About the Major Colloquium

For PhD students in Russian Literature:

Major Field Colloquium

The Major Field Colloquium should take place by the end of the fall semester of a student's third year in the program; for those with Advanced Standing, it should take place by the end of the fall of the second year.

The student prepares for the Colloquium in two-point Directed Research course, taken in the fall semester of the third year (second year for those with Advanced Standing) with an instructor with expertise in the field[s] of interest; the instructor is chosen in consultation with the DGS; the student develops bibliography in field[s] of the prospective dissertation and writes a 10-15-page literature review; this culminates in a 2-hour colloquium on the material with the instructor, who chairs the committee, and two other faculty members with related areas of expertise.

For PhD students in Russian/Slavic Literature with a certificate in Comparative Literature (ICLS):

Colloquium in the Major and Two Minor Fields

The student prepares for the Colloquium under the guidance of the instructor of the Directed Research course taken in the fall of the third year (in the fall of the second year for students with advanced standing); the student develops bibliography in the fields of study, including that of the prospective dissertation, and writes literature reviews; this culminates in a 2-hour colloquium with three faculty members, chosen in consultation with the DGS of both Slavic and ICLS to correspond to the student’s three fields (the major field and the two minors fields).  At least one member of the committee must be affiliated with ICLS.