phd english eligibility

PhD Program in English Language and Literature

The department enrolls an average of ten PhD students each year. Our small size allows us to offer a generous financial support package. We also offer a large and diverse graduate faculty with competence in a wide range of literary, theoretical and cultural fields. Each student chooses a special committee that works closely along side the student to design a course of study within the very broad framework established by the department. The program is extremely flexible in regard to course selection, the design of examinations and the election of minor subjects of concentration outside the department. English PhD students pursuing interdisciplinary research may include on their special committees faculty members from related fields such as comparative literature, medieval studies, Romance studies, German studies, history, classics, women’s studies, linguistics, theatre and performing arts, government, philosophy, and film and video studies.

The PhD candidate is normally expected to complete six or seven one-semester courses for credit in the first year of residence and a total of six or seven more in the second and third years. The program of any doctoral candidate’s formal and informal study, whatever his or her particular interests, should be comprehensive enough to ensure familiarity with:

• The authors and works that have been the most influential in determining the course of English, American, and related literatures
• The theory and criticism of literature, and the relations between literature and other disciplines
• Concerns and tools of literary and cultural history such as textual criticism, study of genre, source, and influence as well as wider issues of cultural production and historical and social contexts that bear on literature

Areas in which students may have major or minor concentrations include African-American literature, American literature to 1865, American literature after 1865, American studies (a joint program with the field of history), colonial and postcolonial literatures, cultural studies, dramatic literature, English poetry, the English Renaissance to 1660, lesbian, bisexual and gay literary studies, literary criticism and theory, the nineteenth century, Old and Middle English, prose fiction, the Restoration and the eighteenth century, the twentieth century, and women's literature.

By the time a doctoral candidate enters the fourth semester of graduate study, the special committee must decide whether he or she is qualified to proceed toward the PhD. Students are required to pass their Advancement to Candidacy Examination before their fourth year of study, prior to the dissertation.

PhD Program specifics can be viewed here: PhD Timeline PhD Procedural Guide

Special Committee

Every graduate student selects a special committee of faculty advisors who work intensively with the student in selecting courses and preparing and revising the dissertation. The committee is comprised of at least three Cornell faculty members: a chair, and typically two minor members usually from the English department, but very often representing an interdisciplinary field. The university system of special committees allows students to design their own courses of study within a broad framework established by the department, and it encourages a close working relationship between professors and students, promoting freedom and flexibility in the pursuit of the graduate degree. The special committee for each student guides and supervises all academic work and assesses progress in a series of meetings with the students.

At Cornell, teaching is considered an integral part of training in academia. The field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience of at least one year for every doctoral candidate as part of the program requirements. The Department of English, in conjunction with the  John S. Knight Institute for Writing  in the Disciplines, offers excellent training for beginning teachers and varied and interesting teaching in the university-wide First-Year Writing Program. The courses are writing-intensive and may fall under such general rubrics as “Portraits of the Self,” “American Literature and Culture,” “Shakespeare,” and “Cultural Studies,” among others. A graduate student may also serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate lecture course taught by a member of the Department of English faculty.

Language Requirements

Each student and special committee will decide what work in foreign language is most appropriate for a student’s graduate program and scholarly interests. Some students’ doctoral programs require extensive knowledge of a single foreign language and literature; others require reading ability in two or more foreign languages. A student may be asked to demonstrate competence in foreign languages by presenting the undergraduate record, taking additional courses in foreign languages and literature, or translating and discussing documents related to the student’s work. Students are also normally expected to provide evidence of having studied the English language through courses in Old English, the history of the English language, grammatical analysis or the application of linguistic study to metrics or to literary criticism. Several departments at Cornell offer pertinent courses in such subjects as descriptive linguistics, psycholinguistics and the philosophy of language.

All PhD degree candidates are guaranteed five years of funding (including a stipend , a full tuition fellowship and student health insurance):

• A first-year non-teaching fellowship
• Two years of teaching assistantships
• A fourth-year non-teaching fellowship for the dissertation writing year
• A fifth-year teaching assistantship
• Summer support for four years, including a first-year summer teaching assistantship, linked to a teachers’ training program at the Knight Institute. Summer residency in Ithaca is required.

Students have also successfully competed for Buttrick-Crippen Fellowship, Society for the Humanities Fellowships, American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), Shin Yong-Jin Graduate Fellowships, Provost’s Diversity Fellowships, fellowships in recognition of excellence in teaching, and grants from the Graduate School to help with the cost of travel to scholarly conferences and research collections.

Admission & Application Procedures

The application for Fall 2024 admission will open on September 15, 2023 and close at 11:59pm EST on December 1, 2023.

Our application process reflects the field’s commitment to considering the whole person and their potential to contribute to our scholarly community.  Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of academic preparation (e.g., performance in relevant courses, completion of substantive, independent research project). An applicant’s critical and creative potential will be considered: applicants should demonstrate interest in extensive research and writing and include a writing sample that reveals a capacity to argue persuasively, demonstrate the ability to synthesize a broad range of materials, as well as offer fresh insights into a problem or text. The committee will also consider whether an applicant demonstrates a commitment to inclusion, equity, and diversity and offers a substantive explanation for why study at Cornell is especially compelling (e.g., a discussion of faculty research and foci). Admissions committees will consider the entire application carefully, including statements and critical writing, as well as transcripts, letters of recommendation, and a resume/cv (if provided). Please view the requirements and procedures listed below, if you are interested in being considered for our PhD in English Language and Literature program.

Eligibility: Applicants must currently have, or expect to have, at least a BA or BS (or the equivalent) in any field before matriculation. International students, please verify degree equivalency here . Applicants are not required to meet a specified GPA minimum.

To Apply: All applications and supplemental materials must be submitted online through the Graduate School application system . While completing your application, you may save and edit your data. Once you click submit, your application will be closed for changes. Please proofread your materials carefully. Once you pay and click submit, you will not be able to make any changes or revisions.

Deadline: December 1st, 11:59pm EST.  This deadline is firm. No applications, additional materials, or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

PhD Program Application Requirements Checklist

• Academic Statement of Purpose Please describe (within 1000 words) in detail the substantive research questions you are interested in pursuing during your graduate studies and why they are significant. Additionally, make sure to include information about any training or research experience that you believe has prepared you for our program. You should also identify specific faculty members whose research interests align with your own specific questions.  Note that the identification of faculty is important; you would be well advised to read selected faculty’s recent scholarship so that you can explain why you wish to study with them. Do not rely on the courses they teach.  Please refrain from contacting individual faculty prior to receiving an offer of admission.
• Personal Statement Please describe (within 1000 words) how your personal background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and the research you wish to conduct.  Explain, for example the meaning and purpose of the PhD in the context of your personal history and future aspirations.  Please note that we will pay additional attention to candidates who identify substantial reasons to obtain a PhD beyond the pursuit of an academic position. Additionally, provide insight into your potential to contribute to a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn (productively and positively) together.
• Critical Writing Sample Your academic writing sample must be between 3,000 and 7,500 words (12-30 pages), typed and double-spaced. We accept excerpts from longer works, or a combination of shorter works.
• Three Letters of Recommendation We require 3 letters of recommendation.  At the time of application, you will be allowed to enter up to 4 recommenders in the system.  Your application will be considered “Complete” when we have received at least 3 letters of recommendation.   Letters of recommendation are due December 1 . Please select three people who best know you and your work. Submitting additional letters will not enhance your application. In the recommendation section of the application, you must include the email address of each recommender. After you save the information (and before you pay/submit), the application system will automatically generate a recommendation request email to your recommender with instructions for submitting the letter electronically. If your letters are stored with a credential service such as Interfolio, please use their Online Application Delivery feature and input the email address assigned to your stored document, rather than that of your recommender’s. The electronic files will be attached to your application when they are received and will not require the letter of recommendation cover page.
• Transcripts Scan transcripts from each institution you have attended, or are currently attending, and upload into the academic information section of the application. Be sure to remove your social security number from all documents prior to scanning. Please do not send paper copies of your transcripts. If you are subsequently admitted and accept, the Graduate School will require an official paper transcript from your degree-awarding institution prior to matriculation.
• English Language Proficiency Requirement All applicants must provide proof of English language proficiency. For more information, please view the  Graduate School’s English Language Requirement .
• GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test are NO LONGER REQUIRED, effective starting with the 2019 application In March 2019, the faculty of English voted overwhelmingly to eliminate all GRE requirements (both general and subject test) for application to the PhD program in English. GRE scores are not good predictors of success or failure in a PhD program in English, and the uncertain predictive value of the GRE exam is far outweighed by the toll it takes on student diversity. For many applicants the cost of preparing for and taking the exam is prohibitively expensive, and the exam is not globally accessible. Requiring the exam narrows our applicant pool at precisely the moment we should be creating bigger pipelines into higher education. We need the strength of a diverse community in order to pursue the English Department’s larger mission: to direct the force of language toward large and small acts of learning, alliance, imagination, and justice.

General Information for All Applicants

Application Fee: Visit the Graduate School for information regarding application fees, payment options, and fee waivers .

Document Identification: Please do not put your social security number on any documents.

Status Inquiries:  Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email. You will also be able to check the completion status of your application in your account. If vital sections of your application are missing, we will notify you via email after the Dec. 1 deadline and allow you ample time to provide the missing materials. Please do not inquire about the status of your application.

Credential/Application Assessments:  The Admission Review Committee members are unable to review application materials or applicant credentials prior to official application submission. Once the committee has reviewed applications and made admissions decisions, they will not discuss the results or make any recommendations for improving the strength of an applicant’s credentials. Applicants looking for feedback are advised to consult with their undergraduate advisor or someone else who knows them and their work.

Review Process:  Application review begins after the submission deadline. Notification of admissions decisions will be made by email by the end of February.

Connecting with Faculty and/or Students: Unfortunately, due to the volume of inquiries we receive, faculty and current students are not available to correspond with potential applicants prior to an offer of admission. Applicants who are offered admission will have the opportunity to meet faculty and students to have their questions answered prior to accepting. Staff and faculty are also not able to pre-assess potential applicant’s work outside of the formal application process. Please email [email protected] instead, if you have questions.

Visiting: The department does not offer pre-admission visits or interviews. Admitted applicants will be invited to visit the department, attend graduate seminars and meet with faculty and students before making the decision to enroll.

Transfer Credits:  Students matriculating with an MA degree may, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies, receive credit for up to two courses once they begin our program.

For Further Information

Contact [email protected]

Ph.D. Program

Click  here for the Handbook for Graduate Study in English .  This document includes departmental policies and procedures concerned with graduate study.

The Berkeley English Department offers a wide-ranging Ph.D. program, engaging in all historical periods of British and American literature, Anglophone literature, and critical and cultural theory. The program aims to assure that students gain a broad knowledge of literature in English as well as the highly-developed skills in scholarship and criticism necessary to do solid and innovative work in their chosen specialized fields.

Please note that the department does not offer a Master’s Degree program or a degree program in Creative Writing. Students can, however, petition for an M.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing upon completion of the Ph.D. course requirements (one of which must be a graduate writing workshop) and submission of a body of creative work.

Students interested in combining a Ph.D. in English with studies in another discipline may pursue Designated Emphases or Concurrent Degrees in a number of different fields

Normative time to complete the program is six years. The first two years are devoted to fulfilling the course and language requirements. The third year is spent preparing for and taking the Ph.D. oral qualifying examination. The fourth through sixth years are devoted to researching and writing the prospectus and dissertation.

The general goal of the first two years is to assure that the students have a broad and varied knowledge of the fields of British and American literature in their historical dimensions, and are also familiar with a wide range of literary forms, critical approaches, and scholarly methods. Students will complete twelve courses distributed as follows:

• 1) English 200, “Problems in the Study of Literature”
• 2) Medieval through 16 th -Century
• 3) 17 th - through 18 th -Century
• 4) 19 th -Century
• 5) 20 th -Century
• 6) a course organized in terms other than chronological coverage.
• 7-12) Elective courses.

(A thirteenth required course in pedagogy can be taken later.) Students who have done prior graduate course work may transfer up to three courses for credit toward the 12-course requirement. Up to five of the 12 courses may be taken in other departments.

Students must demonstrate either proficiency in two foreign languages or advanced knowledge in one foreign language before the qualifying examination. There are no "canonical languages" in the department. Rather, each specifies which languages are to count, how they relate to the student's intellectual interests, and on which level knowledge is to be demonstrated. "Proficiency" is understood as the ability to translate (with a dictionary) a passage of about 300 words into idiomatic English prose in ninety minutes. The proficiency requirement may also be satisfied by completing one upper-division or graduate literature course in a foreign language. The advanced knowledge requirement is satisfied by completing two or three literature courses in the language with a grade of "B" or better.

At the end of the second year each student’s record is reviewed in its entirety to determine whether or not he or she is able and ready to proceed to the qualifying exam and the more specialized phase of the program.

The Qualifying Examination

Students are expected to take the qualifying examination within one year after completing course and language requirements. The qualifying exam is oral and is conducted by a committee of five faculty members. The exam lasts approximately two hours and consists of three parts: two comprehensive historical fields and a third field which explores a topic in preparation for the dissertation. The exam is meant both as a culmination of course work and as a test of readiness for the dissertation.

The Prospectus and Dissertation

The prospectus consists of an essay and bibliography setting forth the nature of the research project, its relation to existing scholarship and criticism on the subject, and its anticipated value. Each candidate must have a prospectus conference with the members of their committee and the Graduate Chair to discuss the issues outlined in the proposal and to give final approval to the project. The prospectus should be approved within one or two semesters following the qualifying exam.

The dissertation is the culmination of the student's graduate career and is expected to be a substantial and original work of scholarship or criticism. Students within normative time complete the dissertation in their fourth through sixth years.

PhD Program

The English Department will begin reviewing completed MA applications on January 1, 2024 and will continue to accept them until the March 15, 2024 deadline

BU PhD Program Profile metrics

Requirements for the PhD

In the PhD Program, students move toward specialization in a particular area of study. The requirements include:

• Sixteen graduate-level courses, including a required eight courses taken in the first year.
• A successful review by the Graduate Committee upon completion of the first year.
• Demonstration of a reading knowledge of one foreign language at an advanced level or two foreign languages at an intermediate level – including one language completed as part of the first year.
• Completion of a Qualifying Oral Examination
• Submission and approval of a Dissertation Prospectus
• Completion and defense of a Ph.D. dissertation

Please note that successful completion of requirements in the first year earns each Ph.D. student an M.A. degree as a matter of course.

Satisfactory Academic Progress for PhD Students

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of English guarantee five full years (12 months each) of financial support for PhD students who maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress . This support will be in the form of Teaching Fellowships or Graduate Fellowships. All requirements for the doctorate, including dissertation, must be completed within seven years (exceptions require a petition to GRS). A leave of absence of up to two semesters is permitted for appropriate cause.

Given these time constraints, students should work closely with their advisers and dissertation readers to devise an efficient schedule for meeting all benchmarks. Faculty and students share responsibility for adhering closely to this schedule.

The following achievements are required to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress:

Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, have no more than 2 failing grades (lower than B- or an incomplete grade older than 12 months), and pass qualifying exams and other milestones on the following recommended schedule:

Year 1:      Eight graduate courses – for the M.A. degree / first foreign language requirement.

Year 2:      Continue course work and study toward the completion of the language requirement.

Year 3:     Complete course work and language requirements. In the fall of the third year, students take the pro-seminar (EN794 A1), in which they develop their Qualifying Oral Examination rationale and reading list, and form an oral exam committee.

Year 4:      Fall: Students should take the Qualifying Exam early in the Fall semester.

Spring: Prospectus submitted and dissertation writing begins.

Years 5+ : Dissertation.

Additional departmental details regarding all stages of the degree can be found in the graduate handbook

For GRS college policies and general information please see the Graduate Bulletin

Robert Chodat, Director of Graduate Studies

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The graduate program in English provides you with a broad knowledge in the discipline, including critical and cultural theory and literary history. This solid foundation enables you to choose your own path based on the wide variety of areas of concentration. Our flexible program allows you to take courses outside the department to further explore your chosen field(s). Our program emphasizes excellence in writing, innovative scholarship, and eloquent presentations—important skills you will need in your future profession. The program and its faculty are committed both to diversity in its student body and in the diversity of thought and scholarship.

Examples of student theses and dissertations include “The Write to Stay Home: Southern Black Literature from the Great Depression to Early Twenty-first Century,” “Profaning Theater: The Drama of Religion on the Modernists Stage,” and “Sentimental Borders: Genre and Geography in the Literature of Civil War and Reconstruction.”

Graduates have secured faculty positions at institutions such as Brown University, Columbia University, and University of California, Los Angeles. Others have begun their careers with leading organizations such as Google and McKinsey & Company.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of English and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Areas of Study

Unspecified | Medieval | Renaissance/Early Modern | 18th Century/Enlightenment | 19th Century British/Romantics/Victorian | Early American (to 1900) | 20th Century British | 20th Century American | Criticism and Theory | The English Language | Transnational Anglophone/Postcolonial | African American Literature | Drama | Poetry

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of English .

Writing Sample

The writing samples (one primary and one secondary) are highly significant parts of the application. Applicants should submit 2 double-spaced, 15-page papers of no more than 5,000 words each, in 12-point type with 1-inch margins. The writing samples must be examples of critical writing (rather than creative writing) on subjects directly related to English. Applicants should not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt or excerpts but should edit the samples themselves so that they submit only 15 pages for each paper. Applicants who know the field in which they expect to specialize should, when possible, submit a primary writing sample related to that field.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose is not a personal statement and should not be heavily weighted down with autobiographical anecdotes. It should be no longer than 1,000 words. It should give the admissions committee a clear sense of applicants’ individual interests and strengths. Applicants need not indicate a precise field of specialization if they do not know, but it is helpful to know something about a candidate’s professional aspirations and sense of their own skills, as well as how the Harvard Department of English might help in attaining their goals. Those who already have a research topic in mind should outline it in detail, giving a sense of how they plan their progress through the program. Those who do not should at least attempt to define the questions and interests they foresee driving their work over the next few years.

Standardized Tests

GRE: Not Accepted

While there are no specific prerequisites for admission, a strong language background helps to strengthen the application, and students who lack it should be aware that they will need to address these gaps during their first two years of graduate study.

While a candidate's overall GPA is important, it is more important to have an average of no lower than A- in literature (and related) courses. In addition, while we encourage applications from candidates in programs other than English, they must have both the requisite critical skills and a foundation in English literature for graduate work in English. Most of our successful candidates have some knowledge of all the major fields of English literary study and advanced knowledge of the field in which they intend to study.

