phd courses after ma english

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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.  

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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.

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• Program Description

Higher Degrees in English

The Graduate Program in English leads to the degrees of Master of Arts (AM) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The AM is an integral part of the doctoral program, and therefore only students who intend to pursue the PhD are eligible for admission to the Graduate Program in English.

The Program

The program takes from four to seven years to complete, with the majority finishing in five or six years. The first two years are devoted to coursework and, in the first year, to preparation for the PhD Qualifying Exam (the “General” exam) at the beginning of the second year. The second and third years are devoted to preparing for the Dissertation Qualifying Exam (the “Field” exam) and writing the Dissertation Prospectus. The fourth, fifth, and sixth years are spent completing the doctoral dissertation. From the third year until the final year (when they are generally supported by Dissertation Completion Fellowships), students also devote time to teaching and to developing teaching skills. Students with prior graduate training or those with a demonstrated ability may complete their dissertations in the fourth or fifth years. Students are strongly discouraged from taking more than seven years to complete the program except under the most exceptional circumstances.

The program aims to provide the PhD candidate 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.

The minimum residence requirement is two years of enrollment in full-time study, with a total of at least fourteen courses completed with honor grades (no grade lower than B-).

The minimum standard for satisfactory work in the Graduate School is a B average in each academic year.

• A minimum of 14 courses must be completed no later than the end of the second year.
• At least ten courses must be at the 200- (graduate) level, and at least six of these ten must be taken within the department. Graduate students in the English department will have priority for admission into 200-level courses.
• Beginning with the incoming class of 2020-21, two proseminars are now required as part of the ten required seminars.
• The remaining courses may be either at the 100- or the 200-level.
• Students typically devote part of their course work in the first year to preparing for the “General” exam, focusing increasingly on their field in the second year.

Proseminars

• Beginning with the incoming class of 2020-21, two proseminars will now be required as part of the ten required seminars.

• The first-year proseminar (taken in the spring semester of the first year) introduces students to the theories, methods, and history of English as a discipline, and contemporary debates in English studies. The readings feature classic texts in all fields, drawn from the General Exam list. This first-year proseminar helps students prepare for the General Exam (taken at the beginning of their second year); it gives them a broad knowledge for teaching and writing outside their specialty; and it builds an intellectual and cultural community among first-year students.

• The second-year proseminar has a two-part focus: it introduces students to the craft of scholarly publishing by helping them revise a research paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal by the end of the course. It thus gives students the tools to begin publishing early in their career. It also introduces students to the growing array of alternative careers in the humanities by exposing them to scholars who are leaders in fields such as editing, curating, and digital humanities.

Independent Study and Creative Writing

• Students may petition to take one of the 100-level courses as independent study (English 399) with a professor, but not before the second term of residence.
• Other independent study courses will be permitted only in exceptional circumstances and with the consent of the professor and director of graduate studies (DGS).
• Only one creative writing course, which counts as a 100-level course, may count toward the PhD degree course requirements.

Credit for Work Done Elsewhere (Advanced Standing)

Once the student has completed at least three 200-level courses with a grade of A or A-, a maximum of four graduate-level courses may be transferred from other graduate programs, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Transferred courses will not count toward the minimum of ten required 200-level courses, but will be counted as 100-level courses.

Incompletes

No more than one Incomplete may be carried forward at any one time by a graduate student in the English Department. It must be made up no later than six weeks after the start of the next term.

In applying for an Incomplete, students must have signed permission from the instructor and the DGS, or the course in question may not count toward the program requirements. If students do not complete work by the deadline, the course will not count toward the program requirements, unless there are documented extenuating circumstances.

Language Requirements

A reading knowledge of two languages is required. Normally, Latin, Ancient Greek, Old English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian are the accepted languages. Other languages, including ASL and computer languages, may be acceptable if the DGS deems them relevant and appropriate to a student’s program of study. Students may fulfill the language requirements:

(1) by passing a two-hour translation exam with a dictionary; (2) by taking a one-term literature course in the chosen language, when conducted in the language and/or the readings are in the language (DGS approval may be necessary in some cases) (3) or by taking two terms of Old English*, elementary Latin or Ancient Greek.

Any course taken to fulfill the language requirement must be passed with a grade of B- or better. Literature-level language courses count for course credit ; elementary language courses do not. *Please note that only the spring semester of Old English will count towards the graduate course requirement (as a 100-level course, or as a 200-level course in the case of ENG 200d) when taken to fulfill a language requirement.

Examples of past language exams can be found  here .

