Twin Cities campus

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Twin Cities Campus

Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society Ph.D.

Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature
College of Liberal Arts
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, 235 Nicholson Hall, 216 Pillsbury Drive S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-624-8099; fax: 612-626-0228)
Email: csds@umn.edu
  • Program Type: Doctorate
  • Requirements for this program are current for Fall 2012
  • Length of program in credits: 71
  • This program does not require summer semesters for timely completion.
  • Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the General Information section of this website for requirements that apply to all major fields.
While most traditional humanistic disciplines tend to focus either on a given mode of discourse (e.g., art history, musicology) or a specific cultural context (e.g., American studies, European languages and literatures), this program engages a broader problematic--how discourse and cultural production both shape and are shaped by life in time, space, matter, and society. Drawing on a variety of theoretical positions, close attention is paid to various types of discourse, such as music, film, myth, ritual, architecture, landscape and urban design, painting, sculpture, and literature in elite, popular, folk, and mass culture, understanding these as both a site and an instrument of contestation and negotiation among social forces. More generally, the program seeks to re-associate intellectual and cultural history with social and political history, to set discourse of various sorts within a social context, and to consider specific social formations within the ongoing historical process. In all this, the program encourages work that is interdisciplinary (at times, even anti-disciplinary) as well as cross-cultural. The curriculum emphasizes seminars and directed research. The core requirement is a two-semester research seminar that develops critical and analytic skills and introduces current theoretical perspectives with the study of historical problems. Many courses are nonrecurring and closely relate to current faculty research. In all cases, students should consult their advisers and the director of graduate studies concerning course selections. Apart from the basic research seminar, each entering graduate student enrolls in CSDS 8901 - Pedagogy of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, which focuses on developing skills and experience in teaching and other professional concerns, and CSDS 8902 - Methodologies Colloquium, which introduces students to the research interests and approaches of the core faculty.
Program Delivery
  • via classroom (the majority of instruction is face-to-face)
Prerequisites for Admission
International applicants must submit score(s) from one of the following tests:
  • TOEFL
    • Internet Based - Total Score: 79
    • Internet Based - Writing Score: 21
    • Internet Based - Reading Score: 19
    • Paper Based - Total Score: 550
  • IELTS
    • Total Score: 6.5
  • MELAB
    • Final score: 80
Key to test abbreviations (TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB).
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the General Information section of this website.
Program Requirements
35 credits are required in the major.
12 credits are required outside the major.
24 thesis credits are required.
This program may not be completed with a minor.
Use of 4xxx courses toward program requirements is permitted under certain conditions with adviser approval.
A minimum GPA of 3.50 is required for students to remain in good standing.
The Ph.D. requires 47 graduate credits of coursework as follows: 6 credits of basic seminar (CSDS 8001-8002), 2 credits of CSDS 8902 - Methodologies Colloquium, 3 credits of CSDS 8901 - Pedagogy of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, 24 credits in CSDS courses (with approval of the adviser and the director of graduate studies, up to 3 credits of the 24-credit requirement may be taken in the field of the minor or supporting program), and 12 credits (or more, as necessary) to complete a formal minor in another Graduate School program, excluding comparative literature. If a minor is not pursued in another program, the student must complete 12 credits in coursework outside of CSDS, CSCL, or CL courses in a coherent and complementary program to be approved by the adviser and the director of graduate studies. Overall, the degree should include 12 credits of 8xxx courses (exclusive of CSDS 8001-8002 and 8901). 24 thesis credits are also required.
 
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