Procedural Guide
For Graduate Study in English at Cornell University
This guide has been prepared for the use of students and faculty in the Graduate Field of English Language and Literature at Cornell University and should be read in conjunction with the Code of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty, which sets forth the policies governing advanced degree programs throughout the University. Graduate study at Cornell requires each student to work out a program of study in consultation with a Special Committee selected by the student from the membership of the Graduate Faculty. This procedure, commonly referred to as "the committee system," takes the place of uniform course requirements and uniform departmental examinations. It is intended to create a close working relationship between faculty and students and to encourage freedom and flexibility in the design of individual students' degree programs. Such a system places special demands on the energy and adaptability of both faculty and students, and it requires of each student a high degree of initiative and responsibility.
"It is the responsibility of the candidate to become familiar with the various regulations that apply to his or her program and to satisfy them in the proper way. [To assist the candidate, the staff in the Graduate School issues written directions for completing requirements and stands ready to advise]." (Code #65)
For Ph.D. candidates, the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will serve as the student's main academic adviser and Provisional Chair during the first semester of residence. For M.F.A. candidates the Provisional Chair is the Director of Creative Writing. An additional faculty adviser may also be assigned to first-year Ph.D. students. During this period, the advisers will assist the student in beginning the process of forming a Special Committee.
A list of English Department faculty members available for service on Special Committees can be obtained in the Graduate English Office. At the beginning of each year the Department issues a statement summarizing the various interests of its members to assist students in forming their committees.
The Special Committee of a candidate for an M.F.A. consists of two members (occasionally three); that of a candidate for Doctor of Philosophy consists of three (occasionally four). Since the Special Committee is charged with guiding and supervising all of a candidate's academic work, it is obviously important to establish this committee as soon as possible. Some students prefer to select only one member at the outset, and in such cases this person will be designated Provisional Chair. For Ph.D. candidates the Provisional Chair will represent English Language and Literature as the student's major subject, without a specified concentration; for M.F.A. candidates the major subject is English Language and Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing.
For M.F.A. candidates: a permanent Chair should be selected by the end of the first semester of residence; the minor member(s) should be selected by the end of the second semester. For Ph.D. candidates: a permanent committee should be established by the beginning of the third semester of study, since the Ph.D. Qualifying Procedure (see III. D. 2 below) must be completed by the end of that semester.
The DGS will serve as a temporary member of a Ph.D. student's Special Committee until it has its full complement of functioning members. Minor members may be chosen from related fields outside the Department, but the Chair should be in the field of English.
A student may change the membership of the Special Committee at any time, although once she or he has completed 4 units (2 years) of residence, a change of this sort must be approved by the General Committee of the Graduate School. The General Committee discourages such changes after the candidate has passed the Admission to Candidacy Examination (see III. D. 4 and 5 below). A student whose Chair plans to take a leave should make arrangements for a proxy during the period of the leave.
B. Fields of Concentration
The major subject for all graduate students in English is English Language and Literature, with a concentration (chosen by Ph.D. candidates after the Qualifying Procedure) from the following list. Minor subjects may be either English Language and Literature with concentrations from this list, or approved subjects in related fields.
African American Literature
American Literature to 1865
American Literature after 1865
American Studies (a joint program with the field of History)
Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures
Cultural Studies
Dramatic Literature
English Poetry
The English Renaissance to 1660
Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay Literary Studies
Literary Criticism and Theory
The Nineteenth Century
Old and Middle English
Prose Fiction
The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century
The Twentieth Century
Women's Literature
Creative Writing (this is the major concentration of all M.F.A. candidates, and a minor concentration for joint Ph.D./M.F.A. candidates; it may not be a major subject for Ph.D. candidates)
English Linguistics (minor subject only)
C. Procedures
A student's Special Committee is charged by the Code of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty with certain formal responsibilities:
l. Approving the student's choice of courses for each semester.
2. Recommending at the end of each semester that the student be awarded appropriate residence credit. One "unit of residence" is awarded for a semester's satisfactory full-time study. Fractions of a unit may be awarded for part-time or not wholly satisfactory study.
