Students in the Ph.D. program take ten courses; prepare and take preliminary exams in four fields which they design themselves; propose a dissertation topic; and write a dissertation. Students receive either an M.A. in American Studies (after the completion of eight courses) or the M.A. in Public Humanities (after an additional two courses, a summer practicum, and a preliminary exam field in Public Humanities) on their way to the PhD. Students serve as teaching assistants and, in addition, often get the opportunity to teach their own classes. Courses and advisors (or dissertation directors) can be found in any department within Brown.