PHD, English

Degree Program Summary:

For further information regarding courses, faculty, students, admissions, language, and other requirements for the MA and PhD degrees, as well as our annual report, handbook, and initiatives in humanities computing, rhetoric and composition, and more, please visit our website. The English department also participates in MA and PhD programs in linguistics. Further information for these programs appears separately under Linguistics. There is a creative dissertation option under the PhD in English.

The English Department graduate program operates by several guiding principles. Above all we stress the importance of teaching and research, two activities we regard as inextricably related. We seek to prepare our students to enter the profession as both teachers and scholars; most students who want a chance to teach are able to do so, as teaching assistants or as tutors in the writing center, before completing their doctoral degrees. Students are expected and encouraged to participate actively in the program, to help plan the freshman curriculum, and to play an important role in the life of the department.

Graduate students should rely on their major professor and advisory committee (and on the English Graduate Office and Graduate Coordinator) for timely advice and suggestions about their programs of study, course schedules, preparation for examinations, theses, and dissertations. But one fundamental principle must be stressed above all others:

Students are responsible for their own academic progress and welfare. They must understand the rules and regulations that govern the graduate program, follow established procedures, take appropriate steps, and meet required deadlines.