3. Conducting the Admission to Candidacy Examination (A Exam) in the case of a Ph.D. candidate.
4. Approving the thesis after conducting a formally scheduled final examination.
5. Recommending the conferral of the degree. This recommendation must be unanimous.
Section III of this Guide describes many of the substantive advisory functions of the Special Committee, which is expected to meet with the student at least once each semester.
II. Residence and Thesis Requirements
Degree candidates must satisfy certain requirements specified by the Code. Relief from these requirements must be sought by petitioning the General Committee of the Graduate School, which does not, as a rule, approve petitions lacking a Special Committee's endorsement.
A. An M.A. candidate must complete 2 units of residence and present an approved thesis. (A Ph.D. candidate who has passed the A-Exam may be awarded the M.A. without presenting a thesis.) No more than 4 years may intervene between a student's first registration in the Graduate School and the completion of all requirements for the M.A.
B. An M.F.A. candidate must complete 4 units of residence and present an approved thesis, which will be a piece of creative writing. No more than 4 years may intervene between a student's first registration in the Graduate School and the completion of all requirements for the M.F.A.
C. A Ph.D. candidate must complete 6 units of residence, 2 of them after passing the A Exam, and must present an approved thesis. During the second semester in the Ph.D. program a candidate may petition the General Committee of the Graduate School for the transfer of up to 2 residence units representing graduate work done elsewhere. Before enrolling for the seventh residence unit, a student must attempt the A Exam. No more than 7 years may intervene between a student's first registration in the Graduate School and the completion of all requirements for the Ph.D.
D. Leave of Absence taken for personal reasons (as distinct from in absentia status for academic work) will be assumed to stop the clock for a maximum of one year (i.e. a student who takes leave during year four of the program will return as a fourth-year student, rather than a fifth). A student who takes Leave of Absence for longer than a year will be asked to file for readmission by the Graduate School; the clock will start in the second year of any Leave of Absence for determining future eligibility in the program. In absentia (a leave taken to study elsewhere while remaining as a registered student) will, however, count as a year in a student's program. The Department's Lecturer Policy governs eligibility for funding in the case of a student who accepts a temporary appointment elsewhere.
A. General Considerations
Since the areas of knowledge and competence that students emphasize will vary according to their programs of study, such areas can be described here only in broad outline. It is assumed that a student and her or his Special Committee will fashion a program broad enough to provide adequate and appropriate literary training while sufficiently focused to provide necessary specialization in particular fields of literary study. It is also assumed that no matter what her or his particular interest or orientation, the student will profit from some familiarity--to be achieved either by taking courses or by informal study--with the following: (i) those authors and works that have been most influential in determining the course of English and American literature, including minority literatures; (ii) the theory and criticism of literature; (iii) the relations between literature and other areas or disciplines, such as history, philosophy, psychoanalysis, politics, cultural studies, film, visual arts; (iv) such basic scholarly concerns as textual criticism, analytic bibliography, and problems of attribution, authentication, genre, source, and influence.
Two other areas are so basic as to require special emphasis:
l. Any program of study in literature should include study of the medium of that literature, the language. The English Department regularly offers courses in Old and Middle English. Several other departments provide relevant courses in such subjects as the history of the English language, descriptive linguistics, psycholinguistics, semiotics, and the philosophy of language. Students who do not take some such course at Cornell or elsewhere are expected to master a list of readings on the subject approved by their committee.
2. Knowledge of foreign languages is an equally important part of any program of literary study. The number and choice of these languages depends on each student's area(s) of specialization. M.A. and M.F.A. programs normally require a basic reading knowledge of one foreign language. A minimal expectation for a Ph.D. program would be either a "translating" knowledge of two appropriate languages or a much fuller "literary" knowledge of one; some Special Committees, however, demand much more than this minimum. The student should as early as possible reach agreement with the Special Committee on any course of formal or informal study that seems necessary, as well as the means of demonstrating competence in the appropriate languages. These requirements should be met by the time of taking the A Exam.
B. Candidates for Master of Arts
l. Course Work: An M.A. candidate in English is expected to complete 6 or more one-semester courses for credit, at least 3 of them numbered 600 or above in the list of Departmental offerings, with no grade below B or with an average of B+. She or he may also register in the Master's Essay course in the second semester, with the Chairperson of the Special Committee as instructor.
