Programs of Study
Graduate Options
M.A. and Ph.D. Programs
Most students wishing to do the equivalent of a full degree program in folklore work through the Department of Comparative Studies or the Department of English in the College of Humanities. Each of these departments has requirements specific to it, but is accustomed to admitting and supporting self-identified folklorists and provides the opportunity to take a full range of folklore coursework and work with folklore faculty. Students should be aware that admission at PhD level is much more competitive than at MA level owing to a smaller number of places.Students wishing to come to OSU to study folklore are very strongly advised to contact the Center Director and other faculty members to determine which program at OSU (or outside of it) offers the best match for their interests and professional goals. In general, students working on English-language topics, particularly verbal art, find a good fit in English; students working in other languages and on comparative or interdisciplinary issues are advised to look at Comparative Studies; students working on specific oral traditions should look at the relevant language departments, such as East Asian Languages and Literatures or Near Eastern Languages and Cultures; students concentrating on music should consider the Ethnomusicology program; students with a strong interest in performance studies should consider Theatre in addition to English and Comparative Studies; and students working on arts education and policy should look at the program in Arts Education.
Financial support is organized by the student's primary department: for details see the relevant departmental Web page. The Center has a few additional sources of student support, generally for second- and third-year students: a 50% Center Assistant, a 25% Archivist, and occasionally other 25% positions attached to research projects. These opportunities are open only to folklore students active in the Center and familiar with its range of activities. The Center also provides small grants supporting student travel for research and conference presentations.
The Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization
Students wishing to earn a formal credential in folklore may earn a Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization, an interdepartmental minor in folklore. The Folklore G.I.S. was approved by the Council for Academic Affairs in September 2007 and is co-sponsored by thirteen departments from four colleges. Open to Masters and PhD students in any department, it provides both focus and flexibility for students, balancing core courses with electives that can overlap with the student’s degree program.The GIS can serve as the foundation of a full program of folklore coursework or as a secondary specialization. It provides an opportunity for students in a wide range of fields to pay focused attention to vernacular communicative resources and vernacular expression in art, religion, and politics (the latter a particular strength of our folklore faculty). Folklore's emphasis on ethnographic grounding and "theories of the middle range" allows students interested in globalization, cultural change, and democratization to understand these processes from the perspective of local actors. Tracing the emergence of vernacular cultural forms, their movements through informal channels, and their adaptations across time and space, folklore provides an important complement to the study of formal institutions. A secondary specialization in folklore is a valuable credential for jobseekers both inside academia and in nonprofit and public institutions. See the GIS requirements page.
