About the Program

The Designated emphasis (DE) in Dutch Studies provides curricular and research resources for students who want to concentrate on Dutch Studies within their respective disciplines and have their work formally recognized in their degree designation. Designed to bring together faculty and students from different departments, the DE will be administered by the Graduate Group in Dutch Studies and will provide a unique context for rigorous cross-disciplinary research. Sponsoring departments include German, History, History of Art, Southeast Asian Studies, African-American Studies, Comparative Literature, French, and Sociology. However, the DE is open to interested students regardless of whether their home department is officially affiliated with the DE. The program will help advance Berkeley’s position as America’s leading Dutch Studies program and facilitate research in and cooperation with other universities in the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Indonesia, and the Caribbean, for example, who also have strong Dutch Studies programs. Students applying to the DE must be prepared to integrate high-level research in Dutch Studies into their coursework, qualifying exam and dissertation.

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Admissions

To be admitted to the Designated Emphasis in Development Engineering, an applicant must already be accepted into a PhD program at the University of California, Berkeley. For further information regarding admission to graduate programs at UC Berkeley, please see the Graduate Division's Admissions website .

Students are required to fill out a form requesting admission, listing their prior preparation in the field, and their projected pathway through the program. In addition, they have to submit a brief essay stating interests and reasons for applying, a CV, a writing sample, and a letter of recommendation from a faculty member in the student’s home department indicating why and how the student would benefit from the DE.

Students must be admitted to the DE prior to taking their Qualifying Exams. Admission will be determined on the basis of how coherently and logically the student can articulate the value of the DE for her/his larger course of study and career goals, as well as on the quality of the written work.

Designated Emphasis Requriements

Curriculum/Coursework

Students admitted to the Designated Emphasis Program must complete the following requirements before applying for their Qualifying Examination:

Qualifying Examination

A member of the Graduate Group in Dutch Studies must be a formal member of the PhD Qualifying Examination committee of the DE student. Under most circumstances, the Graduate Group member in the student’s home department will serve in this function. A member of the Graduate Group may also serve as the outside member of the Qualifying Exam committee if not a faculty member of the student’s major. At least one Dutch Studies topic must be included as a subject on the Qualifying Examination. Satisfactory performance on the Qualifying Examination for the PhD will be judged according to the established rules in the student’s major program.

Dissertation

A member of the Graduate Group in Dutch Studies must be a formal member of the dissertation committee of the DE student. The dissertation must (partially) relate to Dutch Studies (Dutch culture, history, politics, art, literature, linguistics, sociology, etc.).

Degree conferral

Upon completion of all requirements of the student’s major program and the DE in Dutch Studies, students will receive a designation on their transcript and diploma stating that they have completed a “PhD in ( . . . ) with a Designated Emphasis in Dutch Studies.”

Courses

Dutch Studies