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for English

See list of English faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

Ph.D. Admissions FAQs

What graduate degrees does Stanford offer in English?

The English department offers both the Ph.D. and MA degree, but the graduate program is primarily oriented towards the Ph.D. degree.  MA degrees are awarded to Stanford coterminal BA students or en route to the Ph.D.   We do not accept external applicants directly to the MA program.

How long does it take to take to earn a Ph.D. in English at Stanford?

The typical time to degree is 6 years, although it is quite possible to complete all the requirements in 5 years. Most of the first two years are spent in coursework and the qualifying examination. The end of the second year and the beginning of the third year are spent preparing for the oral exam which is usually taken by the end of autumn quarter of the third year. By the beginning of the fourth year students have defined a research project and present this proposal to their committee. The remaining time is spent researching and writing the dissertation

What financial support is available? Are international students eligible for financial support?

All students admitted to the English Ph.D. program receive five years of 12-month funding. Financial support is provided through a combination of fellowship stipend and tuition, and assistantship salaray and tuition allowance. Students in good academic standing also receive funding in the sixth year of the program. Additional funding is provided to support academic and research expenses such as conference attendance and travel.

Stanford's  Knight-Hennessy Scholars program  also awards up to 100 graduate students every year with full funding. Please refer to the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program page for important information.

What are the language requirements for the program?

Ph.D. candidates must prove reading knowledge of two foreign languages. Ideally, applicants will have language proficiency before admission, as it is not practical to acquire two languages from scratch given the rigors of the program.

Will I have opportunities to teach during the program?

Pedagogy is an integral part of our program and we require students to participate in a pedagogical seminar in the first year.  Typically a student will teach three times as a teaching assistant in a literature course. For the fourth course, students will have the option of applying to design and teach a tutorial for undergraduate English majors or teaching a fourth quarter as a T.A.. 

How can I find faculty in my field of interest?  Is it important that I contact a specific professor prior to applying?

The faculty profiles are categorized by field of interest. Applicants are encouraged to contact faculty directly regarding research interests. However, faculty members do not admit students directly as “their own”.  Students are not admitted to work with particular faculty members; rather, we admit the set of students who we feel are the strongest and would benefit the most from the kind of graduate education that we provide.  That is, admissions decisions are not made by individual faculty members, but rather are made by the English Graduate Admissions Committee which includes a subset of the faculty and graduate students.

Is an online program of study or are online courses in English available?

The department does not offer online or distance learning instruction in English.  Students in an English degree program are expected to be in residence.

Can I attend the Ph.D. or MA program part-time?

No, these programs are designed with the expectation that students will be devoting all their time to their graduate study.

Can I start the graduate program in the winter or spring quarter?

No, the department admits applicants to the autumn quarter only.

Can I be a visiting student in the Stanford English department?

Students enrolled as Ph.D. students at other Universities may apply to visit the English department for periods ranging from one quarter to an academic year.  For information, deadlines and fees involved see Research Policy Handbook .

Is it possible to transfer into the Stanford graduate program from another graduate program?

We do not accept transfer students per se.  Students currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program elsewhere must apply through the regular admissions process.  Up to 45 quarter units of graduate coursework previously taken towards a graduate degree may be transferred towards the Ph.D. degree at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies after the first year of study. Typically this does not lessen the time to degree since students are expected to complete all Ph.D. requirements (qualifying exam, language requirements, dissertation proposal, dissertation, etc.), though some slight adjustments might be made to how they fulfill some of the course requirements.  

May I request information about your program?

The most up-to-date information about English at Stanford can be found on our web site:  individual faculty and graduate student interests, courses currently offered and degree requirements.  If you have specific questions after perusing our pages, please email us at  englishadmissions [at] lists.stanford.edu ( englishadmissions[at]lists[dot]stanford[dot]edu )  .

Will you mail me application materials?

Stanford’s graduate admissions application is found on-line at:  https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/apply/apply-now

Can I arrange a visit to the English department?

Prior to visiting, prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the department’s student services manager and specific faculty to arrange individual appointments.  It is helpful to include a little about your background and interests in English in your email.  We do not recommend visiting the department without an appointment as faculty may be busy with prior commitments.  We ask that you do not visit while applications are under review in January and February.

When is the application deadline?

The deadline for admission for the 2025-26 academic year is December 1, 2024.

Am I eligible to apply for the Ph.D. program in English?

You are eligible for admission to graduate programs at Stanford as long as you have either completed a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association; or completed an international degree that is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree from a college or university of recognized standing.

How selective is the admissions process for the Ph.D. program?

We are able to matriculate about 4-6 students with funding from an applicant pool of 200+.

What does the admissions committee look for when reviewing applications?

In reviewing applications for our Ph.D. program, we look for evidence that the applicant not only will thrive in our graduate program, but will go on to put the training we offer to fruitful use in an academic or a non-academic career.  We look for evidence of:

• academic potential as evidenced in past academic achievement
• an understanding of, and passion for, research
• a good fit between the applicant’s interests and the interests and capabilities of our faculty

What kind of writing sample should I submit with my application?

A sample of critical or scholarly writing, 12-25 pages in length (not including references). This may be an excerpt from a longer work, such as a senior thesis. It should, however, be clear of grading comments and should preferably be in your expressed field of interest.

What kind of information should I include in my statement of purpose?

The statement of purpose should be designed as a narrative presentation of yourself.  We want to know what you’ve done in English or in related fields, why you want to study English and particularly why you think Stanford is an appropriate place for you to do it.  We want to know what your literary interests are.  If you aren’t sure yet what you plan to do in English, that’s fine, but we want to know that you have some idea of the possibilities.  Don’t repeat things that we will learn from other parts of your application, such as your transcript, but do highlight things you think are particularly important, and do feel free to explain any things in your other materials that you are less proud of.  Caution:  avoid telling us too much about your childhood and your fascination with literature.  The statement of purpose should be ideally 500-600 words, maximum 1000, double spaced.

Do I need to take the GRE?

No, the GRE General and Subject Tests are not required for the Autumn 2023 admissions cycle.

I am an International applicant who speaks and reads English. Do I need to take the TOEFL?

Possibly. If you have a degree from an English-speaking institution, you may not have to take the TOEFL.   Please refer to the  Graduate Admissions web page  for queries regarding the TOEFL.

Do I need to have an MA before I apply to the Ph.D. program?

No. Only about 25% of our graduate students had earned an MA before being admitted to the Ph.D. program.

My undergraduate degree is not in English? Does that matter?

While the majority of our degree candidates have an undergraduate degree in English, we have admitted students from other disciplines, such as Art History, Philosophy and even Astrophysics! However, these students had taken an exceptional number of undergraduate courses in English and were extremely well-prepared for a doctoral program in English.

Will you accept recommendation letters from private credentialing services, such as Interfolio?

Unfortunately, our application system does not work directly with the letter service (such as Interfolio) process. Letters of recommendation must be submitted via the Stanford application system. 

Can letters of recommendation be uploaded before I submit my on-line application?

Your recommenders may upload their letters as soon as you name them in the application process and they receive the instruction email and password.  The letters will then be electronically stored until you submit your application.

My test scores, letters of recommendation, transcripts, or writing sample will be late. What do I do?

All materials for admission to the doctoral program, including letter of recommendation, must be submitted electronically by December 1, 2023. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application materials by mid January.

I have been out of school for several years and there is no one left who can write an academic recommendation for me. May my employer write one?

The purpose of submitting letters of recommendation is to give program faculty an indication of your ability to do scholarly research. It is recommended that current or former professors in your major-field courses be asked by you to submit letters, as they would have the best idea of your research potential. If, however, such persons are no longer available to ask, anyone who you think can best assess your potential for graduate study can be asked to write the letter.

I want to send more than the required number of letters of recommendation because I feel this will enhance my chances of being offered admission. Is this true?

It is not the quantity of letters, rather the quality. You should submit no more than three letters.

Can I apply to more than one department?

Stanford policy allows applicants to apply for only (1) one graduate program per year. However, if the department reviewing your application feels you are better suited to another program, they can opt to transfer your file to another department if you authorize this action on your application.

How much does it cost to apply?

Stanford uses an online application and the fee is $125. This method allows applicants to save data and work on their application from any computer on multiple occasions.

Are there any fee waivers for the $125 fee?

For information on eligibility for fee waivers please refer to  Graduate Application Fee Waiver .

What is the status of my application?

Please check the Graduate Application Status Page in the application portal for updates to your application. 

How are applications reviewed?

Applications are reviewed holistically to assess their promise for teaching and research careers. Heavier emphasis is placed on the writing sample and letters of recommendation.

When do you make decisions?

We make every effort to make offers of admission by the last week in February. Notices of admissions status are delivered at that time via the online application system.  Once decisions have been made, you will receive an email alerting you to check your status.

If I am not accepted, can I receive feedback?

We recognize that a great deal of time and effort is devoted to the application and that applicants may wish to receive feedback on how it could have been improved. Unfortunately, due to many constraints, the Department of English does not provide feedback to applicants denied admission. We wish you every success in your future academic endeavors. 

If I am not accepted, can I reapply?

You are required to complete the online application again, which incurs an application fee. Your application should include a revised Statement of Purpose. We can reuse your transcripts, and Letters of Recommendation if you wish; however, if any changes to these documents attest to your improved suitability to the program, they should be resubmitted. We are unable to access documents from other Stanford departments you have applied to previously.

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Application for admission to the Harvard English Graduate Program is completed through the  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences .  The application deadline for 2023-2024 admission is January 5th, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  For a full list of application requirements and instructions for the application process, please see the  GSAS Application Instructions  and  GSAS Admissions Requirements .

The Harvard English Department does not discriminate against applicants or students on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry or any other protected classification.

The following is a set of general guidelines for the English Department’s admissions process. It should be noted that while several areas are emphasized here, the Admissions Committee carefully examines the overall profile of each applicant, taking these and other aspects of the application into consideration:

Writing Samples

The writing samples (one primary and one secondary) are highly significant parts of the application. Candidates should submit two double-spaced, 15-page papers of no more than 5,000 words each, in 12-point type, and with 1-inch margins. The writing samples must be examples of critical writing (rather than creative writing) on subjects directly related to English. Applicants should not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt or excerpts, but should edit the samples themselves so that they submit only fifteen pages for each paper. Candidates who know the field in which they expect to specialize should, when possible, submit a primary writing sample related to that field.

While candidates’ overall GPA is important, it is more important to have an average of no lower than A- in literature courses (and related courses). In addition, while we encourage applications from candidates in programs other than English, they must have both the requisite critical skills and a foundation in English literature for graduate work in English. Most of our successful candidates have some knowledge of all the major fields of English literary study and advanced knowledge of the field in which they intend to study.

Three Letters of Recommendation

It is important to have strong letters of recommendation from professors who are familiar with candidates’ academic work. Applicants who have been out of school for several years should try to reestablish contact with former professors. Additional letters from employers may also be included. Recommenders should comment not only on the applicant’s academic readiness for our PhD program but also on the applicant’s future potential as teachers and scholars. 

Unfortunately, Interfolio does not work well with Harvard’s online application system. We ask that your recommenders upload their letters directly to the online application, with upload tool provided.

Statement of Purpose

The Statement of Purpose is not a personal statement and should not be heavily weighted down with autobiographical anecdotes. It should be no longer than 1,000 words. It should focus on giving the admissions committee a clear sense of applicants’ individual interests and strengths. Applicants need not indicate a precise field of specialization, if they do not know, but it is helpful to know something about a candidate’s professional aspirations and sense of their own skills, as well as how the Harvard English department might help in attaining their goals. Those who already have a research topic in mind should outline it in detail, giving a sense of how they plan their progress through the program. Those who do not should at least attempt to define the questions and interests they foresee driving their work over the next few years.

While there are no specific prerequisites for admission, a strong language background helps to strengthen the application, and students who lack it should be aware that they will need to address these gaps during their first two years of graduate study. For more details, please see the “Language Requirements” section of the Program Description .

The GRE General and Subject Tests are not required as part of the English PhD application process. Students wishing to send in scores may do so, but they will not be factored into the admissions decision.

Areas of Study

Unspecified | Medieval | Renaissance/Early Modern | 18th Century/Enlightenment | 19th Century British/Romantics/Victorian | Early American (to 1900) | 20th Century British | 20th Century American | Criticism and Theory | The English Language | Transnational Anglophone/Postcolonial | African American Literature | Drama | Poetry

The Harvard English Department is committed to admitting and supporting a diverse community of graduate students. The Department encourages applications from students from all undergraduate institutions and backgrounds, including students of color and underrepresented minorities, queer and transgender students, first-generation students, foreign nationals, and veterans. The Department also encourages applications from students across a range of sub-fields, critical perspectives, and methodological orientations. You can browse current student research interests by going to “Graduate Students” under the “People” tab at the top of this page and sorting by field. For more information about issues of diversity at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, please review the resources and informations below:

Diversity at GSAS

Perspectives: Resources for Minority Applicants 

Smooth Transitions: Organizations and Resources

W.E.B. Du Bois Graduate Society

Graduate Admissions FAQ

How many people apply to the program, and how many are admitted.

The PhD program in English at Harvard is extremely competitive. We receive an average of 300-350 applications per year, and we admit approximately 10-15 students (acceptance rate of about 4-5%).

Does the Department of English offer an MA or MFA?

No; the Department of English only offers a PhD in English Literature. Students already in the doctoral program who have met certain curricular requirements are able to apply for a non-terminal AM degree, but no terminal Master's program exists. We do not offer a graduate program in creative writing.

Does the Department of English offer a degree in TEFL/TESOL/TESL

No, the Department of English does not offer these programs. Our graduate program leads to a PhD in English Literature.

Are international applicants encouraged?

The department welcomes international applicants, including non-native English speakers who have a strong command of the English language. Per GSAS:

"Adequate  command of spoken and written English  is essential to success in graduate study at Harvard. Applicants who are non-native English speakers can demonstrate English proficiency in one of three ways:

• Receiving an undergraduate degree from an academic institution where English is the primary language of instruction.*
• Earning a minimum score of 80 on the Internet based test (iBT) of the  Test of English as a Foreign Language  (TOEFL)**
• Earning a minimum score of 6.5 on the  International English Language Testing System  (IELTS) Academic test.**

A master’s degree or other graduate degree is not accepted as proof of English proficiency.

*Special note for applicants with an undergraduate degree from a US institution where English was not the primary language of instruction: if a portion of your program was conducted in English, you may petition for a waiver of the TOEFL/IELTS requirement. Contact  [email protected]  for details.

**Some degree programs may require a higher score on either the TOEFL or IELTS. Visit your  degree program  page of interest for more information."

Many international students inquire about non-degree granting program. Information for Special Student, Visiting Fellow, and other programs can be found here .

Can accepted students enroll on a part-time basis?

No, our graduate program is full-time, and requires residency at Harvard. The majority of our students take five or six years to obtain their PhD. If you are interested in taking graduate courses part-time, online, and/or at night, you may want to look into the offerings of the Harvard Extension School .

Can accepted students pursue a secondary field of study?

Yes. For a list of fields and more information, please visit the secondary field of study page on the GSAS website . Students who choose to pursue courses for a secondary field remain under GSAS time limits and must meet all milestones and deadlines in the English PhD program.

Does the department offer financial aid?

Admissions decisions are made without knowing the financial need of the applicants, so that financial status (including availability of supplemental funding) plays no role in the assessment of one's suitability for admission. All students (including international students) who are admitted to the PhD program receive full and equal funding, through tuition waivers and modest living stipends. Teaching fellowships are made available to graduate students starting in their third year. You may want to review the "Tuition and Fees" section of GSAS's website for details about other fees and the approximate cost of living in Cambridge.

Can you provide a list of required documents for application?

-  Two writing samples  (one primary and one secondary) 15-pages in length each, double-spaced (bibliographies do not count toward the page limit).

-  A Statement of Purpose  of 1000 words, which gives a clear sense of your strengths and interests and which details what you wish to pursue in a doctoral program.

-  Transcripts  from each college/university attended. The Graduate School requires that you upload your transcript(s) with your online application. Please do not send paper transcripts.

-  Three recommendations  from faculty members who can speak to your academic capabilities.  All recommendations should be uploaded via the GSAS online application system.  Please do not send paper recommendations. We do not recommend the use of Interfolio.

- A minimum score of 80 on the TOEFL iBT (internet-based test) is required for all non-native English speakers who have not received a degree from a university or college in which English is the language of instruction.

What if I am missing any of the required components?

An incomplete application will still be reviewed in its entirety, but it will not be seen as competitive as applications considered "complete."

What if I did not major in English as an undergraduate?

Students admitted to our program have not always been English majors as undergraduates; however, applicants must have both the requisite critical skills and a foundation in English literature for graduate work. This is generally demonstrated by substantial undergraduate coursework and recommendations from faculty in the field. Applicants from other disciplines will sometimes pursue a Master’s degree (or other graduate coursework) in English Literature first – before applying to the PhD program – to obtain a stronger background in the subject.

What if I already have a Master's Degree in English?

If you already have an MA, a maximum of four graduate-level courses may be transferred from the other institution, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies. Transferred courses will count as 100-level courses toward your PhD requirements. Please note that an MA is not required for admission to the PhD Program – and indeed, the majority of our applicants do not have one.

Is proficiency in languages other than English required?

There are no specific language prerequisites for admission, but a solid background in languages other than English, particularly those that would be useful for scholarly research, will strengthen your application. Demonstrated reading knowledge of two languages (usually Latin, Greek, French, German, Spanish, and Italian) is required by the beginning of the third year in the program. You can view examples of past language exams on our  Resources for Grad Students page.

Can I meet with a professor?

Appointments to meet with faculty members must be made by contacting them directly. You can find their contact info on the faculty page .

Where should I mail supplemental application materials?

The entire application system is conducted online. Please do not send any paper materials to the English Department. GSAS admissions also no longer accepts paper materials. 

I'm having a technical problem with the GSAS online application.

The Department of English is not able to troubleshoot or provide help for technical issues with the online application tool. Please click the “Technical Support” link on the application login screen to notify tech support.

When will I hear back about application decisions?

GSAS Admissions sends out letters containing application decisions in early- to mid-March. Please note that the English Department is not able to answer questions about a candidate’s application status over the phone or via email.

Can I study as a visiting fellow at Harvard?

