Current Students
Current Doctoral Students
This section includes important information you will need during your academic studies at the Centre.
- Course Requirements
- Qualifying Examinations
- Language Requirement
- Dissertation Requirements
- Completion of Thesis Dissertation
- Satisfactory Progress
- Appeals
- Thesis Regulation Guide
- Dossier Service
Ph.D. students are required to take six half-courses or equivalent, chosen from groups A, B or C (see below), at least four of which must be taken at the Centre to ensure that there is an adequate coverage of theoretical figures and issues. Students will normally take four courses in the first year and two in the second. Since this distribution is intended to ensure that all course work and qualifying examinations are completed during the first two years of the program, permission to do fewer than four courses in the first year must be sought from the Graduate Studies Committee.
Group A: aesthetics, philosophy, psychoanalysis, language theory
Group B: social, cultural and political theory
Group C: topical focus covering a variety of theorists from the above areas, introducing students to 19th-century, modern, and contemporary theory
Graduate courses in a number of other programs concerned with theory and criticism may also be approved, with the permission of the Director and Graduate Studies Committee (GSC). Students may take up to two such half courses, provided that they are relevant to the program of study. Students should submit a formal request, including the course syllabus, outlining how the course is relevant to their research at the Theory Centre. Requests should be submitted no later than the start of term (September 1/January 1/May 1). In order to ensure a place in the course, students must also submit an External Course Request form.
In exceptional circumstances, students may fulfill one of their six course requirements by taking a Directed Reading course. Students should, however, be aware that instructors receive no credit for teaching reading courses and may therefore be unwilling to offer them. Reading courses are given on a Pass/Fail basis, must meet for the same number of hours as a regular course, cannot be specifically oriented to the student's thesis, and will not be approved if there is a regular course that covers approximately the same material. Requests for reading courses, including syllabus, marking scheme, and letter of consent from the instructor, must be submitted no later than six weeks before the start of the term in which the course is to be taken. Please consult the Director for further details.
Students entering the program after completing Western's 2-year MA in Theory and Criticism, a 2-year theoretical MA from another university, or an equivalent amount of previous graduate work, may request a course reduction from the Graduate Studies Committee. Course reduction is at the discretion of the GSC and requests are to be made, in writing, no later than two weeks after the start of term.
Ph.D. candidates are required to pass two qualifying examinations before proceeding to the doctoral dissertation. One of these is a written examination (Core Examination) in interdisciplinary theory. The second examination (Field Examination) is an oral examination based on a written text (of 20-25 pages), a 2-page synopsis, and a bibliography assembled by the candidate in an area of interdisciplinary theory defined in consultation with the supervisor and the second reader.
The Core Examination is to be taken during a designated week in early February. It consists of a written examination based on a reading list of 50 books or equivalents (chapters/articles). The exam is assigned both a Pass/Fail and a numeric grade, the latter to be recorded only internally within CSTC. The student is notified of the results of the exam by the Chair of the examining committee. A candidate may fail and retake the Core Examination once. A candidate who fails the Core Examination a second time will be required to withdraw from the program.
The Field Examination is a qualifying exam in an area of interdisciplinary theory that is individually tailored. This consists of an oral examination of the Ph.D. candidate. As part of this examination, candidates prepare and submit a 20 to 25-page text, based on a list of 25 texts (over and above any texts drawn from the Core Examination list) selected in consultation with the supervisor and a second reader, plus a 2-page synopsis. The written component of this exam must be submitted no less than two weeks prior to the oral examination. The examination is assigned a Pass/Fail. Candidates have until August 31 (end of Term 6) to pass the Field Examination and to have the Thesis Proposal approved. A candidate may fail and retake this examination once. A candidate who passes the Core Examination but fails the Field Examination twice will be required to withdraw from the program.
A short, 4-5-page Thesis Proposal will be due 2 weeks after the Field Examination. The Thesis Proposal, in the form of a chapter outline, will be the subject of a meeting between the candidate, his/her supervisor, and second reader. Final approval of the Thesis Proposal by the Graduate Studies Committee will be understood as the Program's approval for the candidate to proceed with the proposed dissertation project.
Summary of Schedule - Core Exam:
May 31 (Term 3) Date by which candidate must declare intention to take examination
November 15 (Term 4) Date by which the candidate must meet with chair of examining committee
February (Term 5) Examination to be taken during designated week
Summary of Schedule - Field Exam:
May 31 (Term 3) Date by which candidate must declare intention to take examination
To be determined by the candidate - Examination date to be set up by the candidate, in consultation with supervisor and second reader
Six (6) weeks before proposed examination date - candidate must communicate examination date to Program Coordinator
2 weeks before the Field Examination – Candidate must submit the written component of the exam to the their committee
2 weeks after the Field Examination - The thesis proposal will be discussed in a meeting between the candidate, his/her supervisor, and second reader.
For complete guidelines and regulations, choose from the following links:
In order to be sufficiently equipped to pursue advanced study in the discourses of Theory, students will be required to demonstrate a reading knowledge of a language other than English which should be relevant to their proposed program of research. Students may complete this requirement by passing a translation test or by completing course work.
In addition, students whose proposed program of doctoral research involves sustained work with texts originally written in a language or languages other than English will be required, after consultation with the Director and their supervisor, to demonstrate competency in the language(s) necessary for the dissertation.
Satisfactory completion (75% or above) in an undergraduate language course beyond the level of senior matriculation (numbered 1900 - 4999) will normally be regarded as meeting the language requirement. Students who have already satisfied this requirement through previous post-secondary studies should consult with the Director at the beginning of the year.