The (Non-Terminal) Master of Arts Degree

In order to apply for the AM degree, students must complete, with a grade of B+ or better, no fewer than a total of seven courses, including a minimum of four English courses, at least three of which must be at the graduate (200-) level, and one additional course that must be taken at the graduate level, but may be taken in another department. Students must also fulfill at least one of their departmental language requirements.

General Exam

At the beginning of the second year, students will take a 75-90 minute oral exam, based on a list of authors and/or titles which the Department will make available for each entering class in the summer prior to its arrival. The examiners will be three regular members of the department (assistant, associate, or full professors), whose names will not be disclosed in advance.

Candidates whose performance on the exam is judged inadequate will be marked as “not yet passed” and must retake the exam at a time to be determined. If candidates do not pass on the second attempt, they will not be able to continue in the program.

Note: Students must fulfill at least one language requirement by the end of the first year in order to be eligible to take the General Exam.

Field Oral Exam

The purpose of the Field Oral exam is twofold: to discuss an emerging dissertation topic, and to examine students' preparation in primary teaching and the scholarly field(s) they mean to claim, particularly field(s) related to the dissertation. Students should be prepared to display knowledge of the field(s) in general based on the books and articles listed in their field bibliography.

The order of events in the exam is up to the committee and student to establish beforehand, but typically the exam has two parts: a discussion of the field(s) in which the proposed dissertation situates itself and in which the student intends to teach; and a discussion of the dissertation topic. The exam should assess both the viability of the thesis topic and the preparedness of the student to pursue it at this time. The level of preparedness should be clarified between the student and committee in their meetings before the exam. The discussion of the dissertation topic should substantially aid the student in writing the prospectus, due six weeks after the exam.

In some field exams, there is already a clear idea of the dissertation, one that the student has already discussed with the committee. The discussion in the exam can thus dive more deeply into the details of the project. In other field exams, the student's dissertation project is not yet fully formed, and the exam actively contributes to fleshing out the formation of the project's scope and direction. The committee and student should agree beforehand on the specific format and scope of the exam.

The two-hour examination is typically taken before the end of the Fall Reading Period of the third year of graduate study, although it is possible to take it as late as the end of February, should the need arise. The exam is conducted by a three-person examination committee, chosen by the individual student, normally from among the tenured and ladder faculty of the English department, (the chair is chosen by May 15 of the second year, and the remaining examiners by no later than September 1 of the third year). One faculty member acts as chair of the committee and often assists the student in selecting other members. The committee, or some part of it, will likely continue to serve as individual students’ dissertation advisors.

During the exam, students are asked to describe and discuss their dissertation project, and to demonstrate an adequate knowledge both of the major primary works and of selected scholarly works in the field(s) as they relate to their dissertation.

The twin purposes of the exam--representing the chosen field, and giving a first account of a dissertation project--are represented by two separate bibliographies, each consisting of primary and scholarly works, drawn up by the student in consultation with the examination committee. There may be considerable overlap between these two bibliographies.

At least four weeks before the exam, the student should meet with the committee, present the two bibliographies (of the chosen field(s) and of the dissertation project), and discuss the format of the exam.

The exam is graded Pass/Fail.

Dissertation Prospectus

The dissertation prospectus, signed and approved by three advisors (or two co-advisors, with a third committee member to be added at a later date), is due to the Graduate Office six “business weeks” after passing the Field Oral Examination. The “business weeks” do not include the Winter Recess, so a student passing the exam four weeks before Winter Recess begins, for example, would have another two weeks after the start of classes in the Spring Term to complete the prospectus.

The prospectus is neither a draft chapter nor a detailed road-map of the next two years work but a sketch, no longer than seven to ten pages, of the topic upon which the student plans to write. It gives a preliminary account of the argument, structure, and scope of the intended treatment of the topic. The overview will be followed by a bibliography.

The prospectus is written in consultation with the dissertation advisors, who will meet with students at least once in the spring of the third year to discuss the prospectus and to draw up a timetable for the writing of the dissertation.

In planning a timetable, students need to bear in mind (1) that two draft chapters of the dissertation must be completed by the middle of their fifth year, if they are to be eligible to apply for completion fellowships in their sixth year, and (2) that students generally enter the job market in the fall of their sixth year, with at least two final chapters and a third draft chapter completed. They should also remember that term-time fellowships and traveling fellowships may be available to them in the fifth year, but that these require applications which are due as early as December or January of the fourth year.  Note: The timetable described above can be accelerated if a student so wishes and is in the position to do so.