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences offers the option of enrolling as a Special Student or Visiting Fellow. See here for more details. Please note that the Department of English does not play a role in the administration of this program.

I have another question that hasn't been answered here.

Please email questions to [email protected] .

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University of Notre Dame

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Ph.D. in English

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The Ph.D. in English is a highly selective doctoral program at a top-ranked private research university that trains students for the academic profession of literary studies while building knowledge and skills relevant to a wide range of careers. As a student in our program, you will enjoy access to outstanding scholars working in a variety of fields and practicing diverse theoretical and methodological approaches.

Through our classes, individual student mentoring, and professionalization practicums, you will gain advanced training in the many facets of scholarship and professional life, including research methods, pedagogy, writing for publication, applying for funding, and the job search. Our faculty are committed to helping you develop your interests, voice, and skills as a researcher, writer, and teacher.

“I chose Notre Dame for my English Ph.D. because I wanted to land in a program with as much community support as possible. The stresses of graduate school are real, and it's important to be surrounded by supportive people who respect your needs, interests, and personal career goals. Notre Dame’s English Department is filled with faculty and administrators who truly care about setting their students up for success, whether that's on the academic job market or beyond. Throughout my dissertation process, I've been grateful to have a network of faculty and graduate students who are interested in supporting both my area of research and my personal goals.” — Logan Quigley, Ph.D. May 2022

Academic Partnerships

Notre Dame is home to renowned centers and institutes that enrich doctoral study and help build interdisciplinary connections. As a student here you will have the opportunity to participate in projects and colloquia—and apply for additional research and conference support—from institutes including:

• Initiative on Race and Resilience
• Institute for Latino Studies
• Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies
• Medieval Institute
• Nanovic Institute for European Studies
• Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values
• Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study

“As an applicant many years ago, Notre Dame struck me as a place where graduate students were encouraged to find multiple intellectual homes outside their own departments, through centers and institutes that recognize not only the promise of graduate student's intellectual contributions but the precarity of those contributions if left unsupported. I'm happy to say the University delivered, rewarding me time and time again with some of the richest, most rigorous academic conversations and, to boot, the means to pursue the research questions that those conversations generated.” — Arnaud Zimmern, Ph.D. May 2021. Now a Postdoctoral Fellow in the History of Philosophy and Science at Notre Dame

Graduate Minors

As a Ph.D. student in English you might also decide to pursue one of five graduate minors:

• Gender Studies
• Peace Studies
• Irish Studies
• Screen Cultures
• History and Philosophy of Science

International Opportunities

Our Ph.D. program provides exciting opportunities to participate in an array of international opportunities, events, and partnerships. You might, for instance:

• work with scholars in the UK or Germany as part of the “Global Dome” Ph.D. Summer Workshop in History and Literature;
• live and teach at Notre Dame London while conducting your own research;
• participate in the Irish Seminar, joining scholars and students from other institutions for workshops in locations such as Dublin, Paris, or Buenos Aires;
• participate in the International Network for Comparative Humanities (INCH), a series of workshops that bring Notre Dame students together with faculty and students at Princeton and other major universities worldwide.

And, of course, you will have access to support from the department  and a range of other university sources  for research and conference travel.

“As an Irish grad minor, I participated in the Irish Seminar and traveled to Dublin and Kylemore Abbey where I had the wonderful opportunity of learning about Irish literature and culture from renowned international scholars. My participation in the Irish seminar was complemented with my engagement with INCH. For the INCH annual retreats, I traveled to Athens and Rome and got the opportunity to work with scholars and graduate students from various universities in the US and Europe. The international exposure generously provided by the program has significantly enriched my scholarship." — Shinjini Chattopadhyay, Ph.D. January 2022. Now Assistant Professor of Global Anglophone Literatures at Berry College

Have questions about the Ph.D. in English? Contact:

Susan Cannon Harris Director of Graduate Studies Professor of English Email: [email protected]

Blake Holman Graduate Program Coordinator Email:  [email protected]

English Ph.D.

The Ph.D. program in English at the University of Texas at Austin is one of the largest and best doctoral programs of its kind. Ranked in the top 20 English Graduate Programs by U.S. News & World Report , our program offers students intensive research mentoring and pedagogical training in the vibrant setting that is Austin, Texas. In addition, all admitted English PhD students receive six years of full funding .

Drawing on the resources of two units, the Department of English and the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, our program has at its center a dynamic and dedicated faculty of over 60 .

While the Ph.D. program is housed in and administered by the Department of English , the Department of Rhetoric and Writing is a crucial partner in helping to educate our shared students. The make-up of each cohort of students mirrors our unusual interdepartmental collaboration: each year we accept 10-12 students in literature and 4 in rhetoric and digital literacies.

One of the distinguishing features of our program is its collegiality and sense of shared purpose. Students and faculty work collaboratively on a number of departmental and university-wide committees, participate actively in reading and writing groups, and treat one another with respect.

Our program is engaged not only in meeting the challenges of a complex, rapidly changing academic discipline but also in helping to shape it. Our graduate courses examine relationships between writing and other cultural practices and explore the social, historical, rhetorical, and technological processes by which literature and other discourses are constituted. While we take seriously our responsibility to help train the next generation of the professoriate—that is, to cultivate scholarship, effective teaching, and collegiality—we also encourage our students to think of their training and their futures in the broadest terms possible.

Requirements

• Foreign Language Requirement
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All students, regardless of whether they enter with a BA or MA, are required to complete 39 hours of formal graduate coursework taken for a grade before the end of their third year. These 39 hours must include:

• E384K Disciplinary Inquiries, which is taken in the first semester. It may not include other courses under the E384 course number.
• At least one 3-hour seminar on pre-1800 material
• At least one 3-hour seminar on post-1800 material
• At least 3 hours, but no more than 9 hours, taken out of department. Out-of-department courses include: undergraduate English courses taken for graduate credit, creative writing workshops or Literature for Writers courses with the New Writers Project, and supervised study conference courses arranged with individual faculty members.

These curricular requirements ensure that students encounter a wide range of courses, faculty, and texts during their time at UT, extending well beyond their specialized area of interest. Students choose coursework in consultation with the Associate Graduate Advisor, who may allow substitutions for English courses in cases where alternate coursework is needed to supplement departmental offerings. This alternate coursework could take the form of the out-of-department courses listed above. Such substitutions may be warranted in cases where a student is pursuing a portfolio in an interdisciplinary unit such as CWGS, MALS, or AADS; where the English department offers few courses in the student’s area of interest; or where the student needs to pursue a foreign language for research purposes. We encourage students to investigate portfolio options early in their career so they can integrate those courses as soon as possible. Some portfolios require 12 hours of coursework; in those cases, the Associate Graduate Advisor will grant an exception to the 9-hour limit on out-of-department courses.

Students who hold the position of AI are also required to take RHE398T, which is usually taken during the fall semester of their third year, or when a graduate student teaches RHE306 for the first time. RHE398T does not count toward the required 39 hours of formal graduate coursework.

Beginning in their third year of the program, students have the option of enrolling in additional seminars inside or outside the department, choosing whether to take these courses for a grade or for Credit/No Credit.  They can also enroll in E384L Scholarly Publication (usually taken in or after the third year) and E384M Professional Outcomes (usually taken in or after the fourth year). Students take these two courses for Credit/No Credit. The graduate program encourages students to continue enrolling in optional courses throughout their years as a PhD student, while they are reading for exams and planning and writing a dissertation.

In the spring of year three, students must pass the  Third-Year Examination , which tests their knowledge of and engagement with chosen fields of specialization. Students will be examined on either a fixed reading list or a reading list developed by three faculty members in collaboration with the student. The list will contain 60-80 primary and/or secondary texts. The Third-Year Examination consists of a written and an oral component. The written component consists of: 1) a 1000- to 2000-word intellectual rationale for the list; 2) an annotated version of the list (at least 1/3 of the texts with an annotation of 100 words or more each); and 3) two syllabi based on the list—the first for a survey course, the second for an upper-division seminar. Students will then sit for a two-hour oral examination during which the committee will ask questions about both the written materials and the students’ comprehension of the reading list.

The  Prospectus Examination  grants students an opportunity to receive formal feedback from three faculty members on their proposed dissertation project. Students work closely with faculty to write and revise a 15- to 20-page prospectus. Once the faculty members are ready to sign off on the document, an oral Prospectus Examination is scheduled. Students are encouraged to pass the Prospectus Examination by the end of the fall semester of their fourth year in the program.

Doctoral Candidacy  is achieved when students have successfully completed the Third-Year and Prospectus Examinations; fulfilled the foreign language requirement (see below); and identified a dissertation committee of at least four faculty members, one of whom needs to be from another graduate program or institution. All students must spend at least two long semesters, or one long semester and one summer, in candidacy before earning their degree.

The last milestone for the Ph.D. is the  Final Oral Defense , otherwise known as the dissertation defense.  In general, faculty will not schedule a defense until the dissertation is completed and ready for critical engagement.

Students working toward a Ph.D. in English at UT Austin are expected to pursue courses of language study relevant to their individual professional trajectories, as determined in consultation between students themselves; their faculty mentors; and graduate program advisor(s).

Student progress toward appropriate levels of competence will be assessed by means of a four-part  Foreign Language Audit  according to the following schedule:

Fall semester of the first year: Foreign Language Interview with the associate graduate advisor to review prior training, assess current levels of expertise, and, if necessary, begin developing an appropriate language study agenda.

Spring semester of the second year: as part of the Second-Year Reflection, students complete a first Language Study Check-in with the graduate advisor(s) and their faculty sponsor, to ensure that appropriate progress has been made toward execution of the agenda with alteration or addition in light of subfield expectations and project directions.

Spring semester of the third year (in most cases): as part of the Third-Year Exam, students will complete a second Language Study Check-in, this time with their exam committee, to determine whether satisfactory progress has been achieved on their language study agenda, again with alteration or addition in light of subfield expectations and project directions.

Fourth year (in most cases): as part of the Prospectus Exam, students will finalize their Foreign Language Audit. This will involve discussion with the exam committee, along with presentation of all necessary evidence to demonstrate that the language study agenda has been fulfilled. If, in the judgment of the committee, requisite levels of language competence have not been achieved, student and committee will agree upon a binding plan for fulfillment, during which period the student shall remain on probationary status with regard to the Foreign Language Requirement. Successful fulfillment of the Foreign Language Audit must be achieved before the student advances to Ph.D. candidacy.

Notes: Some students will enter the program with sufficient foreign language skills for their course of study (e.g. either compelling evidence of literate knowledge of a language other than English, such as a high school degree from a school in a non-English speaking country, or four or more semesters at the college level of a language other than English with a grade of B or better in the last semester, or its equivalent). These students will not need to complete the final three steps of the FLA.

Program Administration

Associate Chair & Graduate Adviser: Gretchen Murphy

Associate Graduate Adviser (Literature):  Julie Minich

Associate Graduate Adviser (Rhetoric): Scott Graham

Graduate Studies Chair: Tanya Clement

Graduate Program Administrator:  Patricia Schaub

Undergraduate

Humans use stories to cope and thrive, from prehistoric cave paintings to distilling experience in novels, screenplays, and hip hop rhymes. By studying English literature, students learn how to analyze and appreciate the language of the past and to contribute to the narrative of the future. Concentrators will develop expertise in interpreting others’ rhetoric and learn to communicate meaningfully.

The Graduate Program in English aims to provide Ph.D. candidates with a broad knowledge of the field of English, including critical and cultural theory. Additional important skills include facility with the tools of scholarship—ancient and modern foreign languages, bibliographic procedures, and textual and editorial methods. The program also emphasizes the ability to write well, to do solid and innovative scholarly and critical work in a specialized field or fields, to teach effectively, and to make articulate presentations at conferences, seminars, and symposia.

Students enrolled in the Master of Liberal Arts program in English will deepen their understanding of fiction, poetry, and drama while learning to analyze and interpret literary texts. Students will hone their research and writing skills, and become a stronger reader and critical thinker.

• Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)
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Canadian Immigration Updates

Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details

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The UBC English Graduate Program, one of the most vibrant and wide-ranging in Canada, has been awarding the M.A. degree since 1919. Students may earn the degree in each of two areas: English Literature and English Language. Indeed, the UBC English Department is one of the few departments in North America to offer a language program in addition to its literary programs.

English Language

The English Language program includes specializations in history and structure of language, discourse and genre analysis, and history and theory of rhetoric. Faculty members in the Language program teach and supervise research in descriptive linguistics, historical linguistics, cognitive linguistics, functional grammar, semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, stylistics, genre studies, and history and theory of rhetoric. Students in the English Literature program can take advantage of Language graduate courses; recent offerings include courses on reported speech and its rhetorical versatility across genres; the uses of classical rhetoric for contemporary critical practice; and cognitive approaches to the language of literature. By the same token, Language students can take advantage of the wide variety of Literature courses our department offers.

English Literature

The English Literature program includes specializations across the periods, genres, and major figures of British, North American and World Literature in English. Current research initiatives on the part of faculty include such diverse topics as the ecocritical study of Renaissance drama; the triumph of transport in Romantic poetry; the impact of radio and television on modernist poetics; the politics of post-identity in Asian American literature, and the role of war and its traumatic shocks in twentieth-century Canadian, U.S. and British literature. Graduate students can also choose to work across disciplinary fields, taking advantage of UBC's outstanding interdisciplinary programs in Medieval Studies, Canadian and U.S. Studies, Studies in Sexuality, and Science and Technology Studies, among others.

For specific program requirements, please refer to the departmental program website

What makes the program unique?

The Graduate Program of the Department of English is a vibrant community of more than 50 graduate faculty and 100 graduate students. An active graduate caucus, extensive campus resources, and such local resources as departmental research seminars, a graduate reading room, and a dedicated graduate program office, ensure that our students are well-supported in a collegial atmosphere throughout their programs. A pedagogy training program prepares our students to teach both during and after their programs.

Pursuing a graduate degree has given me the space and resources to develop my ideas into work that I hope can make a positive impact

Olivia Dreisinger

Quick Facts

Program enquiries, admission information & requirements, 1) check eligibility, minimum academic requirements.

The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies establishes the minimum admission requirements common to all applicants, usually a minimum overall average in the B+ range (76% at UBC). The graduate program that you are applying to may have additional requirements. Please review the specific requirements for applicants with credentials from institutions in:

• Canada or the United States
• International countries other than the United States

Each program may set higher academic minimum requirements. Please review the program website carefully to understand the program requirements. Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission as it is a competitive process.

English Language Test

Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must provide results of an English language proficiency examination as part of their application. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application.

Minimum requirements for the two most common English language proficiency tests to apply to this program are listed below:

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language - internet-based

Overall score requirement : 104

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

Overall score requirement : 7.5

Other Test Scores

Some programs require additional test scores such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Test (GMAT). The requirements for this program are:

The GRE is not required.

Prior degree, course and other requirements

Document requirements.

IELTS = 7.5 overall band score with no component less that 7.0.

2) Meet Deadlines

3) prepare application, transcripts.

All applicants have to submit transcripts from all past post-secondary study. Document submission requirements depend on whether your institution of study is within Canada or outside of Canada.

Letters of Reference

A minimum of three references are required for application to graduate programs at UBC. References should be requested from individuals who are prepared to provide a report on your academic ability and qualifications.

Statement of Interest

Many programs require a statement of interest , sometimes called a "statement of intent", "description of research interests" or something similar.

Supervision

Students in research-based programs usually require a faculty member to function as their thesis supervisor. Please follow the instructions provided by each program whether applicants should contact faculty members.

Instructions regarding thesis supervisor contact for Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD)

Citizenship verification.

Permanent Residents of Canada must provide a clear photocopy of both sides of the Permanent Resident card.

4) Apply Online

All applicants must complete an online application form and pay the application fee to be considered for admission to UBC.

Research Information

Program components.

The English program now offers the opportunity to participate in the PhD Co-op program.

Tuition & Financial Support

Financial support.

Applicants to UBC have access to a variety of funding options, including merit-based (i.e. based on your academic performance) and need-based (i.e. based on your financial situation) opportunities.

Program Funding Packages

From September 2024 all full-time students in UBC-Vancouver PhD programs will be provided with a funding package of at least $24,000 for each of the first four years of their PhD. The funding package may consist of any combination of internal or external awards, teaching-related work, research assistantships, and graduate academic assistantships. Please note that many graduate programs provide funding packages that are substantially greater than $24,000 per year. Please check with your prospective graduate program for specific details of the funding provided to its PhD students.

Average Funding

• 16 students received Teaching Assistantships. Average TA funding based on 16 students was $11,126.
• 10 students received Academic Assistantships. Average AA funding based on 10 students was $6,645.
• 23 students received internal awards. Average internal award funding based on 23 students was $21,501.
• 8 students received external awards. Average external award funding based on 8 students was $27,112.

Scholarships & awards (merit-based funding)

All applicants are encouraged to review the awards listing to identify potential opportunities to fund their graduate education. The database lists merit-based scholarships and awards and allows for filtering by various criteria, such as domestic vs. international or degree level.

Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA)

Many professors are able to provide Research Assistantships (GRA) from their research grants to support full-time graduate students studying under their supervision. The duties constitute part of the student's graduate degree requirements. A Graduate Research Assistantship is considered a form of fellowship for a period of graduate study and is therefore not covered by a collective agreement. Stipends vary widely, and are dependent on the field of study and the type of research grant from which the assistantship is being funded.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Graduate programs may have Teaching Assistantships available for registered full-time graduate students. Full teaching assistantships involve 12 hours work per week in preparation, lecturing, or laboratory instruction although many graduate programs offer partial TA appointments at less than 12 hours per week. Teaching assistantship rates are set by collective bargaining between the University and the Teaching Assistants' Union .

Graduate Academic Assistantships (GAA)

Academic Assistantships are employment opportunities to perform work that is relevant to the university or to an individual faculty member, but not to support the student’s graduate research and thesis. Wages are considered regular earnings and when paid monthly, include vacation pay.

Financial aid (need-based funding)

Canadian and US applicants may qualify for governmental loans to finance their studies. Please review eligibility and types of loans .

All students may be able to access private sector or bank loans.

Foreign government scholarships

Many foreign governments provide support to their citizens in pursuing education abroad. International applicants should check the various governmental resources in their home country, such as the Department of Education, for available scholarships.

Working while studying

The possibility to pursue work to supplement income may depend on the demands the program has on students. It should be carefully weighed if work leads to prolonged program durations or whether work placements can be meaningfully embedded into a program.

International students enrolled as full-time students with a valid study permit can work on campus for unlimited hours and work off-campus for no more than 20 hours a week.