There are three ways of satisfying the language requirement:
1. Placement Test - For those who are fairly fluent but whose proficiency is not reflected in formal course preparation. The language department administers a test to determine students' proficiency. The test is computerised and takes approximately one hour. Once completed, the results should be printed and returned to the Director of the Centre for evaluation.
2. Undergraduate Course - A grade of 75% or higher in a full year undergraduate course that is above the level of senior matriculation. *Note* registration in an undergraduate course requires this form, which must be submitted to FGS before the add/drop period in mid-September.
3. French 9005 - A non-credit course for graduate students who already have a background in French. This is a reading course with only occasional meetings with the course co-ordinator and a good deal of independent work, tested in a final examination. The course is designed for those willing and able to work independently.
The main objective of French 9005 is to help students attain a reading knowledge of French. The course provides basic tools to understand French texts and to translate them. It is not meant to help students speak French, nor does it focus on French writing. Those who want the structure of regular class and practice in speaking as well as reading French should take option 2. For further information visit www.uwo.ca/french
Undergraduate (language) Course Timetable
1. Year II, Fall term (September - December)
During the first term of the second year of the program, the student, with the help of the Graduate Studies Committee, must choose an area of study for dissertation research and an appropriate supervisor. Although every effort will be made to accommodate a student's research preferences, the program cannot guarantee a particular supervisor. The supervisor must be a core faculty member of the Centre with the appropriate level of supervisory membership for overseeing Doctoral thesis research.
2. Year II, February
Qualifying examinations are to be completed between the beginning of Term 4 and the end of Term 6. The thesis proposal will be due 2 weeks after the Field Examination, and will be the subject of a meeting between the candidate, his/her supervisor, and second reader.
3. Year II, May 1
Working with his/her supervisor and any other potential members of the advisory committee, the student must submit a dissertation proposal, including bibliography, by the beginning of the 6th term of study (May 1 of Year II). This proposal will be examined as part of the qualifying examinations carried out at the end of the student's second year.
4. Dissertation
Each student will write a dissertation on an approved topic, based upon original research conducted while registered for the PhD program, which will be presented in appropriate dissertation form for examination.
Completion of the Thesis Dissertation
When the thesis is thought to meet recognized scholarly standards for the discipline and degree and is ready for examination, the Centre arranges a Thesis Examination by setting a proposed date and obtaining provisional consent from the potential members of the Thesis Examination Board, according to the guidelines set by the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies' (SGPS).
Normally the entire process, from the Centre's request for a Thesis Examination to the placement of the candidate's name on the convocation list, requires approximately 8 weeks.
*Note* all program requirements (including language requirement) must be completed before submission of a thesis for oral examination
In order to continue to receive funding, students must make satisfactory progress in the program. The term "satisfactory progress" pertains to completion of the language requirement, completion of course work, completion of qualifying examinations, and progress on work for the thesis. All cases of "unsatisfactory progress" will be considered by the Graduate Studies Committee, and can result in withdrawal of funding as well as withdrawal from the program.
a) Language Requirement
All entering students should discuss their schedule for completing the language requirement with the Director. Please note that a student cannot defend his or her thesis or graduate if the language requirement has not been fulfilled.
b) Course work
"Satisfactory progress" constitutes the timely completion of each course with a grade of 78% or above.
A student may request an incomplete (INC) without penalty on compassionate or medical grounds. In such cases, the student must make a written request to the instructor and the Director no later than the last day of classes, and must include a) the date by which the remaining work will be completed, and b) (where relevant) a certificate from a physician. This request will be forwarded to the GSC for approval. Permission from the instructor is not a guarantee that the INC request will be granted. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, the student will not be allowed to carry more than one INC in a semester.
The INC will be changed to a grade only if the work is completed by the grade submission deadline for the term following. If a grade is not submitted by this deadline, the INC becomes a Failure. An 'F' grade resulting from an INC is final. The SGPS will not consider a revision of the grade except on documented medical or compassionate grounds.
c) Qualifying Examinations
“Satisfactory progress” of the Qualifying examinations includes a) the completion of the Core Exam in the second year (Term 5) of study, and b) submission of the thesis proposal two weeks after the Field Examination.
d) Dissertation
"Satisfactory" progress in thesis work consists of a) choosing an area of study for dissertation research and a supervisor by the end of the 4th term of registration (Oct. 15 of Year II); and b) submission of a dissertation proposal, including bibliography, by the beginning of the 6th term of registration (May 1 of Year II)
Procedures for making an appeal are available in the Handbook of Academic and Scholarship Policy. Appeals may result in the raising or lowering of an original grade.
For more information on the completion, preparation, format, examination, and final submission of the thesis, please consult the SGPS' Thesis Regulation Guide.
The Theory Centre offers its' graduates access to our Dossier service, a depository of information used in applying for academic positions. The file may contain CV's, transcripts, letters of reference, writing samples, and teaching evaluations. There is no cost in keeping a dossier at the Centre. However, documents are sent via regular mail only, courier service is not available.
What should I do first?
- contact your referees (at least two) well in advance of the application deadline and ask them to deposit a reference letter with the Centre
- order current transcripts
- develop your C.V.
I have found a position I would like to apply for - what do I do?
Contact the Program Coordinator with all the necessary information - the deadline, the required documents, and complete name and mailing address to which items should be sent. Please give notice of at least 10 business days between your request and the deadline to allow time for processing and delivery.