2. Thesis: Each M.A. candidate is required to submit for permanent deposit in the University Library two bound copies of a thesis typed according to Graduate School specifications and approved by both (or all) committee members. The thesis should represent original criticism or research (as distinct from mere summary) and show acquaintance with pertinent secondary material. Such an essay may be a paper written for some other course, approved for this purpose by the candidate's Chairperson and developed to a length of 35 pages or more. The candidate is often encouraged, however, to undertake a wholly new piece of research. It is the student's responsibility to see that the thesis is submitted to the committee in time for reading and possible revision before the relevant Graduate School deadline. Full particulars concerning thesis forms and deadlines may be found in the annual Graduate School publication Thesis and Advanced Degree Requirements for Master's Candidates.
3. Final Examination: Each M.A. candidate is required to pass a final examination conducted by members of the committee. In English, this examination is oral and approximately an hour in length. Nominally it covers the candidate's major and minor subjects, but in fact it is ordinarily centered on the areas in which the student has done course work, either as an undergraduate or as a graduate student, and on the thesis. This examination must be formally scheduled at the Graduate School seven days in advance and held during the candidate's last month of residence. Before it can be scheduled, a completed draft of the thesis in its proposed final form must be in the hands of the candidate's committee.
C. Candidates for Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
1. Course Work In the two years of work for the degree, an M.F.A. candidate in English is expected to complete 4 workshop courses and ordinarily takes 6 additional one-semester courses for credit, at least four of them in English and American literature, Comparative Literature, literature in the modern or classical languages, theory, or cultural studies.
2. Thesis An M.F.A. candidate in English is required to submit for permanent deposit in the University Library two bound copies of a piece of creative writing (such as a novel, a collection of short stories, a full-length play, or a collection of poems) approved by all members of the Special Committee. It is the student's responsibility to see that the thesis is submitted to the committee in time for reading and possible revision before the relevant Graduate School deadline. Full particulars concerning thesis form and deadlines may be found in the annual Graduate School publication Doctoral Dissertation, Master's Thesis, and Advanced Degree Requirements.
3. Final Examination Each M.F.A. candidate is required to pass a final examination conducted by the committee members. In English, this examination is oral and approximately an hour in length; it is normally centered on the M.F.A. thesis. This examination must be formally scheduled at the Graduate School seven days in advance and held during the candidate's last month of residence. Before it can be scheduled, a completed draft of the thesis in its proposed final form must be in the hands of the committee.
D. Candidates for Doctor of Philosophy
1. Course Work In the first year of study, a Ph.D. candidate is normally expected to complete 6 one-semester courses for credit, in addition to the special colloquium organized for entering students in the fall. By the end of the third year, the student normally completes at least 6 more courses for credit, not counting courses devoted to the study of foreign languages or the English language.
Students should take at least half of their minimum of 12 courses for letter grade, and have no grades of "incomplete" within this required minimum of 12 at the time of taking their A-Exam (see below).
2. Qualifying Procedure (Q Exam) During the first year students normally devote considerable time to filling out their knowledge of the field. This process may involve one or more of the following activities: reading important works of literature; gaining a broader knowledge of criticism and theory; exploring areas of study not included in the traditional canon. At some point during the second or third semester (but in no case later than the end of the third semester), the student and the Special Committee will meet formally to consider the student's readiness to proceed toward the Ph.D.
Though traditionally known as the "qualifying exam," in most cases this procedure is diagnostic in nature. In earlier, less formal meetings (at least one of which will include the Special Committee as a whole) the committee will review the student's general knowledge of the field, normally on the basis of a document prepared by the student outlining his or her previous training, and including a list of authors, periods, genres, and areas studied. With this list as a basis, the committee will suggest further readings. The preliminary meetings should take place before the end of the second semester, so that the student can devote the summer to the necessary reading.