A good starting point to explore student jobs is the UBC Work Learn program or a Co-Op placement .

Tax credits and RRSP withdrawals

Students with taxable income in Canada may be able to claim federal or provincial tax credits.

Canadian residents with RRSP accounts may be able to use the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) which allows students to withdraw amounts from their registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to finance full-time training or education for themselves or their partner.

Please review Filing taxes in Canada on the student services website for more information.

Cost Estimator

Applicants have access to the cost estimator to develop a financial plan that takes into account various income sources and expenses.

Career Outcomes

51 students graduated between 2005 and 2013. Of these, career information was obtained for 47 alumni (based on research conducted between Feb-May 2016):

Sample Employers in Higher Education

Sample employers outside higher education, sample job titles outside higher education, phd career outcome survey, career options.

Upon completion of their graduate degrees, students can expect further mentoring and support in the job search process. Former doctoral students of the UBC English program have obtained permanent positions at universities and colleges in Canada and abroad; recent appointments have included the University of Alberta, Simon Fraser University, Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Victoria, the University College of the Fraser Valley, Kwantlen University, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, the Université de Moncton, Montana State University, and Whitman College. Our doctoral students have also been very successful in securing post-doctoral fellowships in Canada and the US.

Alumni on Success

Stephen Ney

Job Title Lecturer

Employer The University of British Columbia

Enrolment, Duration & Other Stats

These statistics show data for the Doctor of Philosophy in English (PhD). Data are separated for each degree program combination. You may view data for other degree options in the respective program profile.

ENROLMENT DATA

Completion rates & times.

• Research Supervisors

Advice and insights from UBC Faculty on reaching out to supervisors

These videos contain some general advice from faculty across UBC on finding and reaching out to a supervisor. They are not program specific.

This list shows faculty members with full supervisory privileges who are affiliated with this program. It is not a comprehensive list of all potential supervisors as faculty from other programs or faculty members without full supervisory privileges can request approvals to supervise graduate students in this program.

• Al-Kassim, Dina (Critical identity, ethnic and race studies; English language; Gender, sexuality and education; Human rights, justice, and ethical issues; anti-colonial; Artistic and Literary Movements, Schools and Styles; Artistic and Literary Theories; Arts and Cultural Traditions; Arts, Literature and Subjectivity; comparative literature: Arabic, English, French; feminist; Gender Relationship; Identity and Transnationality; Philosophy, History and Comparative Studies; postcolonial; psychoanalysis; queer theory; sexuality; Subjectivity)
• Anger, Suzy (Victorian Literature, Literature and Philosophy, Victorian Literature and Psychology, Victorian Literature and Science, Hermeneutics)
• Antwi, Phanuel (critical black studies; settler colonial studies; black Atlantic and diaspora studies; Canadian literature and culture since 1830; critical race, gender, and sexuality studies; and material cultures; )
• Badir, Patricia (English language; Canadian Modernism; Early Modern Drama; Early Modern Literature and Religion; Medieval Drama; Shakespeare; Shakespeare in Canada)
• Bain, Kimberly (History, theory, and philosophy of the African diaspora; Race, gender, environmental and medical racism; Anthropocene; Black arts and letters)
• Briggs, Marlene (war and conflict; cultural transmission and reception of the First World War (1914-1918) in modern and contemporary British literature )
• Britton, Dennis (early modern English literature; history of race; Critical Race Theory; Protestant theology; history of emotion)
• Burgess, Miranda (English language; Arts, Literature and Subjectivity; British and Irish Romanticism; history of feeling (affect, emotion, sensation); history of literary form; history of media and mediation; poetics; riparian and oceanic studies)
• Cavell, Richard Anthony (English language; Media and Society; Media Influence on Behavior; Media Types (Radio, Television, Written Press, etc.); media studies; media theory)
• Chapman, Mary Ann (Arts and Cultural Traditions; Arts and Literary Policies; Arts and Technologies; Arts, Literature and Subjectivity; Social Determinants of Arts and Letters; Artistic and Literary Marginality; Artistic and Cultural Heritage; Artist or Author Social Identity; Artistic and Literary Movements, Schools and Styles; Artistic and Literary Theories; Literary or Artistic Work Analysis; Literary or Artistic Work Dissemination or Reception Contexts; Literary or Artistic Works Analysis; Writing and Literary Experimentation; Poetry; Novel and Short Story; Essays; Gender Relationship; Audiences and Mass Media; Media and Democratization; Media and Society; Media Influence on Behavior; Civil and Social Responsibilities of Media; Stereotypes; Electoral System; Printing Art; Persuasion Strategies; Social Movements; Publics; Performance and Theatrical Productions; Social Networks; American Literature; Asian American Literature; Asian Canadian Literature; Suffrage; Public Pedagogy of the Arts; Public Humanities)
• Dalziel, Pamela (Victorian-literature, Victorian-culture, visual-representation, illustration, gender-studies, religion, interdisciplinary-studies, textual-criticism, scholarly-editing, Thomas-Hardy, Charles-Dickens, George-Eliot )
• Dancygier, Barbara (Linguistics, grammar)
• de Villiers, Jessica (Linguistics)
• Deer, Glenn (discourse studies, the rhetoric of power in narrative fiction, and postmodernism and Canadian Literature)
• Dick, Alexander (Literary or Artistic Work Analysis; Philosophy, History and Comparative Studies; Artistic and Literary Theories; Arts, Literature and Subjectivity; British Romanticism; Scottish Enlightenment; Literature and Economics; Literature and the Environment; Literature and Science; Scottish Literature)
• Dollinger, Stefan (English language; Language Contact and Linguistic Changes; Linguistic Variation and Society; Lexicography and Dictionaries; Language Interactions; Language Rights and Policies; Bilingualism and Multilingualism)
• Earle, Bo (British Romanticism, Critical Theory, Philosophy and Literature)
• Echard, Sian (English language; Literary or Artistic Work Analysis; Literary or Artistic Work Dissemination or Reception Contexts; Modes and strategies of dissemination; Poetry; Media Types (Radio, Television, Written Press, etc.); Anglo-Latin literature; Arthurian literature; History of the Book; John Gower; Manuscript studies; Medieval literature)
• Frank, Adam (American literatures; American literature and media, affect theory, modernism, science and technology studies)
• Frelick, Nancy (Renaissance literatures; Literature and critical theory)
• Gaertner, David (Indigenous literatures; Media, visual and digital culture; Critical identity, ethnic and race studies; Indigenous Literature; Digital storytelling; Digital Humanities; Speculative fiction; Reconciliation; New Media; Indigenous Cyberspace)
• Guerin, Ayasha
• Guy-Bray, Stephen (Renaissance poetry)
• Hill, Ian (rhetoric, persuasion, argumentation, technology, weapons, interrogation, political economy, war rhetoric, conflict rhetoric, dissent, mass movements )
• Ho, Janice (English language; twentieth- and twenty-first century British literature and culture; British and transnational modernisms; postcolonial and world Anglophone literatures; contemporary fiction; histories and theories of the novel; human rights studies; infrastructure studies)

Doctoral Citations

Sample thesis submissions.

• The Arthur of the March of Wales
• Stories of lands, bodies and dreams : a Tmixᵂcentric literary theory
• "Token" in medieval and early modern English theatre and theology
• Who hears the listeners : decolonizing the process of dialogue in First Peoples’ literatures
• Stage and street : the cultural history of the early modern Thames
• Inheritances : negotiating kinship in Indigenous and other modernisms
• Voices on trial : the consequences of female speech in medieval romance
• Time and metaphor : reading and writing the computus in the British Isles, 600-1400
• The play of conscience : theological, jurisprudential and poetic iterations in English dramaturgy, 1515-1604
• Telling animals : a histology of Dene textualized orature
• Scorching irony : anti-hypocrisy in antebellum U.S. literature
• The lyric selfie : mediating race and subjectivity in poetry from print to Web 2.0
• The turn to sacred address in transnational HIV/AIDS writing
• Leaky bodies reclaimed : biofluids, contagion, and Victorian England’s strange intimacies
• Romantic improvement : the infrastructural poetics of agricultural capitalism

Related Programs

Same specialization.

• Master of Arts in English (MA)

Further Information

Specialization.

English offers two areas: English Language and English Literature

The English Language program includes specializations in history and structure of language, discourse and genre analysis, and history and theory of rhetoric. Faculty members in the Language program teach and supervise research in descriptive linguistics, historical linguistics, cognitive linguistics, functional grammar, semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis, stylistics, genre studies, and history and theory of rhetoric.

The English Literature program includes specializations across the periods, genres, and major figures of British, North American and World Literature in English. Current research initiatives on the part of faculty include such diverse topics as the ecocritical study of Renaissance drama; the triumph of transport in Romantic poetry; the impact of radio and television on modernist poetics; the politics of post-identity in Asian American literature, and the role of war and its traumatic shocks in twentieth-century Canadian, U.S. and British literature.

UBC Calendar

Program website, faculty overview, academic unit, program identifier, classification, social media channels, supervisor search.

Departments/Programs may update graduate degree program details through the Faculty & Staff portal. To update contact details for application inquiries, please use this form .

Leah Alfred-Olmedo

My choice to pursue my PhD at UBC was based on relationships, both within the university and without. I have a generative and supportive relationship with my supervisor, with other members of the English faculty, and with other graduate students at UBC. I feel that UBC works to foster and support...

Veronika Larsen

I completed my MA at UBC in 2021, and my time on campus has been quite wonderful. I decided to study at UBC largely because of the expert faculty members that I have learned from, and that I believe I can learn much more from. Members in my department continue to offer support from diverse...

Sydney Lines

I had been to Vancouver once before and loved the weather (I'm allergic to the sun). I was impressed by the UBC Arts PhD Co-op Program. My department often ranks among the top 20 in the world. But the truth is I did not believe I’d get into UBC, and I only applied three days before the deadline as...

Start calling Vancouver “Home”

The metropolitan area is known for its diversity and UBC is one of the most international universities in Canada. This multicultural community means we have a wide range of restaurants, grocery stores, and events to provide a sense of belonging.

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University of Missouri

College of arts and science, phd program.

For those entering the program with an MA, the PhD in English is designed to be a five-year program requiring 30 hours of coursework.* This coursework will contribute to a total of 72 graduate credit hours beyond the BA (the 72-hour total may include credits transferred from the MA degree). Students entering the program with an MA will generally complete their coursework within the first two years.

Students can also enter the PhD program with a BA but without an MA, in which case the program is designed to be a six-year program requiring 72 hours of graduate credit beyond the BA. Of these, 48 hours will consist of coursework,* including at least 27 hours of coursework taken at the 8000-level. Students entering the program with a BA will generally complete their coursework within the first three years. 

Students select and work closely with a faculty advisory committee to plan a course of professional study and training in their chosen primary and secondary fields. The PhD program is meant to provide deep knowledge as well as methodological sophistication. 

* The term "coursework" refers to credits earned in classes and seminars at the graduate level. The term "credit hours" also includes credits earned through dissertation research.

The PhD candidate will take  30 hours of coursework beyond the MA . Coursework must include:

• At least 18 hours in English at the 8000-level (English 8001, English 8005, English 8095 and 9090 hours do not count toward the 18-hour requirement). 

Candidates’ coursework and program of study will be designed to prepare them as competent scholars in the designated fields. All PhD candidates are required to take:

• English 8005, Introduction to Graduate Studies, a one-hour course in fall semester of the first year in the program
• English 8010, Theory and Practice of Composition, is required in the first semester for students teaching English 1000
• A course in English linguistics focused on the structure of the language (English 7600 or an equivalent graduate course at another institution), on its history (English 7610, English 7200, or an equivalent graduate course at another institution), or on sociolinguistic aspects of English (English 7620 or an equivalent graduate course at another institution)
• A course in literary criticism (English 8050, 8060, 8070, or an equivalent graduate course at another institution)
• English 8020, The Theory and Practice of Teaching in English (for students who want to teach literature classes)

PhD students in the creative writing program are required to take:

• 9 workshop hours at the 8000 level 
• 6 hours of 8000-level seminars whose content includes in-depth analysis of literary texts. Workshops do not fulfill this requirement. 7000-level courses, or courses outside of the English department may be substituted with the approval of the Director of Creative Writing and the Director of Graduate Studies

A student may elect one English 8095 problems course (a maximum of 3 hours credit), with the prior consent of the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), but the credits will not count towards the 18-hour 8000-level course requirement. Students may also take up to 9 hours of coursework outside English in fields related to their programs of study upon the advice and consent of the advisory committee. In general, students with limited backgrounds in related areas (such as history, philosophy, art history) are encouraged to take coursework in such areas, while students with extensive background in other areas (e.g., one whose undergraduate major or MA is in a field other than English) should choose to concentrate coursework within the department.

PhD students must fulfill a language requirement to ensure that all students have a familiarity with a language other than English. Students, regardless of specialty, gain substantially by making meaningful connections between their own work and a non-English-speaking culture. 

A student may satisfy the language requirement for the PhD in English by one of the following:

• By taking coursework at MU. The student must pass with a grade of B or better an intensive introduction to a language, the two-semester introductory sequence of courses, or one course at or beyond the second semester level in the language chosen. 
• By demonstrating to the Director of Graduate Studies that the student has taken courses equivalent to those specified in item #1 at another college or university.
• By demonstrating proficiency through a language test. Language tests will be administered by the department in November and April. Those wishing to take a test must notify the DGS in the semester prior. Those students who submitted a TOEFL score as part of their application to graduate school will be considered to have passed the language requirement.

Upon entering the program, students should work with the DGS or a faculty advisor to plan how they will fulfill the language requirement. Projects and areas of study will require different levels of language proficiency. Students’ committees may recommend that they pursue language study beyond the level required by the department.

Below is a sample timeline for completing the PhD within five years of funding. Variations to the timeline can be developed in consultation with a student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Students who are unable to keep to the 5-year funded PhD timeline because of extreme circumstances (e.g., disability, medical condition, family emergency) should consider applying for an additional semester of funding (see "Additional Semester of Teaching Policy" form in the box to the right side of this page).

Although the Department of English offers only 5 years of guaranteed funding, the Graduate School allows 5 years after entering the program for students to pass their Comprehensive Exams and 5 additional years for students to defend their dissertations after passing their Comprehensive Exams. 

The Qualifying Exam satisfies a Graduate School requirement. The student and advisor should decide on a proposed Plan of Study (D-2 form) to be discussed and approved at the meeting by the doctoral committee. The doctoral committee is composed of at least three faculty members from the English department and at least one faculty member from a department other than English.

Students may use this meeting to shape their fields of study or their lists for the Comprehensive Exam, but this is not required to pass the exam.

Students are encouraged to take the Qualifying Exam by the end of their first year, but may take the exam at the beginning of the second year, if they need more time to compose their doctoral committees.  Regardless of the timing of the exam, all students should discuss a plan for fulfilling degree requirements with their advisors and/or with the Director of Graduate Studies by the end of their first year.

The Qualifying Exam must be a formal meeting, scheduled by the committee chair, with at least three of the four members present. The outside faculty member need not be involved in this meeting, but all four members of the committee must sign the D-1 form. The student is responsible for preparing the forms and bringing them to the meeting.

Selecting an Advisor

The advisor guides students through the qualifying examination, provides crucial advice for a student’s plan of study, helps with topics for the comprehensive examination, and works closely with students as they research and write dissertations or theses. Advisors will help students select internal and external members of examination and thesis/dissertation committees.

Upon entering the English Department, students will be advised by the Director of Graduate Studies. Through individual meetings and in English 8005, the DGS will help students prepare to approach potential advisors. PhD students should research potential advisors in their first semester by taking classes in their fields of interest, talking with experienced graduate students, and consulting with the DGS. Early in the second semester of their study students should meet with potential advisors to determine academic compatibility. Students will need to find an advisor working in their primary area of concentration. This primary area will consist of some combination of historical period, genre, and approach and should be reflected in professional associations and in job listings. Within these areas of primary interest, most students will choose among a small number of potential faculty mentors. In some cases, students will change fields on account of excellent experiences in their first year of graduate study. In choosing an advisor, one should also consider to what extent the faculty member shares methodological interests with the student.

When meeting with a potential advisor, a student should be prepared to discuss both the topic and the methodology that they desire to pursue. A one- or two-page research proposal detailing the broad questions the project will answer and the means by which research questions will be addressed.

For further information, please see the  Graduate School's Guidelines for Good Practice in Graduate Education .

Selecting a Program Committee

Students should approach potential faculty committee members by the end of their first year in the program. The committee is registered with the Graduate School with the D-1 form. 

The PhD Committee consists of at least four faculty members (including the chair). Three of the members will be faculty in the English Department; the fourth may either be an additional member of the English Department or a faculty member from a different department.  Members from outside the department are extremely helpful for some dissertation projects, and students should consult with their faculty advisors about the potential benefits of including one, as well about the composition of their committees in general. As a group, members of the PhD Committee should be equipped to support the student in both prospective primary and secondary fields for the comprehensive examination.

Students can fill out a form to change the composition of the committee, to be signed by the new committee member and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Advising Guidelines

Recognizing that the advising relationship is a mutual one, in which both advisors and students must take responsibility for good communication—about expectations, about what is working well, and about what can be improved—the following is a codification of the observable behaviors that define high-quality graduate advising.

Given that advisors are in positions of power, high-quality advisors consider how their words and actions can impact mentees’ progress. We see high-quality graduate advising as defined by:

Supporting Academic and Professional Development

• Advisors should meet with their advisees at least once each semester to assess progress toward the degree.
• Advisors should explain the demands of all aspects of the degree program and work with their advisees to form a communication and collaboration plan in order to do the work of the degree program.
• Advisors should work with their students to establish a timeline for completing the degree program that includes a schedule of meetings and exams, selecting courses and/or committee members, and a plan for coordinating with other committee members. Advisors should also prepare their advisees for oral exams and defenses.

Providing and Asking for Timely and Substantive Feedback

• Advisors should strive to respond to student emails within one week of receipt, and provide students with feedback on large documents, such as drafts of exam essays and thesis/dissertation chapters, within 3-4 weeks of receiving them.
• The advisor should contribute to their students’ professional development by observing their teaching, reviewing documents such as syllabi, conference abstracts, grant and fellowship applications, job letters, etc. Students should allow for at least two weeks for the completing of this work.

