Angell Hall Who are we? English Department, University of Michigan   Contact Person: Jennifer Wenzel, CID Chair, 3187 Angell Hall, 734-764-6330, [email protected] Leadership Team Steven Mullaney (Director of Graduate Studies), Tamara Bhalla, Holly Dugan, Larry Goldstein, Chris Palmer, Jennifer Wenzel, Andrea Zemgulys Department Home Page Graduate Program Home Page

What do we want to accomplish in the CID? Through our involvement in the CID, we hope to continue the process of critical self-evaluation and foster a productive intellectual exchange among the English departments involved in the Initiative. We will continue to evaluate and refine our program's milestones. We are currently concerned with re-evaluating the preliminary exam process, providing more opportunities for graduate students to participate in departmental governance and developing a mentoring website. As we look to implementing future goals, we hope to learn from the academic community that CID provides as well as offer support and information to participating departments.

Departmental Rationale, Innovations and Representation Prior to our involvement in the CID, we implemented a variety of innovations to improve the quality of the doctoral program at the University of Michigan. We have developed exemplary pedagogical instruction, cultivated a rich interdisciplinary environment reflected in two joint programs with the Department of Education and the Women's Studies Program, and encouraged students and faculty to collaborate in creating specific area interest groups (see link to snapshot below). Now, we have turned our attention to particular aspects of the program that need immediate re-evaluation. Our involvement with the CID has spurred our efforts to improve the academic and social climate in our department through an ongoing process of evaluating and revising the key structural milestones of the PhD program. Commonalities PowerPoint Key Ideas PowerPoint Interest Groups at UM English This is a link to a snapshot about our student/faculty interest groups program, one of the "exemplary elements" of our department. Excerpt of Five-Year Plan Pertaining to the Graduate Program In 2004, the department finished a new five-year plan. In addition to a brief historical overview of the graduate program, look here for specifics on size, funding, attrition, placement, and other matters of concern to most doctoral programs.

Current Projects and Future Goals During the 2004-2005 academic year, our attentions have been focused on revising the preliminary exam system from a written evaluation to an oral exam. By the end of the year into the summer, we plan to mount on our revised departmental homepage an interactive component specifically tailored to the needs of our graduate students, which will include an ongoing archive of writing samples (prospecti, job letters, syllabuses, etc.), important departmental documents, and fellowship and research opportunities outside of our University's structure. We have initiated changes to the graduate curriculum that address course overload in the first two years and have opened up opportunities for graduate students to participate in hiring and admissions committees. Future goals and projects include: Survey design and implementation Funding for dissertation reading and writing groups Internships with local non-academic firms, for training outside the discipline Enhancing co-ordination with our joint programs in Women Studies and Education Establishing guidelines for issues of diversity and faculty-graduate student relations and interaction. Possible long-term projects include: CID Postdoctoral exchanges Colloquia on professional skills and disciplinary issues Undergraduate curriculum revision and graduate teaching opportunities Dissertation writing groups Collaborative writing projects Continuing discussion about alternatives to the dissertation Innovations Snapshot 1 A major project in the 2002-03 and 2003-2004 was our revision of the preliminary exam. We have instituted a two-part qualifying process: an oral exam focusing on breadth of knowledge, followed by a term-long research seminar structured as an independent study with the dissertation advisor and devoted to the writing of the first chapter of the dissertation. This document explains the change in greater detail.