Doctor of Philosophy in English Language and Literature

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES
Envisioning itself as "(standing) at the forefront of English language and literature studies in the Philippines and in Asia" (DOE Vision Statement), the Department of English takes a major step in addressing English language issues at the PhD level. The program aims to continue and enhance the research that is being done in both the MA major in English Language and Literature Teaching (MA ELLT) and the MA major in Literary and Cultural Studies (MA LCS). Thus, it also seeks to contribute more substantially to the body of knowledge that impacts on the understanding of English language/linguistic and literary/cultural issues especially in Asian socio-cultural contexts and enrich the culture of teaching in English that is part of the Ateneo de Manila University tradition.
 
The program aims to:
  • advance the understanding of the role of English language and literature in society, with particular attention to its implications for multilingual and multi-cultural settings;
  • engage in a critical review of issues, options, and developments informing the study and teaching of language and literature; and
  • contribute to the development of ideas and scholarship in English language and literary studies in the Philippines and in other parts of Asia in view of comparative cultural contexts.
Program Description
The PhD in English Language and Literature is a program that brings together teachers and scholars working on important overlapping areas of inquiry on pedagogical and interpretive approaches to language and literary studies that foreground the conditions of possibilities for their production and reception. In teaching and language practices, the emphasis is on critical literacy and citizenship; in scholarship, the emphasis is on interpretative approaches. The research topics reflect the individual and/or professional interests of students and are informed by extensive familiarity with theory, reviews of scholarship, and critical reflection on research data and texts. Focus is on the literary/cultural and language/linguistic frames in which specific scholarly and pedagogical practices become intelligible as acts with larger socio-political and intellectual implications especially for Philippine or other Asian contexts.
 
The program's mode of delivery is a combination of course work and research supervision (largely tutorial and research-based).
 
 
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Core Courses (18 units)
  • ELL 301    Research in Language & Literature 1: Scholarly Methods (6 units)
  • ELL 302    Research in Language & Literature 2: Interdisciplinary Concepts & Procedures (6 units)
  • ELL 303    Description(s) of English (3 units)
  • ELL 304    Literary & Cultural Theories (3 units)
Free Electives or Cognates (12 units)
These are seminar type courses offered within the Department of English; alternatively, students can take PhD cognate courses from the other departments in the Loyola Schools. These could also be done as tutorial courses with the student's supervisor. Depending on the research interest of the student, some of the cognates can be used to prepare for the language requirement.
  • ELL 310    Researching Language Learning & Pedagogy
  • ELL 311    Program Management & Teacher Development Issues
  • ELL 312    Language Program Planning & Policy Making
  • ELL 313    Trends & Issues in Composition Studies & Pedagogy
  • ELL 314    Literature and Language Teaching
  • ELL 320    Narrative Theory
  • ELL 321    Narratives of Nationalism
  • ELL 322    World Fiction
  • ELL 323    Ethnopoetics
  • ELL 324    Social Thought & Philippine Literature
  • ELL 325    Constructs of Identity in Asian Literature
Comprehensive Exams
The comprehensive exams are taken after the student has done the course work.
 
Language Requirement
The student should exhibit knowledge of one language foreign to him/her by passing a translation exam to be administered by the English Department. The language cannot be English, Filipino, or the student's mother tongue. The work for translation would be an excerpt from an academic document in the chosen foreign language.
 
Dissertation (12 units)
  • ELL 402 A: Dissertation Writing I (6 units)
  • ELL 402 B: Dissertation Writing II (6 units)
Students must propose research, undertake it, and publish or present papers from it while working on the dissertation; the latter they must also defend successfully.
 
Dissertation requirements are as follows:
  1. Proposal: Submission and successful defense of the final form of the research proposal.
  2. Publication: Two papers based on the research, to be submitted to a nationally or internationally-recognized and/or peer-reviewed journal (such as Kritika Kultura, the online journal of the Ateneo de Manila English Department). To help students with publication, they are encouraged to present papers at a conference approved by the dissertation committee and then develop these for publication. At least one paper should be accepted for publication or published before the degree is granted.
  3. Dissertation defense: Successful defense and submission of the final copy of the dissertation. The dissertation is going to be read by at least one external and a panel of three internal examiners (excluding the supervisor). Students must enroll for six units of dissertation work per semester for at least two semesters. If they do not complete their studies before the end of the fourth year, they must continue to enroll for six units of dissertation per semester, until they complete their dissertation work and their oral defense.
 
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The Ateneo English Department shall admit applicants into the PhD in ELL Program every two years beginning June 2007.
  1. Applicants must successfully complete the requirements for admission to the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. They must also submit a well-thought out, well-written statement of purpose which will include why they are taking this particular course in the university, what they will use the degree for, what particular gaps in knowledge they would need guidance early on, and what research interest they might want to pursue.
  2. Pre-requisites: The program is open to applicants who possess a master's degree, prefebrably in language, literature, and related fields. Students must have had the experience of writing an M.A. thesis. A bridging program will be made available to students with a non-thesis M.A.
 
Accreditation
  1. An applicant's professional experience may be assessed in view of possible accreditation as may be equivalent to one course requirement or elective.
  2. An applicant's courses undertaken at another institution may be credited for the PhD in ELL if they have been completed within the three years prior to the date at which the student is enrolled at Ateneo and if the applicant's grades for the courses are at least B+ or its equivalent.
  3. The total credits granted should not be more than the equivalent of six units in the PhD in ELL program.
 
Scholarships & Financial Aid
CHED Scholarships are available. You may contact the Department at (632) 426-6001 loc. 5310 to 5311 for more information.

Click here to view the Plan of Study.

PhD ELL (for upload).pdf