Treating Graduate Students as Junior Colleagues

• Advisors should help the student to find professional employment inside or outside the academy and access other networks/mentors. This will usually involve writing recommendation letters. The student should give the advisor at least one month’s notice of any letters to be written and the advisor should respect the stated deadlines.
• High-quality mentors provide time, resources, and opportunities fairly and equitably across students they advise. The advisor should avoid any appearance of a quid pro quo relationship with the advisee by refraining from accepting gifts, professional favors, domestic labor, or offers to provide refreshments at exams and meetings.
• Advisors should be mindful and self-reflective regarding potential subtle barriers for underrepresented advisees (such as race, gender, disability, family responsibilities, mental health and/or personal and financial difficulties) and focus on inclusive ways of achieving the specific tasks and goals associated with degree completing.
• Advisors recognize there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to supporting students and enabling their success. High quality advisors make an effort to “meet students where they are” in their professional development and to provide appropriate oversight and scaffolding that allows for continued professional development.

After all required coursework has been completed, PhD students must take the comprehensive examination. This exam consists of a written section and a two-and-a-half-hour oral exam.

Reading Lists

The major field list should reflect the student’s area of scholarly specialization and take into account the student’s interests and intellectual, pedagogical, and/or professional fields.

The minor field list should be a more narrowly focused secondary specialization (for instance, a student with a major list in African-American literature might have a minor list in twentieth-century American fiction), a genre or sub-genre (creative nonfiction, the sonnet, etc.), or an area of thematic focus (Transcendentalism, nature poetry, etc.).

The criticism and theory list should enhance students’ understanding of critical conversations surrounding the works on their major and minor list and can also be used to develop a separate area of specialization in theory that is anticipated to be useful for the dissertation.

All three lists together should comprise approximately 100-120 book-length works or the equivalent in scholarly articles or works in other media (as decided in consultation with the committee), with the major list roughly equivalent in size to the combined minor and criticism/theory lists.

Written Exam

The written section of the comprehensive exam is comprised of  one  essay, intended to prepare students for the dissertation. The essay will prepare creative writing students for the critical introduction and/or the creative dissertation. Although the written exam is submitted to the committee prior to the oral exam, it is expected that students will complete their reading of works on all three lists  before  turning in the final draft of the written exam. The order of this process is crucial, as this reading may well shape a student’s plans for the dissertation and hence inform the topic and substance of the written exam.

The essay will identify and summarize the critical conversation(s) in which a student’s individual dissertation work will participate. This essay may have, but does not require, an original argument. In consultation with their committee members, students are encouraged to shape their written exam to best serve their research needs. The essay must be  15-20 pages ,  not counting additional materials such as bibliography, illustrations, or charts (which should be placed in an appendix). While the essay should refer to both  primary and secondary sources from students’ lists , students may also use other sources relevant to their projected dissertation.

Students will submit two drafts to their committee members: a first draft and a final written exam. The first draft must be submitted for written or oral feedback on how to proceed with revisions at least  four weeks and no more than sixteen weeks before  turning in the final written exam. The committee will evaluate each version of the essay for range and depth of coverage, specificity of references to the works discussed, theoretical grasp of the material, effective synthesis of important approaches or debates, and clarity of organization and style. Once the final written exam has been submitted, committee members will use these criteria to vote on whether the student has passed the written portion of the exam. To proceed to the oral exam, students must receive no more than one vote of “fail” or “abstain.”

At least one month prior to the submission of the final written exam, students should communicate with committee members, alerting committee members to the date the final written exam will be submitted. The advisor should consult with committee members to schedule a tentative date and time for the oral portion of the exam. The oral portion of the exam should take place  at least two weeks and no more than one month  after the final written exam has been submitted. The advisor should inform the Graduate Secretary of the time and place scheduled for the oral examination.

On the agreed upon date, the student should submit the final version of the written exam to the Graduate Secretary, who will distribute the exam to the student’s committee.  Exams submitted to the Graduate Secretary that are either under or over the required page length will not be sent to committee members, but will be referred to the Director of Graduate Study.  Within two weeks of receiving a copy of the exam, committee members will submit evaluations discussing strengths and weaknesses of the essay to the Graduate Studies Secretary, who will forward them to the student and also place copies in the student's file. If the student does not pass the written exam, the oral examination date will be cancelled and the committee will offer advice on rewriting and resubmitting the essay.

University rules require that students are enrolled during the term in which they take their oral exam (to be administered only when MU is officially in session). The oral exam must be completed at least seven months before the defense of the dissertation.  See  https://gradstudies.missouri.edu/current-students/doctoral

The oral section of the comprehensive exam is designed to test a student’s knowledge of the teaching and research fields represented by their reading lists.  Students should be prepared both to answer focused questions about individual works and to speak broadly about the connections among them.  Students should send final copies of their lists to their committee members at least two weeks before the oral exams.

The oral exam will be scheduled for two and half hours and will consist of:

• Two hours of questions, with format and time allotted to committee members arranged beforehand by the chair of the student's committee
• Fifteen minutes during which the committee deliberates about the exam
• Fifteen minutes during which the committee informs the student whether he or she has passed or failed, and discusses the exam with the student. The student may also use this time to schedule follow up meetings with each committee member so that they can discuss the student’s movement toward the prospectus.

Within one week of the oral exam, the chair of the committee is responsible for writing a brief document (up to one page) discussing the exam-- things the student did well on, and things that might be improved upon. The chair must give a copy of this document to the Graduate Secretary, who will forward it to the student and place a copy in the student's file.

In order to pass the student must receive no more than one vote of “fail” or “abstain” on the oral exam. Students who fail the oral examination will be allowed to retake it, but cannot do so sooner than 12 weeks after, or later than the end of the semester following the initial examination. If the student passes the oral examination, all members of the committee must sign the D-3 form. The chair of the committee is responsible for submitting the D-3 form to the English graduate studies office, and the form must be filed with the Graduate School within two weeks after the final completion of the exams. Per Graduate School rules, failure to pass two comprehensive examinations automatically prevents candidacy.

While studying for the Comprehensive Exams and after completing required coursework, students may elect to take English 9090: Dissertation Hours in order to maintain Full Time status (Full Time status according to the Graduate School is 9 hours before a student advances to ABD status). English 9090 may be taken before completion of coursework only with permission of the DGS.

After students complete their Comprehensive Exams, candidacy for the doctoral degree is maintained by enrolling in two credit hours in the fall and spring semesters and one credit in the summer semester up to and including the term in which the dissertation is defended. Failure to enroll continuously in 9090 Research hours (or alternatively, in the 8001 Critical Writing Workshop or Job Market Workshops) until the doctoral degree is awarded terminates candidacy. Guidelines for continuous enrollment can be found on the  Graduate School website .

As soon as possible after passing the comprehensive examination, a candidate should explore a dissertation topic under the guidance of the student’s adviser. Candidates must formally present and describe the topic in a prospectus of no more than 15 pages (excluding bibliography). For the student to remain in good standing, the prospectus and a signed Dissertation Prospectus Approval Form (posted to the right on this page) must be submitted to the English graduate studies office within three months of a successful oral defense of the Comprehensive Examination or first two weeks of the semester following.  In the event revisions are requested by the committee, the advisor will keep the signed form until revisions are made and then submit the form to the office. The advisor should schedule the prospectus conference.

The prospectus should contain five elements:

• The state of current scholarship in the relevant fields
• The nature of the dissertation’s intervention in current scholarship
• A description of method
• A description of the materials—that is, the objects/archives studied and consulted
• A short bibliography  

In the case of students writing creative dissertations, the prospectus should primarily describe the critical introduction (see “Creative Dissertation” below); ten pages is a good goal here.

The prospectus should be drafted in consultation with the adviser. Once drafted, it will be the subject of the Prospectus Conference, a meeting of the dissertation committee (outside member optional) covering the student’s ideas and research plans, including schedule. If a majority of the student’s committee doesn’t approve the prospectus, suggestions for revision will be made and the student will submit the revised prospectus only to the adviser; for this reason, students should schedule their meeting with enough time to revise and meet the deadline.

The prospectus must be completed for the student to begin writing, but it is also important because it usually forms the basis of grant applications and dissertation descriptions when the student goes on the job market. It is of long-term use to have a prospectus on file early, even though it is understood that the dissertation may change during research and writing. 

Dissertation

Two types of dissertations are written for our program: the scholarly dissertation and the creative dissertation. 

The  scholarly PhD Dissertation  is a work of original scholarship in a recognizable field covered by departmental expertise. Most dissertations in English are between 200 and 350 pages and combine an original argument with research into the field you explore. By the end of the process of researching and writing the dissertation, the successful student will be one of a few world experts in the field addressed. Therefore topics should be specific enough to allow students to stake a claim to expertise, while broad enough to speak to the general field in which the dissertation is placed. The dissertation becomes the central document upon which you build your academic reputation. At best, it will be ready to go as a book project. Chapters of your dissertation will likely serve as writing samples on the academic job market and might be revised into publications either before or after you have defended it and received your PhD. The dissertation itself will be read by the student’s adviser and a minimum of three other readers. One member of the committee may  be a member of a department other than English. In the process of research and writing, some students work closely with an entire committee; others focus on the responses of their primary adviser to preliminary work.

PhD candidates in Creative Writing generally write a  creative PhD dissertation , which may take the form of a collection of poetry, a novel, a novella, a book-length collection of short stories, or a book-length work of creative non-fiction. To exercise this option, the candidate must have taken 9-12 hours of creative writing seminars as part of the PhD coursework. In addition to the creative part of the dissertation, the candidate will compose a  Critical Introduction , which is an article-length and rigorous critical essay that substantively engages the candidate’s areas of critical interest.

By the rules of the Graduate School, seven months must elapse between a student's successfully passing the PhD Comprehensive Examination and submitting the PhD dissertation.

Defense usually occurs within a month of submission to the committee of an acceptable dissertation. Committee members prepare questions in advance and the defense consists of a conversation regarding the scholarship and writing of the dissertation. The defense is customarily a celebratory occasion. But committee members can—and sometimes do—ask challenging questions that undercut specific and general issues in the project. Students have a chance to incorporate suggestions from the defense into the final document submitted to the Graduate School. Therefore, it is useful to schedule the defense some weeks before the final deadline for submission to the Graduate School in the term in which the student wishes to graduate. For the dissertation to be successfully defended, the committee must vote to pass it with no more than one abstaining or dissenting vote. If the dissertation is not passed, the student can revise in accordance with suggestions and resubmit.

The advisor will schedule two and half hours for the defense. It will consist of: two hours of questions and conversation, fifteen minutes during which the committee deliberates about the exam, and fifteen minutes during which the committee discusses the outcome and any revisions to be incorporated into the final copy turned in to the Graduate School.

PhD students may elect to invite people outside of their committees to attend their defenses. The student and advisor should agree on whether the audience can be present for the whole defense or just the opening portion. The audience may not be present for committee deliberations from which the PhD candidate is excluded. Audience members may observe but cannot ask questions, give comments, or reduce the allotted time for committee questioning in any way. Recording or livestreaming the defense is not permitted.

For instructions on filing your dissertation, see:  https://gradstudies.missouri.edu/current-students/thesis-dissertation/thesis-dissertation-guidelines/

Dissertations in Progress

Updated 5/2/2024

Heather Asbeck

“Pockets in Print: Reading the Material Circumstances of Women's Lives, 1840-1870”

Director: Nancy West

Erick Burdock

"Queern Humor & Resistant Readings in Canonical Gothic Film and Literature"

Director: Elizabeth Chang

Director: Anand Prahlad

Blake Estep

"'Continually Reimagined and Contested': A Narrative Theory Approach to Four Reconstruction Novels"

Director: John Evelev

Chelsea Fabian

“Identities Unbound: Queer Liminality, Futurity, and Other-World Speculative Fiction”

Director: Becca Hayes

Anna McAnnally

"Unserious Adaptation: Connections between 19th and 21st Century Literary Culture in Adaptations of Little Women"

Director: Alexandra Socarides

Jesutofunmi Omowumi

“The African Diasporic Novels of Geo-Poethics: Decolonizing Black

Anthropocenes in the Contemporary Climate Change Crisis”

Director: Christopher Okonkwo

McKenzie Peck

"A History and Examination on Robert Thornton and His Manuscripts"

Director: Emma Lipton

Maurine Pfuhl

"Heavily Perfumed Women"

Director: Julija Ŝukys

Shelby Preston

"Performing Disidentifications in Chivalric Romance at the Anglo Scottish Border"

Yoonjae Shin

“Gothic Jurisprudence: Genre, Gender, and the Rule of Law”

Director: Noah Heringman

Recent Dissertations

(2023-2026)

Micaela Bombard (PhD 2023) "Grievances & Appeals" poetry collection and "Poetry as Accommodation: Reconciling Pain, Language & Theory in Disability Studies" critical introduction.

K. Mikey Borgard (PhD 2024) "Marathon"

Bailey Boyd (PhD 2023) "Fathoming"

Tyler Corbridge (PhD 2024) "Desert Whaling"

Hailey Cox (PhD 2024) "The Opposite of Gone"

Cass Donish (PhD 2024) "Your Dazzling Death"

Samantha Edmonds (PhD 2024) "A World to Hold Us All"

Lindsay Fowler (PhD 2023) "Bury the Key: A Book of Houses"

Ariel Fried (PhD 2024) "Being and Belonging in Victorian Fiction, Science, and Medicine: Subjectivity and Affective Relations Constructing Victorian Time and Space (1847-1897)"

AnneElise Hatjakes (PhD 2024) "The Suicide Table"

Heather-Heckman-McKenna (PhD 2023)  " Eighteenth-Century Sensibility and the Subversive Female Body"

Jolie Mandelbum (PhD 2023) "The Monstrous Ordinary: The Erasure of the Women of Weird Tales and the Implications for Monster Theory"

Thanh Nguyen (PhD 2024) "The English and Vietnamese Languages of the Vietnamese Americans in the US"

Anna Perrigo (PhD 2024) "Motherhood and Food in Twenty-First Cetury Transnational Literature"

Erin Regneri (PhD 2023) "We Must Look a Long Time Before We Can See: The Art and Science of Thoreau's Early Work"

Brittany Wilson (PhD 2024) "Futurist Deep Mapping: Cartographies of Resistance in Contemporary BIWOC Climate Justice Literature"

Allison Wiltshire (PhD 2024) "Breakable Binaries: Representations of Twins in African and African American Literature, Film, Television, and Cultures"

(2019-2022)

Ashley Anderson (PhD 2022) “ Sifting the Feminine Bones: Essays”

Megan Abrahamson (PhD 2020) “Medieval Romance, Fanfiction, and the Erotics of Shame”

Gregory Allendorf (PhD 2019) “Bottle Fly”

Jordi Alonso (PhD 2021) "An Island of Nymphs:" Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Victoria Women's Classical Education"

London Brickley (PhD 2019) “Science Frictions:  S cience, Folklore, and ‘The Future’”

Elise Broaddus (PhD 2020) "`the back-and-forth form': Epistolary Mediation in Late Medieval English Literature"

Gwendolyn Edward (PhD 2021) "Refrain"

Carley Gomez (PhD 2021) "The First Inch of a Saguaro"

Elijah Guerra (PhD 2022) “Spatial Politics in Genre in the 21st Century Arabic Novel in English”

Jacob Hall (PhD 2022) “The Conditions”

Kate Harlin (PhD 2020) “'One Foot on the Other Side': Suicideality in Contemporary African Diaspora Fiction”

Aaron Harms (PhD 2021) "Selling You On Flexibility: Toward a Flexible Framework for Reflexive Administration of Writing Centers"

Emilee Howland-Davis (PhD 2019) “Magical Safe Spaces: The Role of Literature in Medieval and Early Modern Magic”

Vedran Husic (PhD 2020) “Book of Apparitions”

Sean Ironman (PhD 2020) “As Many Roast Bones As You Need”

Kate Kelley (PhD 2019) “Policing the Boundaries of Whiteness: Monsters Made in the USA”

Travis Knapp (PhD 2021) "Anti-Calvinist? Ceremonial Conformity and Laudian Writing, Reconsidered (c. 1590-1640)"

Neriman Kuyucu (PhD 2020) “Transnational Spaces, Transitional Places: Muslimness in Contemporary Literary Imaginations”

Peter Lang (PhD 2022) “Between the body and language: Subjectivity and the literary arts”

Lawrence Loiseau (PhD 2019) “A Lacanian Reply to Marx: The Necessity of Topology in the Formation of the Social”

Timothy Love (PhD 2021) "Black Skin Matters: The Significance of Color in Early Modern England"

Jennifer McCauley (PhD 2020) “When Trying to Return Home: Stories”

Teresa Mildbrodt (PhD 2019) “Sharp Things, or the Silver Lines are Not Scars”

William Moore (PhD 2019) “Brain Catalogue”

Angela Netro (PhD 2022) "The Wise Avenue"

Rebecca Pelky (PhD 2020) “Through a Red Place”

Katie Rhodes (PhD 2022) “ Rites of Leaving”

Brian Rodriguez (PhD 2021) "Beautiful Phantoms: British Literature, Political Economy, and Biopolitics from 1780-1855"

Donald Quist (PhD 2021) “The Freedoms of B. Kumasi”

Bradley Smith (PhD 2018) “Canon”

Joseph D. Smith (PhD 2019) “Worried Notes: Poems”

Nicole Songstad (PhD 2021) "Social Networks of Friendship in the Writings of Early Medieval English Women"

Steven Watts (PhD 2020) “Occupy, Blockade, Circulate: Narrating Community in 21st Century Crisis Fiction”

Kacy Walz (PhD 2022) “ The Graduate Student Novel: A New Subgenre in University Fiction”

Jake Young (PhD 2020) “All I Wanted” (creative); “On Poetry: The Emergence and Function of Meaning” (critical)

(2014-2018)

Jessie Adolph (PhD 2018) “Dee-Jay Drop that ‘Deadbeat’: Hip-Hop’s Remix of Fatherhood Narratives”

Khem Aryal (PhD 2015) “Rewriting the Creative: Toward a Happenings Theory of Creative Compositions” (critical); “The Last Monarchist:Stories from Nepal” (creative)

Dorothy Atuhura (PhD 2018) “Documenting ‘Harm’: Mediated Representations of Gendered Bodylore from Sub-Saharan Africa”

Constance Bailey (PhD 2015) “It Takes a Village: Twentieth Century Black Women’s Fiction and the Spiritual Apprenticeship Narrative”

Allison Balaskovits (PhD 2015) “Magic for Unlucky Girls:Stories”

Anne Barngrover (PhD 2016) “Brazen Creature”