The committee will also review the Cornell courses the student has taken and plans to take, consider a substantial piece of writing the student has produced for a graduate course, and help the student generate a short list of readings which will provide a basis for discussion at the qualifying exam proper. Composing the short list is an important part of the Q exam procedure, and should be a collaborative effort of student and committee. The list should include ten or twelve titles (these may include parts of longer works or groups of shorter ones). Throughout the procedure the committee will keep in mind the breadth of the student's preparation, and the composition of the short list should be seen as an opportunity for students to engage types of literature they may not have studied previously.
The Q exam itself normally consists of a mixture of questioning by the committee and presentation by the student; the exact format will be determined by each committee in consultation with the student. At the conclusion of the exam the committee offers the student its assessment of her or his progress in developing the knowledge and skills necessary for a Ph.D. in English, and makes recommendations for further study. At this time the committee should also decide how the language requirement is to be satisfied, or whether it has been satisfied already.
Committee chairs should report the results of Q exams to the DGS, along with information about the language requirement.
A candidate who does not complete the qualification procedure or who decides for other reasons to leave the graduate program after one or two years will normally be able to obtain an M.A. degree by writing a Master's thesis and satisfactorily completing an appropriate program of study.
3. Definitive Selection of Major and Minor Subjects After qualifying, a candidate typically chooses a major concentration representing the area of primary interest and confirms or modifies the choice of one or two minors. The composition of the Special Committee which is to conduct the A Exam will naturally reflect these choices.
Candidates in English are permitted (and in some cases encouraged) to select one or both minors from related fields. For example, a student majoring in the English Renaissance may wish to select as a minor a concentration in Classics or Romance Studies, while a student majoring in the nineteenth century may choose a concentration in Philosophy or History. Special Committees are urged to interpret the approved major and minor subject-listings flexibly so as to accommodate their students' individual interests.
4. Admission to Candidacy Examination (A Exam) This examination has both oral and written components, and serves the two functions of consolidating the student's knowledge in major and minor fields and preparing her or him to write a dissertation. Students must complete the A Exam by the end of their sixth semester (normally before the semester ends and in any case no later than June 30). They should consult with their committee members and meet with the committee as a whole to discuss topics, bibliographies, and the format of the examination by the end of the fourth semester. All required course work must be completed (and grades submitted by the instructor) before the examination is formally scheduled with the Graduate School (see below).
The written portions consist of three separate responses to questions formulated by committee members in consultation with the student, at least two of which entail broad surveys of and engagements with issues in the major and minor fields. The written responses need be no more than 4,000 words each and need not be polished essays. The special committee members, in consultation with the student, agree beforehand on the form and length of each written response. The committee may specify a composition time of a few hours, a full day, or up to ten days of work on an individual response. The normal assumption is that shorter time limits are most appropriate for this examination.
The oral portion, which must take place no more than two weeks after all three written answers have been given to the committee, is normally about two hours in length, and must be formally scheduled at the Graduate School seven days in advance. In addition to discussing the written responses, the committee and the student use the oral exam to look towards the dissertation, exploring ways to proceed with research and writing, and establishing a framework for the writing and submission of a prospectus. The student should meet with the committee chair within a week of the oral exam to review suggestions raised during the oral exam.
Upon passing the A Exam, a doctoral candidate will be awarded the M.A. without presenting a thesis. According to Graduate School legislation, if a student fails the A-Exam, three months must elapse before a second attempt is made.
5. Thesis A candidate who has passed the A Exam is expected to concentrate on a major piece of independent research. If a student's interests have changed in such a way that they no longer coincide with those of the members of the Special Committee, she or he may add a member to the committee to direct the dissertation or else petition the General Committee of the Graduate School for permission to reconstitute the committee. (The Graduate School prefers the first procedure.) The Department also encourages dissertation students to participate in dissertation-writing groups and workshops.
Within six months of completing the A exam, and in no case later than the end of the seventh semester, candidates are expected to meet with their committee to discuss a dissertation prospectus, a draft of which should be submitted to the committee at least two weeks before the meeting. At this meeting members of the committee may recommend changes to the draft prospectus. A form signed by all committee members indicating their approval of the final prospectus, along with a copy of the prospectus itself, should be submitted to the office of the Director of Graduate Studies by the beginning of the eighth semester. It is the understanding of the department that the plans set forth in the prospectus may be modified as the candidate's research and writing proceed; however, significant changes of focus and structure should be approved by the committee.
