The Ph.D. is designed to take four years for completion. Students must enroll in the program full-time, be available for classes and regular on-campus consultation for at least the first two calendar years, and complete a minimum of six terms beyond the MA. Students are expected to proceed through the program in a timely fashion. Normally, students must complete the course work and finish their preliminary proposal in the first year; comprehensive exams, presentation of the dissertation proposal, and acceptance of the proposal in the second year; and the dissertation project in the third and fourth years. The responsibilities of the supervisor and the supervisory committee notwithstanding, the candidate is responsible for ensuring that program requirements and deadlines are met in a timely fashion. Students must demonstrate reading knowledge of a second language relevant to the field andor the dissertation. If the topic of the dissertation makes knowledge of a third language essential, the candidate must demonstrate competence in this language as well. Students are not permitted to begin their dissertation until all language requirements are met.