Toby Beeny (PhD 2018) “Ecclesiastical Advice Literature in Anglo-Saxon England”

Colin Beineke (PhD 2018) “Assembling Comics: The House Style and Legacy of  RAW  Books and Graphics”

Deanna Benjamin (PhD 2018) “The Education of a Gambler’s Daughter”

Julie Christenson (PhD 2018) “Interpretive Cultures and Anglo-Saxon Texts”

Corinna Cook (PhD 2018) “Leavetakings”

Andrew Darr (PhD 2018) “Masculinity in Early Modern English Revenge Drama and City Comedy”

Joanna Eleftheriou (PhD 2015) “This Way Back: Essays from Cyprus”

Lauren Fath (PhD 2015) “My Hands, Remembering”

Marissa Fugate (PhD 2016) “Midnight’s Children: The Adolescent Body in the Age of Nations”

Lianuska Guiterrez (PhD 2015) “And the Wood Doll Arose and Told, I’m a Real”

Ryan Habermeyer (PhD 2017) “Babbler: A Novel”

Rachel Hanson (PhD 2016) “Dislocations”

Stephen Haynie (PhD 2018) “Escalations: Stories”

Brianne Jaquette (PhD 2015) “The Locomotive and the Tree: Industrial Pittsburgh’s Late Nineteenth-Century Literary Culture”

Sarah Johnson (PhD 2017) “Mr. Boswell Peels an Orange”

Jennifer Julian (PhD 2017) “I’m Here, I’m listening: Short Stories”

Ruth Knezevich (PhD 2015) “Narrative as Archive: Ethno-Historical Paratexts in British Literature, 1760-1830”

Patrick Lane (PhD 2016) “Medieval Death Trip”

Miranda Mattingly (PhD 2016) “A Circuit of Haunting Pictures: Theorizing the Space of Readership in ‘Condition of England’ Literature and the Periodical Press, 1845-1889”

Elizabeth McConaghy (PhD 2015) “Migrations”

LaTanya McQueen (PhD 2017) “When the Evening Comes” (fiction); “And It Begins Like This” (nonfiction)

Juliette Paul (PhD 2015) “Transatlantic Geographies of Faith in the Long Eighteenth Century”

Kavita Pillai (PhD 2018) “The Refashioning of Fundamentalist Nostalgia in the Age of Globalization: Charting the Rise of the Right Wing via Textual Trends”

Nick Potter (PhD 2018) “Big Gorgeous Jazz Machine”

Nick Robinson (PhD 2016) “Our Family Walks”

Eric Russell (PhD 2016) “Nature, Materiality, and Human Agency in the Literature of the Great Lakes, 1790-1853”

Travis Scholl (PhD 2018) “Of the Burning”

Eric O. Scott (PhD 2018) “The Pagan’s Progress, or, The Invention of Pilgrimage”

Carli Sinclair (PhD 2018) “‘This Land is My Land’: Authority and Landscape in American Women’s Nonfiction, 1843-1903”

Magi Smith (PhD 2016) “The Drama of Dissent: Pamphleterring Culture and Performative Protestantism:1650-1795”

Gregory Specter (PhD 2014) “Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Circulation of Texts”

Jennifer Spitulnik (PhD 2015) “No People Like #ShowPeople: Broadway Performers”

Christopher Strelluf (PhD 2015) “We Have Such a Normal, Non-Accented Voice’: A Sociophoentic Study of English in Kansas City

Raymond Summerville (PhD 2016) “The Fetishization of Firearms in African‐American Folklore and Culture”

Chun Ye (PhD 2016) “HAO”

Jihun Yoo (PhD 2015) “The Frontier Myth and The Frontier Thesis Contemporary Genre Fiction”

Admissions Criteria:

We admit students with only a BA into our PhD program only if their academic records are extremely strong, if they demonstrate in their applications the necessary maturity for a PhD program, and if they already had a good idea of the area in which they want to research and specialize.

Funding and teaching load:

These students are paid the PhD stipend for each of 6 years; they teach 2 courses each semester.

6-year timeline:

The timeline is essentially the same for students entering our PhD program with a BA as it is for students entering with an MA, except that an extra year of coursework is needed in year 2 to allow students to complete the 72 graduate credit hours required by the Graduate School for students entering a PhD program with a BA.

Degree Requirements:

The degree requirements are the same for students entering the PhD with a BA as they are currently for those entering with an MA except that 72 graduate credit hours are required. Forty-eight of these credit hours will consist of coursework, with at least 27 hours of coursework being completed at the 8000-level. 

MA Information:

Students who enter the PhD program with a BA will not get an MA degree along the way. However, if a student chooses not to complete the PhD degree, they can get an MA degree by either writing an MA thesis or completing the comprehensive exam for the PhD degree (which can also function as an MA exam).

Anne Myers Director of Graduate Studies for Advising and Admission [email protected]

PhD in English

The PhD program is designed to prepare independent scholars for academic careers in teaching and research in English and related fields. Course requirements for the program are broadly defined, allowing the student to shape a personal program of study. The English program encourages and supports interdisciplinary work. This might include exploring theories from such disciplines as philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and cultural studies, or immersing yourself in the history and ideas of the culture in which your primary texts reside.

Doctoral candidates are offered a variety of teaching experiences during their six years of study. Students begin instruction as recitation leaders in large lecture courses, then teach stand-alone sections of composition and courses of their own design in their chosen research area.

Please note: despite the wording in the university catalog, there is no minimum GRE score needed to apply to the PhD program.

College Resources for Graduate Students

Visit CLA’s website for graduate students to learn about collegiate funding opportunities, student support, career services, and more.

Student Services      Career Services     Funding & Support

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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English

Phd program in english, starting study in fall 2024 and later.

This page contains information only for students who are beginning their graduate study in Fall 2024 or later .

Our Ph.D. program in English provides students with interdisciplinary coursework in a range of research areas, mentorship from faculty at the forefront of their fields, teachi ng experience in First-Year Writing and beyond, and dedicated support for job searches in academia and beyond.   After completing required coursework, Ph.D. students work with their advisory committees to devise exam reading lists that will deepen their knowledge in their selected fields for both teaching and research purposes. Students then design a dissertation project that best suits their intellectual and professional goals – whether that project be a traditional textual dissertation, a born-digital project, or a creative or translation work with a critical introduction.     Students entering our Ph.D. program with a B.A. enjoy financial support through a teaching assistantship for six years. Students entering with an M.A. in English or Rhetoric and Composition are funded through a teaching assistantship for five years.  

Learn about Financial Support

Apply to UConn

Program Requirements

Advisory committee.

All Ph.D. students are assigned a Major Advisor by the Director of Graduate Studies upon matriculation. Associate Advisors may be members of any University department. Students should discuss all courses and program policies with their Major Advisor.

Students may change Major or Associate advisors at any time (for example, when selecting an appropriate examination committee). Forms to change Advisory Committee members are available in the Graduate English Office and on the university's website for the Graduate School .

Plan of Study

The Plan of Study for the Ph.D. degree must be signed by all members of the Advisory Committee and submitted to the Graduate School when 18 credits of coursework have been completed. The Graduate School requires 15 credits of the mandatory research course GRAD 6950. These credits can be fulfilled within two to three semesters of continuous registration with a full Teaching Assistantship.

The Plan of Study must indicate which courses have been taken and are to be taken in fulfillment of requirements, how the language requirement has been or will be fulfilled, and what the dissertation topic will be. The Plan of Study must be on file with the Graduate School before the Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium takes place. Any changes–in courses submitted, language requirement plans–must be submitted to the Graduate School on a Request for Changes in Plan of Graduate Study form. All forms are available in the English Graduate Office and the Graduate School website .

Coursework Requirements and Policy on Incomplete Grades

Students entering with an MA are required to complete 25 credits of coursework and at least 15 credits of dissertation research. Students entering with a BA are required to complete 37 credits of coursework and at least 15 credits of dissertation research. Coursework credits include distribution requirements (described below) as well as two seminars taken in the first semester in support of the teaching assistantship: ENGL 5100, The Theory and Teaching of Writing (3 credits) and ENGL 5182, Practicum in the Teaching of Writing (1 credit).

Students who feel they have fulfilled any of the course requirements at another institution may petition the graduate program office to have those requirements waived at UConn.

MA/Ph.D. students who are continuing for the PhD have until the end of the third year of coursework to fulfill the distribution requirements.

Coursework is normally taken at Storrs. Transfer of up to six credits from another institution’s graduate program, or six credits from non-degree graduate coursework undertaken at UConn, may be accepted toward the MA or the Ph.D., provided that such credits are not used to earn a degree at another institution.

The Graduate Executive Committee recommends that students take no more than six credits of Independent Study. All Independent Studies must be requested through the Independent Study Form and approved by the Graduate Executive Committee.

Distribution Requirements

All graduate students (MA and PhD) are required to fulfill three distribution requirements:

• a course in pre-1800 texts,
• a course in post-1800 texts, and
• a course in theory.

For MA students, these requirements ensure breadth of study to support common pathways beyond that degree, including secondary education and doctoral work. For PhD students, these seminars provide vital context for the deeper investigations required by PhD exams and the dissertation.

The 1800 pivot date of the chronological distribution requirements is not meant to signal an important shift in literary or cultural history but instead establishes a midpoint in common areas of study; in asking students to take coursework on either side of 1800, these distribution requirements ensure that students in earlier periods look forward to later developments in the field and that students in later periods trace the field backward.

Students can fulfill these requirements in the following ways:

• Take a course that focuses entirely on the distribution requirement’s stated area of study. For example, a Milton seminar would fulfill the pre-1800 requirement, a twentieth-century literature course would fulfill the post-1800 requirement, and a lyric theory seminar would fulfill the theory seminar requirement. Often, these courses are offered under course designations (such as ENGL 5330: Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature or ENGL 6500: Seminar in Literary Theory) that make clear their ability to fulfill distribution requirements. However, at times courses listed under more general course designations can fulfill these requirements. Consult with the instructor of record and the Director of Graduate Studies if a course’s eligibility to fulfill a distribution requirement is unclear.
• Take a transhistorical seminar or a seminar organized by a methodology or thematic concern and complete research and writing in the distribution requirement’s stated area of study. Seminars that span centuries (such as  Shakespeare on Screen) or those that focus on a methodology or theme (such as Disability Studies) can fulfill the pre- or post-1800 distribution requirement if the student completes the major writing assignment of the seminar focusing on texts or ideas from the relevant chronological period. For example, if a student enrolls in a Medical Humanities seminar, they can fulfill the pre-1800 requirement by focusing their work for the course on a pre-1800 text, such as Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year , even if the bulk of that seminar’s reading is post-1800. If they enroll in a seminar on adaptation of Arthurian texts, they can fulfill the pre-1800 requirement by completing work that draws substantially on Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur in theorizing modern retellings of that text. Please consult with the instructor of record to ensure that this type of work is possible if you plan on using a transhistorical, methodology-based, or thematic seminar to fulfill a distribution requirement.
• Complete a teaching mentorship in the distribution requirement’s stated area of study.
• Submit to the graduate office proof that you have completed a seminar in the distribution requirement’s stated area of study (unofficial transcripts and, if available, a syllabus) in the completion of a previous degree. Note that while coursework completed in the course of earning a previous degree can be used to fulfill English Department distribution requirements, those credits cannot count toward your UConn degree on your plan of study.

Note that some seminars can fulfill more than one distribution requirement. For example, a seminar in African American Literary Theory fulfills the theory distribution requirement and can, with relevant research writing, fulfill either the pre- or post-1800 requirement.

Students should email the graduate program administrator when they complete a distribution requirement to ensure that the graduate office keeps accurate records.

Policy on Incomplete Grades

The Graduate Executive Committee strongly discourages incompletes. However, the Committee recognizes that, at times, extenuating circumstances merit offering a student additional time beyond the semester to complete work for a seminar. In that case, the student should determine with the faculty member teaching the seminar a reasonable timeline for completing and submitting seminar work — ideally no more than one month. It is the student’s responsibility to remain in communication with their professor about outstanding work, especially if the student requires additional time.

According to the academic regulations of the Graduate School, if a student does not submit all work required to resolve an incomplete within 12 months following the end of the semester for which the grade was recorded, no credit will be allowed for the course. A limited extension of the incomplete beyond 12 months may be granted by the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the instructor, but the Graduate School is not obligated to approve an extension if the instructor of the course is no longer at UConn.

If a student accumulates more than three incompletes on their transcript, they will be placed on probationary status by the Graduate Executive Committee and may be required to resolve those incompletes before being allowed to register for additional coursework. A student whose transcript includes four or more grades of incomplete may not be eligible for a teaching assistantship.

Language Requirement

Overview. As part of their graduate work, PhD students in English study at least one language other than English. In fulfilling the language requirement, students are not expected to achieve spoken or written fluency in another language. Instead, the goal of this requirement is to acquire reading knowledge . This requirement is in place to:

• Enrich or expand students’ research and pedagogy in their area of specialization . Basic knowledge in another language enables and encourages students to seek out and explore primary texts and scholarship in languages other than English and thus to respond more fully to the critical conversations occurring in their areas of expertise.
• Provide students with linguistic tools they will find valuable in a range of careers . English PhDs pursue careers in a wide array of contexts, including academia, nonprofits, publishing, secondary education, government institutions, libraries and archives, and museums — all pathways that could benefit from the expanded worldview, human connection, and research expertise that experience in languages provides. Moreover, anyone working in a teaching capacity, and who therefore is likely to encounter students from diverse linguistic backgrounds, benefits from an insider knowledge of the experience of reading and learning as a non-native speaker.
• Challenge an anglocentric understanding of language in our discipline and culture at large. Our department values a diversity of voices and acknowledges that many languages and ways of speaking have been silenced through violence, both physical and cultural. We encourage our students to study languages other than English, in part, to resist a push for monolingualism in America and the cultural erasures that accompany it.

The methods students may use to fulfill this requirement are outlined below. While we require students engage only one language other than English, we recognize that those specializing in certain research areas might find acquiring additional language skills necessary for their research.

The Director of Graduate Studies recommends that all students, and especially those who are not entering the program with knowledge of a language other than English, discuss their plans regarding this requirement with their major advisor early in the program, preferably during their first semester. They should plan on fulfilling the requirement prior to completing coursework. At the latest, students should plan to complete the requirement before the submission of the dissertation prospectus. Please consult with the Director of Graduate Studies if any problem arises in completing this requirement according to that timeline.

Methods. In collaboration with their major advisor, students should determine which of the methods of fulfilling the language requirement described below best suits their course of study. For methods (1) through (3), students must have completed the courses or examination no more than five years prior to submitting their PhD plan of study for approval.

The options below are arranged from those that require no additional work to those that require the deepest investment. If a student anticipates that a language will be vital to their research, we encourage them to select a means for fulfilling the requirement that allows for substantial language study. Please note that students may choose to pursue the study of written languages (such as Spanish, German, Arabic, Mandarin, etc.), digital languages (such as Python), and gestural languages (ASL). The option to pursue any particular language will depend, in part, on resources (faculty, coursework) available at UConn and beyond.

• The student may establish evidence of competence in the language through an official transcript stating that the undergraduate or a higher degree was earned with that language as the major or minor area of study.
• The student may pass an examination set by a member of the university faculty (or, if approved by the advisory committee and the DGS, a faculty member at another college or university). The examiner may be a member of the English department — and the graduate office maintains a list of faculty qualified and willing to administer language exams — but may not be a member of the student’s advisory committee.The examination will include the translation into English of a passage approximately 400 to 500 words in length with the assistance of a dictionary. The examiner will choose the passage in collaboration with the student’s major advisor. The examination must be supervised and have a reasonable time limit. In the event that a student is studying a language not typically rendered in print/text form, such as American Sign Language (ASL), the examiner will provide an appropriate text that the student will translate into English. If the result is not successful, the exam may be repeated as many times as needed.Students pursuing this option can consult with their advisors and the graduate office for resources they can use to learn independently in preparation for the exam. To schedule a language exam, the student should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies. When the exam is finished, the examiner should send an email confirming the student’s successful completion of the exam to the graduate office, copying the student and their major advisor.
• A PhD or MA reading examination in a language other than English passed at another graduate school may be accepted in transfer (subject to the above five-year limitation). The student should provide the graduate office evidence that they passed such an exam.
• The student may pass both semesters of an approved one-year reading or beginning course in the language with grades equivalent to C or higher. The courses may be taken on a Pass/Fail basis, with a grade of Pass denoting a performance that meets the language requirement. Alternatively, the student may pass a course in a language other than English or in literature written in a language other than English at or above the 3000 level, provided that the reading for the course is required to be done in the language . Language courses taken concurrently with the graduate program at other institutions are eligible to fulfill the requirement as long as the student can provide evidence that they have taken the course and received a grade of C or higher.
• The student can complete UConn’s Graduate Certificate in Literary Translation .
• The student’s native language is a language other than English.

Ph.D. Exams

The Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations are based on two reading lists (details below), which are created in the final semester of coursework and must be approved by the Graduate Executive Committee. The Graduate Executive Committee recommends the following timeline for completing the Doctoral Examination and moving to the dissertation.

• In consultation with the Advisory Committee, create exam lists in the spring semester of the final coursework year. While creating exam lists, discuss the timing and formatting of the Ph.D. exam (details below).
• Submit exam lists and the PhD Exam List Approval Form  to the Graduate Office for approval by April 15.
• Submit Plan of Study to the Graduate School in summer or early fall semester in the third year.
• Take the Doctoral Examination no later than February 28th of the academic year following the completion of coursework. The Graduate Executive Committee recommends that students take exams in the late fall.
• Submit dissertation prospectus and schedule the Prospectus Colloquium no later than April 1st of the academic year following the completion of coursework.

Creation and Submission of Examination Lists

The Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations are based on two reading lists, which provide the materials for three discrete exams: one addressing the first reading list, one addressing the second reading list, and a third which combines materials from both lists. For the purposes of the exams, each list designates a clearly defined and professionally recognizable field or subfield of scholarship (e.g., a literary-historical period such as the Renaissance, a transtemporal genre such as Drama, a critical tradition such as Feminism, an established body of literature such as Children’s Literature). The relationship between the two reading lists is to be determined by the advisory committee, with the understanding that the fields identified by each list are to complement one another (in terms of history, discipline, method, genre, or otherwise). When appropriate, students should discuss with their advisors ways to handle the challenges of representing multiple subfields and/or disciplines within the two-list structure

Traditionally, each list comprises approximately 60-75 works, including 75% primary works and 25% secondary works. A “secondary” work may refer to a book, essay, or group of essays including literary criticism, historical, or theoretical texts. Lists from students in certain fields may look slightly different. For example, lists in Rhetoric and Composition may contain entirely secondary texts, including articles and book chapters alongside book-length texts. Lists in fields such as Digital Humanities or Film Studies may include texts in a variety of modalities. Students in these fields should discuss with their advisors the best way to proceed. All lists should include no fewer than 60-75 works overall, of any genre or modality. Because each field is different, a student’s list should reflect the kind of texts (e.g., theoretical, multimodal, visual) that are important in that field. How each text “counts” on the Ph.D. exam list will be determined at the discretion of the student and their advisory committee, as the graduate office recognizes that length and complexity are not equivalent.

