Postgraduate Reading Courses

Candidates for the MA and MPhil degrees pursuing course work may, only in special circumstances and subject to approval, substitute up to two (2) Reading Courses.  Permission to do Reading Courses is contingent, it should be noted, upon the availability of staff to direct such courses as well as the approval of the Department.

Reading Courses should not be confused with the Reading Fields ('Qualifying Exams' / 'Comprehensives') which are taken for the MPhil and PhD degrees.  (See POSTGRADUATE READING FIELDS.)  

To this end, candidates should first identify and consult with a potential Director for the project.

Reading Courses may be based upon extant courses (in which case the course content, the reading list, the methods of assessment, etc. may be slightly altered) or may be designed to suit the special needs of the candidate.  Any such proposal must be related to the major focus or foci of the MA or MPhil degree of the discipline in question and/or should be compatible with the resources and expertise available in the Department.

In the case of the latter, students, in consultation with the proposed supervisor, must write a proposal providing the following information:

• RATIONALE: an explanation of how the material of the proposed course forms a coherent focus of study and outline the objectives thereof.
• ASSESSMENT: a list of the format, number, and length of assignments to be submitted to the Director.
• CONTACT SCHEDULE: a statement of the frequency and length of time you and your Director will meet (e.g once per week for one hour).
• READING LIST: this list should follow the guidelines prescribed by the MLA HANDBOOK and should be divided into Required and Recommended readings.

You should submit your proposal, written up according to the guidelines given above, to the supervisor whom you have in mind, who will then formally pass it on, indicating his/her approval, to the department's Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies.