in length; 12pt font, double-spaced, 1 in. margins) outlining the objectives, main research questions and contribution made by the dissertation; and a substantial bibliography (around 40-50 sources, both primary and secondary).

The prospectus should aim to address the following questions:

Significance and Contribution:

Describes the intellectual contribution of the proposed project; provides an overview of the project, explaining the basic ideas, problems, or questions examined by the study; describes the research objectives and states the project’s thesis or claim(s); explains how the project will complement, challenge, or expand relevant studies in the field.

Organization, concepts, and methods:

Explains concepts and terminology; describes and discusses method(s) and sources; explains how the dissertation will be organized and provides a chapter outline with brief explanations of each chapter’s arguments.

Bibliography:

The bibliography consists of primary and secondary sources that relate most directly to the dissertation. It includes works that pertain to the project’s substance, the intellectual field as it has been defined, and the theoretical or methodological approaches to give a well-rounded representation of the project.

Prospectus Defense

Once the prospectus has been approved by all of the members of the dissertation committee, a prospectus defense (2 hours) is scheduled to discuss the proposal and form a work-plan for completing the dissertation. All members of the dissertation committee must be present at the defense; other members of the department (including graduate students and faculty) may be invited to join the discussion.

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study. Dissertations must be written in English and observe acceptable documentation protocols (MLA, Chicago, etc.)

Optional for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Normative progress toward completion of the degree program is defined as follows: six academic quarters from matriculation in graduate study to the award of the M.A. degree; six academic quarters from the award of the M.A. degree to advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree; and six academic quarters from advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree to completion of the dissertation and award of the Ph.D. degree. For teaching and research assistants, the program may take slightly longer.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
Ph.D.	12	18	24

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for academic disqualification for failure to pass the Second Year Review. A recommendation for academic disqualification based on any reason other than this, failure of a Ph.D. qualifying examination or low grade point average, must be recommended by the departmental Admissions and Support Committee. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification to the departmental chair.