Third Year

1. Third Year Plan of Study:
At the end of February of their third year, students must submit an updated Plan of Study, which should update all information provided in the second-year Plan, including an updated list of how requirements have been met.

2. During their third year of classes, students are encouraged and expected to prepare grant proposals to submit to funding agencies for dissertation research.

3. History of Anthropology Requirement: Students must take the required "History of Anthropology" course (see required courses) in spring of their second or third year.

4. Ph.D. Committee:
By the end of the first semester of the third year the student should constitute his/her Ph.D. Committee, which consists of 5 members. This committee generally includes the student's Provisional Committee plus two additional members. The chair must be a primary faculty member in the department. The Committee is chosen with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and the Dean of the Graduate School. Following Graduate School rules, at least one and not more than two of the five members of the Ph.D. Committee must have a primary appointment outside the Cultural Anthropology Department. The Ph.D. Committee will be responsible for evaluating the student's Preliminary Exam (Qualifying Exam and Dissertation Proposal), as well as the Dissertation. Following Graduate School and department policy, the graduate student is expected to keep the Ph.D. committee as constituted throughout the rest of his/her program.

5. Preliminary Exam Reading Lists:
Before the end of the second year, the student should prepare a preliminary reading list for each of the three areas of interest --one ethnographic and two theoretical-- to be tested in the Qualifying Examination. The list should be formulated in consultation with the student's Ph.D. Committee and circulated to all members.

6. The Preliminary Examination:
The Preliminary Examination precedes the student's formal admission to candidacy for the Duke Ph.D. degree. It is normally taken during the student's sixth semester. A student who has passed both parts of the Preliminary Examination (Qualifying Exam and the Dissertation Proposal Workshop) is formally recognized as a doctoral candidate.

To be admitted to the Preliminary Examination, the student must have paid 6 semesters of tuition, successfully completed the Graduate School residency requirement, and have fulfilled or be registered for courses which will fulfill all departmental course requirements, 2 courses outside the department, the language requirement, and fulfillment of all Incompletes on their transcript.

The Preliminary Examination may not be completed during the summer except with the written approval of the student's Ph.D. committee AND payment of the summer registration fee.

7. Qualifying Exam
During the fifth semester, the student meets with their Ph.D. Committee to refine the reading lists to be mastered and to discuss the sorts of questions that will be posed in the Qualifying Examination. A draft of the reading list should be submitted to their advisor and the rest of their committee by the end of the semester. Early in the 6th semester and at least 6 weeks before the written portion of the Exam, students are expected to develop a list of broad questions for each of their three areas (typically 2-3 questions in each area) in consultation with relevant committee members, under the general supervision of their Committee Chair.

The Qualifying Examination should be taken in the student's sixth semester. A Graduate School Form listing committee members must be filled out and filed with the Graduate School two months prior to the Qualifying Exam. The Exam consists of two components:

a. Written responses to questions posed by the student's Ph.D. Committee that are designed to test the student's command of the three areas of interest. The written portion of the exam will normally be scheduled during late March/early April. For each of the three examination areas, the student's Committee will devise 1-2 questions which the student is expected to answer during the time allotted for the exam. These questions are to be based on, but will not necessarily be identical with, the questions previously prepared by the student. Students are permitted to use a computer for word processing during the exam. We recognize that many students may have written out trial answers in preparation, but we expect students to compose fresh answers during the time period of the exam. Students are on their honor not to consult any prepared notes during the exam. The student may select one of the following formats for the written portion of the exam:

Option 1: The exam will take place in three 3-hour sessions, to be taken over the course of three consecutive days in a location to be designated by the DGS.

Option 2: A 24-hour take-home exam covering the three designated areas.

b. An oral examination administered by the student's Ph.D. Committee. Following Graduate School rules, all Committee members must participate in the oral exam. The oral exam will normally be scheduled for the week following the written exam. Students are advised to consult with their Committee Chair after the written portion of the exam has been evaluated by the Committee in order to prepare for the oral exam. A student who does not pass the Qualifying Examination may be dropped from the program or may be asked to write a paper that provides a critical review of the literature on his/her reading lists.

8. The Dissertation Proposal:
Under the supervision of the Ph.D. Committee, the student prepares a substantial dissertation research proposal (15-20 double spaced pages) which serves as the basis for the Dissertation Proposal Workshop. This proposal must include:
* Statement of the problem
* A thorough review of previous research on the topic and expected contribution to the field
* Methods of research and data analysis to be used for the project
* Tentative statement of results expected and their significance
* A budget outline
* An explanation of how the student will address Human Subjects issues and formal approval by Duke's Human Subjects Committee if the project includes human subjects.

Two copies of the final Dissertation Proposal should be given to the Graduate Staff Assistant in the office of Cultural Anthropology, one for the department files and one for the student's file.


9. The Dissertation Proposal Workshop:
This is normally taken during the second half of the student's sixth semester.
To be admitted to the Dissertation Proposal Workshop, the student must have successfully completed the Qualifying Examination and must wait at least two weeks before he/she will be allowed to sit for the Dissertation Proposal Workshop.

The Workshop is a defense of the student's Dissertation Research Proposal. The proposal must be circulated to the Ph.D. committee at least two weeks before the Workshop. Following Graduate School rules, all Ph.D. Committee members must participate in the Workshop. During the Workshop the Ph.D. Committee will determine whether the student may begin dissertation research directly, or must first redesign the proposed research and/or rewrite parts of the proposal. If revisions are necessary, the Committee will determine whether the student has provisionally passed, pending submission of acceptable revisions, or has failed the Workshop. Provisions for retaking the Workshop, in case of failure, are regulated by the Graduate School. A current Graduate School Bulletin should be consulted for procedures.

Next: Fourth Year and Beyond
 

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