It is ultimately the candidate's responsibility to complete a thesis satisfactory to all members of the committee, and to this end she or he should consult regularly with them--in particular the chair--to discuss its progress. The candidate should plan to devote from one to two years to the thesis. These are typically the fourth and fifth years, but as academic jobs may sometimes depend on having the degree in hand, thesis work may extend into a sixth year of residence (funding permitting). The field budgets its financial resources with these realities in mind. However, the Department encourages a normative five-year degree.
It is the candidate's responsibility to see that the thesis is submitted to the Special Committee in time for reading and possible revision before the relevant Graduate School deadline. When approved by the Special Committee, the thesis must be typed in accordance with Graduate School specifications, and two copies, each unbound (so as to permit microfilming) and each accompanied by an abstract of no more than 350 words signed by the Special Committee chair, must be submitted to the Graduate School. Full particulars may be found in the annual publication of the Graduate School entitled Thesis and Advanced Degree Requirements for Doctoral Candidates. (The field endorses the suggestion that theses be typed with notes at the foot of appropriate pages to facilitate reading on microfilm.)
6. Final Examination (B Exam) This is an oral examination on the general subject of the thesis that usually includes detailed discussion of the thesis itself, together with suggestions for revision. A completed draft of the thesis must be submitted to all members of the committee sixty days in advance of the exam to allow adequate time for reading. The exam must be formally scheduled at the Graduate School at least seven days in advance and is conducted by the candidate's Special Committee. Two terms of residence credit are required after the A Exam before the candidate may pass the Final Examination. The final approved draft of the thesis must be filed with the Graduate School no more than sixty days after the Final Examination. Additional fees are charged for late filing.
7. Teaching Experience The field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience of at least one year for every doctoral candidate as part of the training for the degree. Normally part of this teaching takes place under the aegis of the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, which administers the First-Year Writing Seminars that all Cornell undergraduates are required to take. The John S. Knight Institute sponsors summer and fall workshops in the teaching of writing for all new instructors of First-Year Writing Seminars. Whether serving as teaching assistants in courses taught by faculty members or teaching their own First-Year Writing Seminars, graduate students work closely with a faculty course leader who oversees and advises them in matters of grading and pedagogy.
All courses designated 300 and upward are open to graduate students, depending on their needs and special interests. In general, 300 courses are undergraduate surveys; 400 courses are more specialized discussion courses designed primarily for undergraduates. Graduate students taking these courses often arrange with the instructor to conduct research and writing more appropriate to the graduate level. Courses at the 600 level, designed primarily for graduate students, aim to provide advanced coverage of significant periods, figures, genres, and theoretical issues; 700 level courses are intensive seminars intended to serve as paradigms of scholarly research or specialized study. English 794, Directed Study, and English 795, Group Study, give students the opportunity to enroll for more informal work in areas and on problems of special interest to them. English 796, Teaching and Research, permits a student to combine a program of reading, supervised by a professor, with participation (including some teaching) in an undergraduate course. Before the beginning of each semester, the Department issues a revised semester-list of course offerings and descriptions. A morning or afternoon prior to the start of the fall term will be set aside during which graduate students are urged to confer with the members of the Departmental faculty whose courses they may wish to take in the coming year.
Most graduate courses may be taken either for a letter grade or S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory). Courses taken for a letter grade normally require extensive written work--e.g., a long term paper, or a series of shorter papers. Courses taken for S/U may require oral presentations and/or some written work. At least six of the twelve courses required for Ph.D. candidates must be taken for a letter grade. Students are generally advised to take no more than two courses for a letter grade each semester. With the consent of the instructor or instructors and of the committee, the student may change her or his grading options at any time during the first seven weeks of the semester. After this date changes can only be made by special petition to the Graduate School, and are discouraged. An instructor may permit a student to audit a course, but audited courses are not entered on a student's official record.