Generally speaking, excerpts are not permissible, though standard excerpts of exceedingly long or multi-volume works may be permitted with the approval of the advisory committee. In assembling selections of poems, essays, excerpts, etc., students should not use undergraduate-oriented anthologies such as the Norton or Bedford anthologies; instead, students should research and choose an authoritative scholarly edition that surveys adequately — for a Ph.D.-level exam — each author’s writings. The student’s reading lists should reflect both breadth and depth of reading, as well as a sense of the history of criticism throughout the fields and contemporary critical and theoretical approaches. There should be no overlap of works between reading lists. Selections of works should take into consideration both coverage of the field and preparation for the anticipated dissertation.

Reading lists are to be drawn up by the student in consultation with their advisory committee, beginning at the end of the fall semester of the final year of coursework. Students are encouraged, though not required, to meet with the advisory committee as a whole to discuss the creation of the lists. All items in each list should be numbered clearly, and lists should be arranged chronologically or in some other systematic fashion.

Each list should be accompanied by a brief rationale (no longer than 500 words), that explains its content. The purpose of the rationales is the following: (1) to identify a body of texts and its legibility as part of a professionally recognizable field or subfield; (2) to justify inclusions or exclusions that might seem idiosyncratic or which are, at least, not self-explanatory (e.g., including more drama than prose or poetry on a Renaissance list); (3) to indicate a methodological, theoretical, or other type of emphasis (e.g., a high number of gender studies-oriented secondary works).

You can find a sample examination list with correct formatting and marginal notes explaining its elements here.

The student is responsible for making copies of their lists and rationales and depositing them, along with the completed PhD Exam List Approval Form , in the Graduate English Office no later than April 15th of the final year of coursework. All reading lists will then be referred to the Graduate Executive Committee for approval. The Graduate Executive Committee will not approve lists that fail to meet the basic guidelines recommended above. Students whose ideas about the exams continue to change during the reading period may update their lists with the approval of their advisory committees.

Scheduling the Examination

After examination lists are approved, students in consultation with their advisory committees need to agree upon the timing and format of the exams (details below) as well as specific dates on which their exam is to be administered. Please complete the PhD Exam Scheduling Form which will be automatically routed to the Graduate English Office. If the student requires a space on campus to take the exam, arrangements should be made at this time. The deadline by which all students must take their Examination (including the exam conference) is February 28th of the fourth year for MA/Ph.D.s or the same date of the third year for Ph.D.s.

Understanding Ph.D. Examination Deadline and Time Limits

The Ph.D. examination was devised in part to facilitate students’ timely completion of the doctoral degree, and so the Graduate Executive Committee requires that students meet all official deadlines. Students incapable of meeting an examination deadline, for whatever reason, must apply for a time extension from the Director of Graduate Studies by submitting a typed request, signed by the student and their major advisor, ideally at least one month in advance of the deadline. The letter must state the specific reasons for the time delay and also designate the specific amount of extra time requested.

The Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Graduate Executive Committee, will determine an appropriate response to the request, which will be communicated to the candidate by the Director of Graduate Studies. The Committee’s response will specify new deadlines by which the exam should be taken.

Taking the Examination

The PhD exam consists of three parts. The first two exams (Field 1 and Field 2) test the student’s knowledge of works on each field list. The third exam (Synthesis) tests the student’s ability to combine material from both reading lists in the service of a comprehensive argument, ideally one informing future work on the dissertation.

The exam can take one of two formats:

• Written exam: The student writes three essays (Field One, Field Two, and Synthesis). Each exam should include two questions, of which the student selects and answers one. This format requires an exam conference, but the student will know if they have passed the exam before that meeting. The exam conference is described below. It is ungraded.
• Hybrid exam: The student writes two essays (Field One and Field Two). The Synthesis exam is a graded, two-hour oral examination, initiated by a 15- to 20-minute presentation from the student in which they outline three to four research questions that arose from their reading, dedicating approximately equal time to each. The remaining time is led by the student’s advisors as an oral synthesis exam; advisors might, for example, ask questions that lead a student to clarify, nuance, or expand upon the research questions outlined during their presentation. Note that this exam is separate from the field exams; the student’s presentation, and the advisory committee’s questions, should not replicate the inquiries from those previous exams. In addition to the two written exams and oral exam, this format requires an exam conference, but the student will know if they have passed the exam before that meeting. The exam conference is described below. It is ungraded.

Written exams should be allotted 24 hours for completion. The three exams can be spaced across any three dates within a period of one month, with approval of all members of the advisory committee. If a student is taking the exams on three consecutive days, they should receive all exam questions at once. If a student is taking the exams according to a more dispersed timeline, they should receive one set of questions at a time.

These formats are designed to provide graduate students and their advisory committees the flexibility to design a Ph.D. exam that is intellectually challenging and responsive to a student’s needs and goals. As students prepare reading lists for their exams, they should consult with their advisory committee to select a fitting exam format. In the course of these conversations, students and their committees should take into account matters of access (outlined below) as well as students’ caretaking responsibilities, their ability to secure a quiet space to take exams, and other relevant factors. If these factors require a change in the exam’s format not recognized above, or in the event of a disagreement, the student should consult with their major advisor and/or the Director of Graduate Studies.

Examination questions are to be drafted by the candidate’s committee and reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies, but the major advisor is responsible for assembling the exam. Candidates are not permitted to view the questions prior to the examination. The Graduate Office asks the major advisor to distribute questions for written exams upon the schedule determined by the student and their committee. The Graduate Administrator will assist in scheduling a space for the oral exam, if applicable.

The Graduate Executive Committee strongly recommends that all candidates consult their entire Advisory Committee about their understanding of the examination process and expectations for each part of it — ideally throughout their preparations but certainly early in the process of assembling the lists and at a later stage just prior to scheduling the examination.

The Graduate Executive Committee assumes that answers to written exams will be approximately 10-15 pages of double-spaced prose (with limited block quoting); that each essay will answer the question asked by the advisory committee, however creatively; that each essay will establish a clear argument and seek to back it up with textual evidence; and that each essay will be clearly written and appropriately revised. Pre-written essays are strictly forbidden. The candidate should pay attention to the question’s instructions regarding the number of texts they should use in their response and not consider a text in detail in more than one essay.

Access and Accommodations for Ph.D. Exams

The University of Connecticut is committed to achieving equal educational and employment opportunity and full participation for persons with disabilities. Graduate students who have questions about access or require further access measures in any element of the graduate program should contact the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD), Wilbur Cross Building Room 204, (860) 486-2020, or visit the Center for Students with Disabilities website . Alternatively, students may register online with the CSD by logging into the student MyAccess portal .

The English Graduate Office advises students who would like to discuss matters related to access to consult with the Director of Graduate Studies, ideally during the creation of the exam lists. Access measures for Ph.D. exams may include, but are not limited to, extended time to complete the exam, the use of voice recognition programs and the extended time some programs require, or locating and scheduling space to take the exam.

The Examination Grade

Upon completion of the examination, students will receive a grade from their committee of “Pass,” or “Fail.” Major advisors should communicate this grade to their advisees as soon as possible and before the day set for the examination conference. Students who fail the examination will be required to meet with their advisory committee to determine an appropriate time and plan for retaking it. Students failing the examination twice will be dismissed from the program. Please Note: ABD status grants a salary increase and eligibility for a library study carrel.

The Examination Conference

Within two weeks of a student passing the Ph.D. examination, the advisory committee will meet with the student to discuss the examination. This examination conference is a mandatory, but not a graded, component of the examination. The purpose of the conference is twofold: to offer candidates a forum for a thorough discussion of their exam’s strengths and weaknesses and to help the student transition from the examination phase to the prospectus phase of the Ph.D.. To this end, the Graduate Executive Committee assumes that advisory committee members will divide time appropriately between offering feedback on each of the three exams and working collaboratively to establish a clear understanding of expectations, goals, deadlines for completion of the prospectus.

The Dissertation

In light of growing diversity in students’ motivations for attaining a PhD in English and professional opportunities available to humanities PhDs, the department supports and encourages dissertations in many forms. For example, the dissertation might take the form of a prototype for a book manuscript; a born-digital project or a project with some online or computational components; or a creative work or translation with a critical introduction.

​Students should consult with their advisory committee and, if necessary, the Director of Graduate Studies about the proposed format of their dissertation as early in their graduate career as is practical. During those conversations, students and their advisors should consider the format of the dissertation in relation to the students’ scholarly needs and professional goals, the expectations and standards of the profession or intellectual community the student plans to enter, and the resources the student will require to complete the proposed project, including time, funding, advising, and skills. The student, advisory committee, and Director of Graduate Studies will agree upon the form and scope of the dissertation through the submission, review, and approval of the prospectus.

Prospectus Colloquium

The Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium is an opportunity for the student to discuss the thesis topic in detail with the Advisory Committee. The colloquium should take place before the student begins writing the dissertation. The Advisory Committee expects to be presented with a Prospectus sufficiently far along in its development for a judgment to be made on its scholarly validity and potential as a fully developed dissertation. The student and Major Advisor should inform the Director of Graduate Studies at least one month in advance of the day and time of this event. Departmental Representatives need at least two weeks notice before the actual colloquium to read the prospectus. The readers are expected to attend the colloquium; however, it is not necessary that they do so. Comments from the readers can be given to the Major Advisor and student.

Dissertation Chapter Advisory Conference

The Dissertation Chapter Advisory Conference is a non-graded opportunity for students to discuss with their advisory committees the strengths and weaknesses of a complete draft of a dissertation chapter. The conference is designed to serve three basic purposes: 1) to facilitate the transition of ABDs into the process of researching and writing the doctoral dissertation; 2) to encourage early communication between students and their committee members, and between primary and secondary advisors; 3) to encourage discussion of a future plan for the completion of the other dissertation chapters/parts. The Graduate Executive Committee requires every Ph.D. student to submit a complete draft of a chapter to the advisory committee, within 3 months but no later than 6 months after the date of the Dissertation Prospectus Colloquium. By “complete,” the Committee wishes to emphasize that the intellectual integrity of the submitted chapter must not be compromised by any omitted material (such as notes, bibliography, etc.), by significant stylistic weaknesses, grammatical errors, etc. After the Conference, students must turn into the Graduate office a First Chapter Conference Form , which must be signed by all advisory committee members.

Dissertation Defense

A dissertation defense is required of every student by the Graduate School. The student’s Advisory Committee and 2 Departmental Representatives are required to attend; members of the department and the University community are invited to attend. The defense is both an examination and a forum for the candidate to comment on the scope and significance of the research. As a result of the dissertation defense, the student’s Advisory Committee may require revisions and corrections to the dissertation. The student initiates scheduling of the Defense by consulting first with members of the Advisory Committee and the Graduate Office. At least five members of the faculty (including the members of the student’s Advisory Committee) must attend the defense. Only members of the Advisory Committee, however, may actually recommend passing or failing the student.

According to the Graduate School catalog, the dissertation should represent a significant contribution to ongoing research in the candidate’s field. While the Graduate School does not stipulate a minimum length for dissertations, the Graduate Executive Committee strongly suggests a minimum length of 60,000 words inclusive for a traditional dissertation in English (not a creative dissertation or a “born-digital” DH dissertation). The committee suggests this length as representing approximately 2/3 of the standard length of an academic monograph according to current publication practices. Students who wish to complete a creative dissertation, a “born-digital” dissertation, or a project in a format other than a collection of textual chapters should consult with their advisory committee and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Students must schedule the dissertation defense with the Graduate Office and Advisory Committee at least three months ahead of time. Electronic copies of the dissertation should be distributed at least three weeks prior to the defense: to each Advisory Committee member and to department representatives. The student must also notify the UConn Events Calendar two weeks in advance. For further information, see this helpful guide from the Graduate School .

Annual Review of Progress toward Degree

Beginning in their first semester following the completion of coursework, Ph.D. students must annually report their progress by completing an Annual Review of Progress toward Degree , including a self-evaluation and a response from their major advisor. Neither evaluation need exceed 250 words. These evaluations are reviewed each spring semester by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in consultation with the Associate Director of Graduate Studies (ADGS). In the preparation for the review, students and their major advisors should consult with one another about the students’ achievements, progress, and any potential delays over the previous academic year. The review is due to the Graduate Office no later than April 1. Please see the form for submission instructions.

For students in the first year following the completion of coursework, satisfactory progress is measured by the student and major advisor in terms of their preparation for and writing of their PhD examinations. Subsequent reviews focus on the remaining milestones in the program, including the language requirement, the dissertation prospectus and colloquium, and progress toward the dissertation defense. Note that students can consult with their major advisors and/or the DGS to request extensions on deadlines, which are designed to help students complete their degree within funding .

For students who are ABD, the Review of Progress toward Degree  should focus on the dissertation. The self-evaluation from the student should record milestones achieved and set forth research and writing accomplished since the last evaluation as well as research and writing plans for the next twelve months.

If the student’s review raises concerns about their progress, the DGS will arrange a meeting with the student to devise a plan for moving forward.

Job Training and Professional Development

In the semester prior to submitting applications for a job, contact the Director of Graduate Studies to announce your intentions to go on the job market. The department runs annual meetings on CV and cover letter writing, teaching portfolio workshops, MLA and campus interviewing, etc. The Executive Committee recommends that Ph.D. students attend all of them.

Apply to the M.A./Ph.D. English Program

Admission Deadline for Fall 2024:  January 14, 2024 Extended to January 31, 2024

How to Apply

To apply, you must complete the  University of Arizona Graduate College online application . Follow these steps:

• Create a GradApp account
• Complete your GradApp profile under "My Account".
• Select "Apply to a Program" from the sidebar.
• Choose "Degree Seeking" under application type and either "English (MA)" or "English (PhD)" under program of study.
• Choose the semester during which you wish to enter the program.
• Your application should now be initiated under "My Active Applications."

Admission Requirements

Students entering M.A. program:

• A B.A. in English degree is strongly preferred; in some cases, applicants with a B.A. in adjacent disciplines or equivalent preparation in literary studies may be admitted. 
• You must have a grade-point average of at least 3.0.

Students entering Ph.D. program:

• You must have completed an M.A. in English (literature). If you have a related degree (such as an MFA in Creative Writing or an M.A. in American Studies) you will begin our program at the M.A. level, though you may be able to transfer in up to 6 units of graduate course work pertinent to the degree.

Application Checklist

Statement of purpose.

Include a statement of purpose describing why are you interested in getting an advanced degree in literature at the University of Arizona.

Letters of Recommendation

You'll need three letters of recommendation. Enter contact information for your referees in the online application. Your referees will be contacted directly by the University of Arizona.

Transcripts

Transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended or are currently attending. Unofficial transcripts must be uploaded with your application. You must submit official transcripts , later on, before you can be officially admitted by the Graduate College.

Curriculum Vita

Include a curriculum vita or equivalent outlining your education, scholarship, employment, and academic achievements.

Writing Sample

A writing sample in the form of one or more critical papers written for upper-division or graduate literature courses (totaling a maximum of 25 pages). For students entering with an M.A. in hand, we recommend that the writing sample be a single, article-length paper, since your sample will also serve as your Qualifying Examination Paper.

GRE scores are not required for admission.

English Language Proficiency (International Applicants)

Self-report your Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores. Official scores must also be submitted via ETS to the Graduate College (Institution Code is 4832). TOEFL score must be dated within 2 years of enrollment.

Applicants will not be admitted unless they achieve a minimum TOEFL score of 550 paper based (PB) or 79 internet based (iBT); or an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) composite score of 7 (no subject area below a 6). International students seeking graduate teaching assistantships must attain, in addition to the minimum TOEFL score listed above, acceptable scores on both the TOEFL Speak test and the Task-Based English Speaking Test (TBEST) administered by the University of Arizona (unless the university waives this requirement based on the applicant's superior TOEFL Speak score) and must also pass an oral/aural English language assessment administered by the university's Writing Program.

See Graduate College requirements for international students .

Ph.D. in English: Overview, Course, Eligibility Criteria, Admission, Syllabus, Fees, Scope, Result and Cutoffs, & FAQs

Best Ph.D. in English Colleges in India 2023: The Ph.D. in English stands for Doctor of Philosophy in English, which is completed within 3 to 5 years. The course is ideal for those candidates who wish to learn literature subjects in an English-translated language. The English Ph.D. degree will make you well-versed in major fields of English such as world literature, dialogue delivery, ancient literature, dialects, translations, and technical writing like drama, poetry, fiction, and prose. Candidates need to have a minimum aggregate score of 55% in their academics as well as should have post graduate or master’s degree I.e, MA in English or M. Phill before applying for Ph.D. in English program. You can make 4 to 6 lakhs salary per annum and that increases based on your expertise, knowledge, and dialogue delivery. Students can get into the creative writing, and corporate sector as well as in universities and colleges after completing their Ph.D. degree in English. Technical Writer, Journalist, Critic Writer, Translator Public Relations Officer, are some of the job roles after completing an English Ph.D. In this article, you’re going to learn everything about a Ph.D. in English degree including its salary structure, recruiters lists, degree scope, top colleges, etc.

Course Highlights

Also Read:  Top Engineering Colleges in India

Eligibility Criteria

All the aspirants need to meet the following eligibility criteria before being admitted to the best university for Ph.D. in English in India –

• All the candidates must have at least 55% aggregate marks in their academics, bachelor’s as well as a master’s degree. Scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes people get 5% relief on this.
• Postgraduate or master’s degrees should be either Masters of arts in English (MA) or a master of philosophy in English (M.Phil).
• Candidates need to clear the entrance examinations followed by a personal interview round to be eligible for a Ph.D. in English.
• Various Universities require you to have professional experience in English or literature subjects at a senior-level position.

