University of Colorado at Boulder To Pilot Four-Year German PhD

From http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/05/02/proposed-phd-german-colorado-aims-halve-time-degree

Humanities Ph.D. in 4 Years
by Mitch Smith
May 2, 2012

Beginning next fall, students at the University of Colorado at Boulder can earn a Ph.D. in German studies in about half the time it might take to earn that degree elsewhere. The program has been approved by campus administrators and the Board of Regents and is likely to be finalized at the state higher education commission’s meeting this week.

The goal is to have students in and out in four years, Professor Ann Schmiesing said. Colorado’s program, which has been in development for almost half a decade, will admit two students a year and pair them with faculty mentors.

Students will spend two years focused on classwork, one year doing research (perhaps in Germany) and the final year writing their dissertation. … The difference is in a lighter teaching burden and one-on-one mentoring, allowing more focus on classroom work earlier on in the program and more guidance on research and the dissertation.

Colorado administrators and others believe the program could be a model elsewhere, both in German and other humanities disciplines.

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/05/02/proposed-phd-german-colorado-aims-halve-time-degree#ixzz1v4HaQ6Ni