Grades given to graduate students in the Department will be interpreted as follows:
A+, A Distinguished
A- Commendable
B+ Satisfactory
B, B- Borderline
C+, C, and below Unsatisfactory
If a student is unable to complete all the work for a course before the end of the semester in which it is offered, he or she may request a grade of Incomplete from the instructor. Graduate School policy mandates that all Incompletes be made up within one year of the end of the semester during which the course was taken. To remove an INC later than one year after the course has ended, the student must submit a Course Enrollment Petition. If the course Enrollment Petition is approved, the instructor then submits a Manual Grade Form.
A student must complete coursework in a timely manner in order to remain in good academic standing, and thus to be eligible for continued funding. By March 1st of the first year in residence, all students are expected to have earned at least one letter grade and to have no more than one incomplete outstanding. By March 1st of the second year in residence, Ph.D. students are expected to have completed their Q-exam, to have earned at least three letter grades, and to have no more than two incompletes outstanding. By March 1st of the third year in residence, Ph.D. students are expected to have no more than two course credits of their required twelve outstanding. If a student fails to meet any of these requirements, the student will not be in good academic standing, and will be ineligible for Department and Graduate School funding in the following year. These deadlines may be relaxed in the event of student illness or family emergency.
V. Fellowships and Teaching Awards
All Ph.D. students receive two years of Sage Fellowship, which includes a stipend, tuition, and health insurance. One year of Sage Fellowship is normally taken during the student's first year in the program to support coursework. The second year of Sage Fellowship is normally taken in the fourth year to support the writing of a dissetation prospectus and/or initial research and drafting of the thesis itself. Some variations on this pattern are possible, however, it is a clear expectation of the program that the first year and the fourth years will be spent on fellowship. Students who hold other external or internal fellowships (e.g., Javits, Mellon, Provost's Diversity, etc.) may defer the use of their Sage Fellowship to later semesters. Summer support in the form of a Graduate School Fellowship is guaranteed for four summers.
Students are encouraged to apply for special fellowships at Cornell and for outside fellowships. There are also awards and fellowships available to graduate students in English which recognize excellence in teaching. A notebook of current fellowship opportunities and awards is available in the Graduate English Office.
VI. Readerships, Teaching Assistantships, and Lectureships
Readerships are part-time paid positions (no more than 100 hours a semester). Readers assist faculty members with grading papers and/or leading discussion sections for undergraduate lecture courses. Applications for Readerships will be solicited by the Administrative Manager in the week before the start of each semester.
Applications for Teaching Assistantships are available in the spring semester. For details of teaching eligibility, including the position of Lecturer, students should see the Departmental "Lecturer Policy" guidelines. Ph.D. candidates in their fifth year and M.F.A.candidates in their second who wish to be eligible for further teaching support must request a teaching review from the Lecturer Committee, which also adjudicates special cases of eligibility.
Students should ask course leaders, other faculty observers, and graduate students to send teaching letters to the office of the Chair of the Department, as well as maintain their own file of course evaluations collected from their various classes. It is vital for graduate students to make sure that their teaching is observed regularly by course leaders and Special Committee members, and that those comments are kept on file in the Department Chair's office.
VII. The Graduate Admissions and Review Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies
The Graduate Admissions and Review Committee consists of five or more members of the Graduate Faculty of the Field of English, including the Director of Graduate Studies. Its chief responsibilities are the admission of applicants to the graduate programs in English, and the review and adjudication of cases in which students are failing to make satisfactory progress through the program. The Director of Graduate Studies, who chairs the Committee and represents the long-range interests of the graduate programs, is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Office of Graduate Studies in English and acts as an adviser to students as well as Provisional Chair for entering students. The Director of Creative Writing acts in an advisory capacity to M.F.A. students.
VIII. The Graduate Policy and Curriculum Committee
This standing committee of the Department, which is made up of 4 members of the Graduate Faculty and 4 graduate students in English, with the DGS as an ex officio member, provides a formal mechanism for the exchange of ideas between faculty and students. One of the graduate student members should be an M.F.A. student. The Committee's principal responsibility is to transmit to the English Graduate Faculty its advice on matters of policy affecting the graduate programs within the Field. Student members of the Committee also arrange informal orientation sessions for new graduate students.
