Summer of Application
All D.M.L. applicants are required to complete a summer of application in their first or principal language on Middlebury’s Vermont campus by enrolling in two graduate courses (normally 600-level or above), and writing a qualifying paper in the target language. This paper, which is the equivalent of a third course and earns one unit of graduate credit, must be approximately 25 pages (excluding introduction, bibliography, or other appendices), conform to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, The Chicago Manual of Style, or the Manual of the American Psychological Association, and be suitable for publication. The topic and a preliminary bibliography primarily in the target language must be approved by the Director of the School before the beginning of the summer session. The Director will appoint a member of the School’s faculty to advise the student in preparing the paper. The Director of the School and the adviser will grade the paper jointly. The student earns a total of three units of credit for the summer’s work, and must receive at least an A- on the qualifying paper and a B+ in all course work in order to be formally admitted to degree candidacy, at which time the office of the Dean sends the candidate a reading list in the first language along with a set of official guidelines.
Students have two options for completing the DML Paper:
1. The qualifying paper is submitted before the end of the summer session, in which case a decision will be made at the end of the summer.
2. The paper may be submitted by the end of the summer. Some DML applicants might want/need more time to adequately complete their research paper. In that case, they can submit it by the end of December. If the paper does not qualify, the student will be alerted only then that they are not accepted into the DML program.
DML directors will inform the Dean's office in writing before the end of the session which option the student has chosen.
Please be aware that a DML applicant will not be accepted to the DML program if they have not received a passing grade of at least A- on the qualifying paper.
If DML candidates study abroad immediately after the summer of application and choose option #2 for the qualifying paper, they do so with the knowledge that they will go abroad without yet having been officially accepted into the DML program. Therefore, if the eventual grade is lower than an A-, those study abroad credits will not count toward the DML and the student will not be accepted into the DML program.
All D.M.L. applicants must take placement tests in both of their D.M.L. languages as a part of the application process.
A student who cannot demonstrate proficiency sufficient to engage in graduate-level studies in the second language may not continue with the program until such proficiency has been attained. Only students who have demonstrated graduate-level proficiency in both the first and second D.M.L. languages will be admitted to the program. Acceptable proficiency may be achieved through study in the appropriate Middlebury Language School before formal application to the D.M.L. program.
Course Work in the Principal Language
In addition to the three units of credit in the principal language that D.M.L. applicants earn during their summer of application, they must complete six courses in the first language. This is usually achieved during subsequent summers but may be accelerated by attending one of the C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad for an academic year. Credit (up to three courses) may be transferred only for first-language work and must be requested in accordance with the regulations of the appropriate School (minimum grade of B+). A student who wishes to transfer courses should contact the Coordinator of the first language School to request the Transfer of Credit form.
Course Work in the Second Language
Students must take [MG1] three courses in the second language, which are often completed in the fourth summer of the program. These must be advanced graduate courses approved by the Director of the second language School. No courses can be transferred toward meeting the second language requirement. All three second language courses must be taken at Middlebury, except for Spanish, where students may choose between the Vermont campus or the summer graduate program in Guadalajara. An M.A. in the second language from one of the Middlebury Language Schools or Schools Abroad is acceptable as fulfillment of the second language requirements. A native speaker of the second language is not exempt from the course requirements.
All coursework must be completed preferably by the end of the fifth summer, and no later than the end of the seventh summer.
Grades
Students must earn a minimum grade of B+ in all course work counted toward D.M.L. requirements. (The minimum grade for the qualifying paper completed during the summer of application is A-.) A student who receives a grade lower than a B+ for any course will not be permitted to continue in the program.
Residency Abroad Requirement
Each D.M.L. student is expected to reside for at least one semester or two summers in a country where the principal D.M.L. language is spoken, in order to gain familiarity with the target culture. Students who are native speakers of their principal language may choose to complete the residency requirement in a country where their second D.M.L. language is spoken. This decision must be made in consultation with the Director of the School in which the student is specializing, and with the Vice President for Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Graduate Programs. Residency abroad does not in itself carry academic credit; however, students may choose to spend an academic year at one of the C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad or a summer at the graduate program in Guadalajara, Mexico, during which they may earn credits applicable toward their degree. Spending one summer in Guadalajara does not entirely fulfill the residency requirement; another summer abroad would be required.
Prior approval of plans for the residency abroad must be obtained by writing to the vice President. Upon completion of the residency abroad requirement, students must document their work in a letter to the Vice President for Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Graduate Programs, who will confirm that requirements have been met. Documented residence abroad within 10 years prior to the summer of application may be considered toward fulfillment of this requirement.
Comprehensive examinations
Comprehensive examinations in the principal language are required upon completion of course work in that language. Reading lists for these exams are provided to D.M.L. students upon their admission to candidacy after the summer of application. A committee appointed by the Director of the School evaluates the written and oral exams.
Exams may be repeated once in case of failure, in the following summer. A candidate who fails the exam the second time may not continue with the program.
More specific information about comprehensive exams and their evaluation will be made available to students enrolled in the program by the Vice President.
Dissertation guidelines will be sent to candidates upon successful completion of examinations.
Teaching Experience
All students in the D.M.L. program must demonstrate competence in language teaching. For D.M.L. candidates who are in-service teachers, this is simply a matter of documenting experience. Documentation consists of three letters from teaching colleagues or supervisors attesting to the D.M.L. candidate’s teaching experience, which may have taken place prior to the summer of application. These letters must be on official letterhead and written after the completion of qualifying examinations. Prospective D.M.L. students without language teaching experience should consult with the Vice President for Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Graduate Programs regarding alternative ways of fulfilling this requirement.
Dissertation
D.M.L. candidates will submit a dissertation prospectus to the Director of the School of the principal language in the summer during which course work is completed and no later than the end of the seventh summer. The Director will recommend the proposed topic for approval by the Vice President. Upon approval of the topic, the student prepares the dissertation in close consultation with both the dissertation adviser and the Director of the School. Both the prospectus and the dissertation itself must be written in the principal language. The dissertation must conform to the format outlined in the latest edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or the Manual of the American Psychological Association.
Four copies of the dissertation must be submitted to the Vice President for Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Graduate Programs by June 1 of the summer in which the dissertation will be defended[MG2] . The dissertation fee is also required at this time. No extensions will be granted.
Within one week after submitting your dissertation, you will also need to submit a 3-5 page summary of your dissertation in your second language. This is to facilitate discussion of your thesis with the member of your dissertation committee who is a specialist in your second language.
Dissertation Defense
A D.M.L. candidate is required to defend his or her dissertation before a committee appointed by the Director of the School, and composed of the dissertation adviser, at least two readers, and, if possible, a representative of the second language. The oral defense is generally scheduled for late July following the submission of the dissertation.
In case of failure, a student is required to rewrite the dissertation within two years and submit it for a second defense. No extensions will be granted.
The office of the Vice President will make more specific guidelines on the preparation and defense of the dissertation available to students enrolled in the program.
Successful completion of the dissertation and its defense must be made no later than the 10th summer following the summer of application.
Completion of Requirements
All degree requirements must be completed within 10 years following the summer of application, e.g., if the summer of application is 2005, the dissertation must have been successfully defended by the end of the summer of 2015.