4.4 Minoring and Co-Majoring in PhD programs

4.4.1 Minoring in English Department Doctoral Programs

Minoring in English Department PhD majors (Applied Linguistics and Technology or Rhetoric and Professional Communication) requires a minimum of 12 credits in English department courses (9 credits minimum at the 5000-6000 level) not counting the dissertation credits.

If you are a graduate student from another major, you must first find an English department professor from the appropriate major (see Graduate Faculty Membership section of this manual) to serve on your POS committee and to help you select appropriate minor courses. Then you must submit the English department’s Request for Graduate Minor form to the Graduate Program Administrative Assistant via email (englgrad@iastate.edu) for approval by the DOGE. The professor’s name and approval as well as that of the DOGE in the English Department are required when you submit the Graduate College Program of Study and Committee Form (POSC) in your AccessPlus account. If your POSC has already been approved by the Graduate College, you must submit a change to your POSC in your AccessPlus account adding the minor, the faculty member representing the minor, and the approved coursework for the minor.

4.4.2 Co-Majoring in English Department Doctoral Programs

To receive a co-major in either the Applied Linguistics and Technology (ALT) doctoral program or the Rhetoric and Professional Communication (RPC) doctoral program, you must complete the same coursework requirements as for a primary major in the program. Your first major (the major you were accepted into at the time of admission to ISU) is considered your primary major.

Students in other PhD majors wishing to co-major in either program must meet minimum requirements in each of their two majors, including the completion of a dissertation appropriate to both majors.

POS committees must include co-major professors (one from each major), one additional committee member representing each major, and at least one committee member outside both majors. Those professor’s names and approvals as well as that of the DOGE in the English department are required when you submit the Graduate College Program of Study and Committee Form (POSC) in your AccessPlus account. If your POSC has already been approved by the Graduate College, you must submit a change to your POSC in your AccessPlus account adding the co-major, the co-major professor and faculty member representing the co-major, and the approved coursework for the co-major.

Co-majors must also complete a preliminary examination process that meets the minimum requirements of both majors. Working with your co-major professors, you will combine the preliminary exam requirements from both majors into a single preliminary exam.

• Apply for the co-major in time to meet POS, preliminary exam requirements (a co-major cannot be added after the Preliminary Oral Examination), and dissertation by submitting the English Department’s Request to Co-Major form to the Graduate Program Administrative Assistant via email (englgrad@iastate.edu) for approval by the DOGE.
• Outline your entire proposed POS (72 credits minimum). Complete the English Department DPS for the appropriate major charting the coursework requirements for the co-major with the Request to Co-Major form.
• Write a dissertation that applies to both majors and satisfies POS committee members from both majors.