IX. Reading Groups and other Extracurricular Activities
The concept of "residence" comprehends more than attending seminars and writing papers. An important part of one's education comes from informal contacts and extracurricular discussions. Every year there are several social gatherings, formal and informal, sponsored by the Department, such as the welcome party for entering students and the year-end picnic in the spring. The Department also encourages attendance at public lectures and conferences, and participation in reading groups as well as independent study groups with or without a faculty adviser. Finally, graduate students can organize lectures, conferences, readings, workshops and other events on their own; funds for this purpose are available from a variety of sources.
X. Graduate Students and Departmental Hiring
Graduate students play a number of valuable roles when the Department hires new faculty members. Hiring involves three major aspects: determining the field in which to hire, choosing among candidates, and inducing the candidate of one's choice to accept the offer. Graduate students play a part in each.
The decision of which field we will choose to hire in when we have an opening is influenced by many factors. We periodically hold formal discussions of this matter among members of the faculty, but these discussions tend to reflect and summarize an ongoing, developing sense of Departmental needs and priorities. The best way for graduate students to influence this ongoing sense of needs is through their response to the DGS's yearly request for comments about what graduate courses should be taught: this request generally comes in late fall. Calls from graduate students for a certain range of courses will suggest to the DGS and the Chair (who works closely with the DGS on all aspects of Departmental administration) where needs may lie. In addition, the DGS or the Chair may from time to time canvass graduate students directly about hiring priorities. One should add that though the needs of the graduate program weigh heavily in setting hiring priorities, other factors enter in as well. It's worth remembering that at least three-quarters of the teaching done by most faculty members involves undergraduates.
Graduate students can also make an important contribution to the selection process itself. Hiring in the Department is done by an Appointments Committee, which has traditionally included one or two graduate students as non-voting members. Particularly by their canny reading of applicants' folders, they have made a major contribution to the work of the committees on which they have served. As with all other committees, membership is determined by the Chair of the Department. The selection of graduate student members for the Appointments Committee is made by the Chair, with the advice of the faculty members on the Committee and the Director of Graduate Studies. Our normal procedure is to prefer students who have passed their A-Exams and not to choose those who are themselves seeking jobs. We have also avoided asking students to take on this time-consuming task if, in the judgment of their special committees, doing so seems likely to impede their progress toward the degree. It is worth noting that members of the Appointments Committee, whether student or faculty, contribute their expertise but do not, strictly speaking, act as representatives, and that the Department has a long tradition of rejecting the notion that appointments committees must be composed entirely of specialists in the field or fields in which we wish to hire. In early fall, a call will go out to all graduate students, asking for nominations. Self-nominations are entirely in order. The GPCC has the task of encouraging students to nominate themselves or others, though all nominations go directly to the Chair.
The first part of the selection process of job applicants culminates in what is known as the "slate" meeting, during which the Appointments Committee announces the slate or short list of candidates it has chosen to interview. This meeting occurs in early December. Graduate students are invited to the first part of this meeting, when the slate is announced and explained. They are then excused for the part of the meeting in which the faculty votes to accept or reject the slate. After the slate meeting, the vitas and writing samples of those on the slate are made available to graduate students, who may wish to send their comments by e-mail to the Chair of the Appointments Committee. If, as is usual, we interview at MLA, the student members of the Appointments Committee are urged to attend the interviews, and we sometimes invite other graduate students to the interviews as well (keeping in mind the need to avoid intimidating those we interview by packing the room with interviewers). Offers can be made before MLA (this is rare), at MLA, or after MLA.
If a candidate or candidates visit campus after MLA, we pass at least partly from the mode of choosing among candidates to the mode of inducing candidates to accept our offer once we make it. The excellence of our graduate students is a principal inducement for faculty members to come to Cornell, and so we make sure that candidates have a chance to meet them. Especially in situations where a campus visit occurs before an offer has been made, comments from graduate students on candidates at this stage are welcome; they can be directed to the Chair of the Department.
It's worth noting, in conclusion, that the process outlined above is the one we normally follow when we hire beginning assistant professors. Our procedures are likely to alter significantly when we hire on the senior level, particularly when we are authorized to pursue someone as a "target of opportunity" (that is, when the chance arises to make an unusually important appointment).
Cornell University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator. Revised May 2004