Joint Track
Joint Track in Romance Languages and Literatures
The Joint Track in Romance Languages offers highly-qualified students a PhD in two Romance languages and literatures, exploring the two fields more in depth than a major/minor program allows them to do. Students pursuing the Joint Track should have equal command of the two languages and literatures, and have a sufficiently clear idea of their fields of interest to design an appropriate, consistent, and feasible individualized course of study that explores various intellectual paths and establishes links across languages. Qualified students may be directly admitted into the Joint Track program or after one year of proven academic excellence in their single track graduate program in the Department. Candidates must explain to both of the relevant sections and to the Director of Graduate Studies their intellectual reasons for combining two languages and define the areas of interests they wish to explore in their course of study. Criteria for selection into the Joint Track include language proficiency, strong literary and cultural foundations in both literatures and languages, and intellectual focus. A Joint Track student may revert back to a single track if it appears that this is not the best plan of graduate study for them.
Eighteen courses (that is, two more than in the single track), to be completed in two years. The course distribution between the two languages should be fairly balanced, e.g. 9:9 or 8:10, and may include Romance Studies courses. (It must include Romance Studies 201.) Students may take a maximum of two courses outside of the Department.
Students must satisfy mandatory course requirements in each of their two languages.
Each Joint Track student has one faculty advisor in each language. Advisors are designated prior to enrollment, according to the student’s chosen field and stated interests. Students may change advisors later on after discussion with their respective section head and the DGS. Advisors are in charge of supervising the plan of studies and of organizing the General Examination.
The successful dual track dissertation should be deeply informed by issues pertinent to both literatures.