Admission Process

The candidates need to follow the proper admission process to get admitted to the university. You need to visit the official website of your dream university, download the application form, fill it out and send it back to the university. Afterward, you need to attempt the entrance examination and score at least minimum passing marks. Candidates are also expected to score a minimum of 55% aggregate marks in their 10th standard, and 12th standard as well as a bachelor’s degree. Moreover, they need to complete their master’s degree in the English field for further admission. Once you clear the entrance examination you will be called for the personal interview session that will be followed by various other rounds. We have mentioned the compiled process below –

• Merit-Based Admission
• Entrance Exam-Based Admission (CSIR UGC NET, ICAR AICE JRF/SRF, UGC NET, etc)
• Written Test
• Counseling Session
• Group Discussion
• Final Documentation process & Evaluation

Syllabus for Entrance Exam

UGC-NET is the exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is accepted by all Indian colleges affiliated with the University Grants Commission (UGC). The syllabus for the UGC-NET English exam is listed below.

Fee Structure for Ph.D. in English

The Ph.D. in English fees vary according to the University to which you are planning to apply for admission to pursue further studies. In India, the average fee for completing a Ph.D. in English is INR 50,000/- per annum. The minimum fee required to pursue this program is INR 5,000/- and the maximum fee can go up to INR 3,00,000/- per annum based on amenities, reputation, enrollment number, location, etc. If you are looking forward to taking admission to the top universities for Ph.D. in English with minimal annual fees, then ‘Loyola College, Chennai,’ ‘Christ University College, Bangalore’, etc is the best option for you. Their fee structure stands approximately between INR 10,000/- per annum to INR 35,000/- per annum. Other best English Ph.D. universities with a bit higher fees structure between INR 75,000/- per annum to INR 1,50,000/- per annum are ‘Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneshwar,’ ‘NIMS University College, Jaipur,’ ‘St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai’, etc. Please note that the annual fees for Ph.D. in English will eventually increase & can go in lakhs if you wish to take direct admission to private universities that don’t require an entrance examination. But, after clearing the university-level entrance exam, you get certain relief in your entire fees.

Top Entrance Examinations for Ph.D. in English

Different Universities accept different entrance examinations. Moreover, they can also conduct their university-level examination that candidates need to clear before getting admitted to the university. During the entrance exam, you will have 1.5 hours to complete it. And the exam questions will be in the form of multiple-choice questions with no policy of negative marking. The entrance exam will generally be on subjects like logical reasoning, English, social science, etc. Some of the most popular entrance examinations held by different universities in India for Ph.D. in English admission are mentioned below –

• UGC NET: The entrance exam states the Indian candidate’s eligibility as a professor or Junior Research fellowship. The University Grants Commission (UGC) exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency.
• GATE: Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is conducted to test candidates’ eligibility for research-based subjects. You can appear for the GATE 2023 exam if you have completed either of the government-approved degrees in subjects of Arts, Science, Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Commerce, etc. It’s one of the prestigious exams that open doors to work in companies like ONGC, BHEL, NTPC, IOCL, SAIL, HPCL, etc.
• DUET: Delhi University Entrance Test (DUET) is generally a national-level entrance examination. The DUET entrance exam is organized by the National Testing Authority (NTA). The test allows candidates to pursue higher-level studies in degrees like postgraduate, M.Phil, and other research-based doctorate or philosophy courses. The DUET 2023 notifications will soon be released on their official website portal.
• JNUEE: Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Exam (JNUEE 2023 entrance exam) is generally a university-level entrance exam. The JNUEE 2023 notifications are declared & managed by the conducting body National Testing Agency (NTA). The exam takes place once every year. With the help of this exam, the candidates can take admission across various degree-level courses on the JNU campus within the 14 Schools. These degrees are undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) etc.

Note: National Testing Agency (NTA) is a self-established organization that helps to organize various university-level entrance examinations. Such exams help candidates to take admission or fellowship to renowned educational universities. With the help of NTA standards tests, we can judge the capability of candidates for further admission.

Here in the below section, we have mentioned the most important dates for entrance examinations –

Scholarship and Fellowship

As per various government schemes, the most deserving candidates will be offered the scholarship & fellowship by waving off their fees. All the aspirants of Ph.D. in English are notified to attend the UGC NET exam & clear with required marks to avail the full benefit of such schemes. Clearing this entrance exam will give you the position of JRF (Junior Research Fellowship). Here, you are eligible for a stipend between INR 28,000/- to INR 30,000/-. Your stipend amount increases gradually after two years to INR 35,000/- at SRF (Senior Research Fellowship) position.

Result and Cutoffs

Minimum marks or aggregate percentage is set by the best universities for Ph.D. in English in India to select the top-notch & sharp-minded candidates.

The cut-off marks are different for every course, university, or college. Such cutoff scores widely save you from the difficult entrance examination. Based on your 12th standard, 10th standard, bachelor’s, or master’s, your admission process gets simplified. If you do not fulfill the minimum cutoff marks, then you will not be called for further rounds of the admission process. The list of cutoff marks usually gets declared after the results of entrance exams are out.

Future Scope and Career Options after Ph.D. in English

The future scope after completing a doctorate of philosophy in English seems very bright. It is so because novelists, creative writers, copywriters, technical writers, and even literature professors, etc. are the need of the day. Even though our mother tongue is Hindi, English is still the most basic language that is used as a medium to interact with each other in the private corporate sector as well as the government sector. We have compiled a list of some job profiles, career roles, employment sectors as well as top recruiters that you can get hired from after the completion of an English Ph.D. degree –

Employment Sectors 

Top recruiters.

Private Companies

Government Companies

Salary Package After Completing Ph.D. in English

The starting salary for a Ph.D. in English graduate freshers are INR 3,50,000/- to INR 5,000,00/- per annum as per PayScale. After gaining 3 to 5 years of relevant experience, it goes up between INR 10,00,000/- to INR 15,000,00/- per annum. The maximum you can make after 10 to 15 years of experience at profiles like movie critic is INR 36,00,000/- although for the right talent sky’s the limit.

Top Cities for Ph.D. in English

Indian cities that are best for completing your Ph.D. in English degree course are Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, preferably. It is so because it is considered a hub for employment so there are so many people from varied parts of India as well as foreign countries who are good in English & come to these cities for study. Having a group with such knowledge will help you to improve your skills and learn the best from each other. Moreover, while searching for the best college you should know about the professors, their profiles & degree and preferably join universities having professors who have completed English studies in foreign countries. Here are the top cities that you can approach for completing your PhD. in English degree –

Top university for Ph.D. in English

In India, there are more than 760 government and private universities as well as 38,498 colleges. Out of this number, more than 15,000 universities offer MA in English and Ph.D. in English courses.

Best Private/Government University for Ph.D.in English in India

Best University for Ph.D.in English in World

FAQ’s Related to Ph.D. in English

Q. What is the full form of a Ph.D. in English? 

Ans. The Ph.D. in English stands for doctor of philosophy in English degree. It is a research-based degree of 3 to 5 years usually done after completing the master’s in English.  

Q. Name the entrance exams held by the universities for joining Ph.D. in English degree courses. 

Ans. GATE, JNUEE, DUET, CSIR-UGC NET, ICAR AICE JRF/SRF are the entrance exams for Ph.D. English admission. 

Q. What is the average fee structure for a Ph.D. in an English degree course? 

Ans. The average fee for completing a doctorate in English is INR 5,000/- to INR 3, 00,000/- per annum. 

Q. How much salary can you expect after completing a doctorate in philosophy in English? 

Ans. According to PayScale, the Ph.D. English graduates can expect INR 3, 50,000/- to INR 5, 00,000/- per annum in private & government sector jobs. 

Q. What are the minimum aggregate marks accepted by the universities for taking admission to Ph.D. in English? 

Ans. The candidate must have at least 55% aggregate marks in Academics, and a bachelor’s as well as a master’s degree to be eligible for filling out the admission form.

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PhD English Literature: Course Details, Eligibility, Admission, Fees

PhD English Literature is a full-time research degree that deals to impart students with the required theoretical background and research skills. After completion of the PhD in English Literature in India, the graduates can work as Writers, Academic Librarians, Advertising Account Executive, Advertising Copywriter, Arts Administrator, Information Officer etc.

PhD English Literature Course Details

About phd english literature.

This course is ideal for students who are interested in studying literature written in the English language. The course falls under the umbrella of PhD.

According to Wikipedia, " Literature written in the English language includes many countries such as the United Kingdom and its crown dependencies, Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. The English language has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years.”

Table of Contents

• PhD English Literature Eligibility Criteria
• PhD English Literature Admission Process
• Popular PhD English Literature Entrance Exams
• Top PhD English Literature Colleges
• Fees Structure for PhD English Literature

Syllabus and Subjects for PhD English Literature

• Why Choose a PhD English Literature?

Preparation Tips for PhD English Literature

• PhD English Literature Salary

Career Options After PhD English Literature

• Skills to Excel

Eligibility Criteria for PhD English Literature

The minimum eligibility for PhD English Literature is a master's degree in the English language with a minimum of 55% aggregate in the discipline passed from a recognized university. In some colleges, M.Phil is a prerequisite for PhD English Literature admission. Selection of the candidates for admission in PhD is done on the basis of entrance examination or merit. There is no age limit for the course.

How To Get Admission in a PhD English Literature?

To get admitted into the best universities for PhD English Literature, students must ensure that they satisfy the eligibility criteria. The admission to PhD in an English Literature course is generally on the basis of an entrance exam which is followed by a personal interview round conducted at the university or the college. Mentioned below are the general guidelines for the admission process:

How to Apply?

PhD English Literature eligibility information for admission can be found on the college's official websites, where the students should apply. Candidates can either reach the official website of the institute or can reach out to the office of the institute to fill out the application form. Candidates need to fill out the application form and upload all the necessary documents which are asked in the form.

Selection Process

Admission is strictly offered to only those candidates who clear the minimum cut-off. After completion of the process of application, go for the counselling round and attend the personal interview round to get your desired college. And the interview decides whether the candidate is allotted a seat or not.

Who Should Pursue a PhD English Literature?

The PhD in English Literature should be pursued by aspirants who are interested in pursuing the field of literature and history of the English language. since it is a doctorate course, it is vital for the students to be interested in the field of research. 

When To Do PhD English Literature?

Ideally, students should pursue a PhD in English Literature upon the completion of their Master's/M.Phil in English. Students with work experience in the field of research and writing would have an advantage over their peers. Students must also ensure that they give the required entrance exam when pursuing this course.

Types of PhD English Literature

Given below are the types of PhD English Literature programs that the students can enrol in:

Full-Time PhD English Literature

A full-time PhD English Literature course lasts between three to six years. In this course, the students are expected to go to the universities and attend the classes in person. This type of curiculum provides students with a lot of exposure and experience.

Part-Time PhD English Literature

A part-time PhD English Literature course is designed for students who can't attend full-time classes. These classes are often conducted on weekends or later in the evenings to accommodate these students. The benefit of this form of class is that the students get time to invest time in gaining work experience and their personal endeavours. 

Distance PhD English Literature

The Distance PhD English Literature course is designed for students who can't even attend part-time classes due to reasons such as location or work. In this format, most of the classes are conducted online and students are only expected to come on-site during exams.

Popular Entrance Exams for PhD English Literature

The applicants need to qualify for the entrance examination conducted by UGC or state to secure a seat in top PhD English Literature colleges in India. Some of the top entrance exams applicable for M.Phil programs are:

A Quick Glance at the PhD English Literature Entrance Exams

To get into the top PhD English Literature college in India, a candidate should clear the test. To prepare for the entrance exams, the candidates should know the course details, the syllabus, and the question pattern, and should prepare according to them. The exam for PhD English Literature consists of a syllabus of English only except for GATE.

• The exam pattern is divided into objective and subjective type questions with a total of 100 marks and total time duration of 2 to 3 hours.
• The questions are asked from topics related to the Victorian period, Modern period, Contemporary period, Modern British Literature etc.
• The examination is subjective in nature and is designed to assess a candidate’s analytical and critical thinking abilities.

Top 10 PhD English Literature Colleges in India

Students can opt for the top government colleges for PhD English Literature in India or most premium colleges in India depending upon their ranking. Here is the list of top 10 colleges for PhD English Literature in India for aspirants' reference:

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in New Delhi

India’s capital city is home to some of the best institutions for PhD English Literature in India. Check the table below for the top PhD English Literature colleges in New Delhi:

Read More: PhD Colleges in Delhi

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in Pune

Pune also has some of the best institutions for PhD English Literature in India. Check the table below for the top PhD English Literature colleges in Pune:

Read More: PhD Colleges in Pune

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in Chennai

Tamil Nadu’s capital city is home to some of the premier institutions for PhD English Literature in India. Check the table below for the best PhD English Literature colleges in Chennai:

Read More: PhD Colleges in Chennai

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in Bangalore

The capital city of Karnataka is renowned around the country for colleges offering top PhD English Literature programmes. Check the table below for the best PhD English Literature colleges in India:

Read More: PhD Colleges in Bangalore

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in Kolkata

West Bengal’s capital city, Kolkata, has some of the best colleges for PhD English Literature courses in India. Check the table below for the best PhD English Literature colleges in Kolkata:

Read More: PhD Colleges in Kolkata

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in Hyderabad

The Telangana state capital has some premier institutions in the country for PhD English Literature courses in India. Check the table below for the top PhD English Literature colleges in Hyderabad:

Read More: PhD Colleges in Hyderabad

Top PhD English Literature Government Colleges

There are several top Government Colleges offering quality PhD English Literature programmes across the country. Check the table below for the top PhD English Literature government colleges in India:

Top PhD English Literature Private Colleges

India has seen significant growth in the number of quality PhD English Literature private colleges that offer some of the best programmes in the country. Check the table below for the top PhD English Literature private colleges in India:

Study PhD English Literature Abroad

There are many colleges abroad that provide students with an opportunity to study PhD English Literature. Given below are the top colleges according to the country.

Top PhD English Literature Colleges Abroad

The table below contains the list of some of the best colleges abroad for PhD English Literature:

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in USA

The USA is home to some of the best universities and colleges offering top-notch PhD English Literature programmes in the world. The table below contains the list of top PhD English Literature colleges in the USA:

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in the UK

The UK has institutions that date back to the 13th century. This makes the UK one of the best destinations for pursuing a PhD English Literature. The table below shows the top colleges in the UK for PhD English Literature:

Top PhD English Literature Colleges in Canada

Known as the ‘Great White North’, Canada is one of the most sought-after destinations for PhD English Literature programmes in the world:

Fee Structure for PhD English Literature

The average PhD English Literature fee is around INR 10,000 to INR 2 LPA depending on the colleges or the universities offering PhD English Literature in India. The fees may vary according to the college or university based on the type of institute, location, infrastructure, faculties, and facilities available. Listed below is an average annual fee for some colleges:

The PhD English Literature is a full-time research degree and may be awarded after three to four years of supervised independent research on the basis of a thesis not exceeding 50,000 words exclusive of bibliography, table of contents and any other preliminary matter.

PhD English Literature duration of three to five years. The course involves the study of the English language and Literature from all parts of the world, their origin, their analysis etc. Some of the compulsory subjects are:

• Modes of Writing
• Critical Essays
• Victorian Literature
• American Literature
• Women’s Writings
• Creative Writing
• English Poetry

Read More: PhD English Literature Syllabus and Subjects

Why Choose PhD English Literature?

Students often wonder about PhD English Literature details before choosing the course. Before deciding on a career, students come across queries like, "What is PhD English Literature course?" and "Why choose PhD English Literature?”. To clearly understand the answers to these questions, we have framed the following three pointers:

What is PhD English Literature All About?

PhD English Literature courses in India is a three years full-time doctorate programme within the field of English. This course includes various types of writing, including novels, non-fiction, poetry, and plays. It also includes texts like poetry, drama, prose fiction etc.

What Does a PhD English Literature Graduate Do?

English is a vast and exciting area that is chosen by a large number of students. Yet after graduation, the career path is rather unclear, largely because there is so much to do with a literature degree. Although, it makes one eligible for Lecturers in private universities, and colleges across India.

Professor: A Professor teaches students studying at UG or PG level and ensures that they learn the language properly. They can teach English or drama to students. Many of the teachers conduct research alongside teaching the students.

Reasons Why PhD English Literature Can Fetch You a Rewarding Career?

The completion of a PhD English Literature degree program is a notable achievement and is valued very highly both inside and outside of academia.

Career Scope and Options: Students after the successful completion of a PhD program have a large opportunity to explore various areas of professional life. They can work in Media Houses, Publishing Houses, Educational Institutions, Print Agencies etc. Candidates can also write their own books, novels or stories or can write for museums or art galleries. They can also work as Lexicographers which means they will have an opportunity to write, compile or edit a dictionary.

Read More: PhD English Literature Jobs & Scope

PhD English Literature Course Comparison

PhD English Literature stands for Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature and is typically catered to students interested in and inclined towards humanities and social sciences. Below is a comparison of the PhD English Literature course with other courses:

PhD English Literature vs M.Phil English

The table below showcases the differences between PhD English Literature and M.Phil English:

Having a PhD English Literature degree opens thriving career opportunities. Some tips for entrance exams are:

Get To Know The Syllabus: The syllabus of the course is something that a student should know, this helps the student to know how to perform at the time of the examination.

Study The Current Affairs: Updating Current affairs regularly also helps in preparing for some of the subjects of the course.

Practice Makes Perfect: Go through  all the subjects and the modules that are taught during the duration of the course.

Salary of a PhD English Literature Graduate

The salary of a PhD holder will differ with field and position. As a fresher, the average salary ranges around INR 2 - 4.5 LPA. It will increase up to INR 5 - 12 LPA [Source: Glassdoor], depending upon your skills and experience. Experience and skills will increase the job scope. And for a Professor, government colleges will provide a salary of INR 5.8 LPA [Source: Glassdoor].

Read More: PhD English Literature Salary

There are a lot of career opportunities available for candidates who wish to pursue PhD English Literature. After completing of PhD English Literature, the graduates can work as Assistant professors in different universities. Here are some job positions available after graduating in literature:

• Academic Librarians
• Advertising Account Executive
• Advertising Copywriter
• Arts Administrator
• Information Officer
• Journalists

Skills That Make You The Best PhD English Literature Graduate

It is a doctorate-level course and deals with research in English literature from all around the world. The main objective of the course includes researching Literature written in the English language. Must-have skills are:

• Analytical Thinking
• Critical Thinking
• Good Management Skills
• Good Organizational Skills
• Research and Problem Solving Skills
• Strategic Communication Skills

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