Article Submission and Professional Writing Workshop

Students are required to submit an article to a scholarly journal by the end of their 5th year (acceptance is not required). Failure to do so would result in the loss of good standing. This is encouraged for all students, but is a requirement beginning with the incoming class of 2015-16. In conjunction with this new requirement, the department has established a professional writing workshop open to English department students only. Attendance will not be required but expected of students in residence. Students will be expected to take the course at some time before the beginning of the 6th year, and ordinarily in the spring of their 5th year. The course will be graded Sat/Unsat.

Dissertation Advising

Students should assemble a group of faculty members to supervise the dissertation. Several supervisory arrangements are possible: students may work with a committee of three faculty members who share nearly equal responsibility for advising, or with a committee consisting of a principal faculty advisor and a second and third reader. In the first scenario, one of the three faculty members will be asked to serve as a nominal chair of the committee; in the second scenario, the principal advisor serves as chair. If the scope of the project requires it, students should consult the DGS about including a faculty advisor from a department other than English or from another university.

The advising mode chosen will be indicated to the department when the prospectus is submitted. Regardless of the structure of advising, three faculty readers are required to certify the completed dissertation. If it is deemed useful, chapter meetings between the student and the entire committee may be arranged in consultation with the chair.

The Dissertation

After the dissertation prospectus has been approved, candidates work with their dissertation directors or their dissertation committee. All of the designated advisors must approve the final work.

The doctoral dissertation is expected to be an original and substantial work of scholarship or criticism, excellent in form and content. The department accepts dissertations on a great variety of topics involving a broad range of approaches to literature. It sets no specific page limits, preferring to give students and directors as much freedom as possible.

Dissertation Defense

The Dissertation Defense will be a necessary part of receiving the PhD, though it will not be a pass/fail examination. The defense is required for all students who entered the program in 2007 or after.

The form of the defense is as follows:

• Each student’s defense will be a separate event
• In addition to the student and the advisors, the participants typically include any interested faculty and any interested graduate students
• The Graduate Office will announce the upcoming defense to all members of the department, unless otherwise specified by the student
• The event will start with a 15–20 minute presentation by the student and last at most 90 minutes
• If a student has left Cambridge and cannot return easily for this purpose, the defense may be held remotely

Arrangements will be overseen by the Graduate Office but conducted by the student (as with the Fields examination); students will be required to send an email to the Director of Graduate Studies and to the Graduate Program Administrator, with a copy to their advisors, indicating the day, time, and location of the defense.

The meeting for a November, March, or May degree must take place any time after advisors have signed off on the dissertation (by signing the Dissertation Acceptance Certificate) and, in the case of the May degree, at least a week before Commencement. In practice, however, the student will need to defend after advisors have signed off and before advisors disperse. That period will normally be between 1–14 May, and most probably in the early days of May. It is up to the student to coordinate the arrangements.

Students begin teaching in their third year*. Ordinarily they teach discussion sections in courses and in the department’s program of tutorials for undergraduate honors majors.

Preparation for a teaching career is a required part of students’ training, and Teaching Fellows benefit from the supervision and guidance of department members.

Teaching fellows are required to take English 350, the Teaching Colloquium, in their first year of teaching. In addition, they are encouraged to avail themselves of the facilities at the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning.

*English graduate students wishing to teach in their 2nd year must have 1) passed Generals, 2) completed all required course work by the end of their first year OR must have previous comparable teaching experience, and 3) received written authorization from the Director of Graduate Studies and the GSAS Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid.

Doctoral Conferences "Colloquia"

The Department of English’s  Doctoral Conferences (commonly referred to as “Colloquia”) bring together students and faculty from Harvard and other institutions to discuss current research in literature. Colloquia meet regularly throughout the academic year, and all Harvard graduate students and faculty should feel free to attend any of them, regardless of primary field(s) of interest.

Careers and Placement Seminar

As students near the end of their dissertation writing, they may take a seminar preparing them to seek academic and other employment. Students learn about the job application process, develop cover letters and CVs, and practice presenting their work in interviews and job talks, all in a rigorous and supportive environment. Students should leave the seminar with strong materials for the job market, confident identities as the expert scholars and teachers they have become, and clear articulations of how they will contribute to literary studies in the years ahead. The seminar supplements and formalizes the extensive informal placement advising offered in the department.

Graduate Student Progress Timeline

This document  provides a year-by-year breakdown of requirements for satisfactory progress in our program.

• Guidelines for Admission
• Teaching Fellows
• Fellowships
• Graduate Prizes
• Resources for Grad Students
• English PhD Alumni Network & Placement Information

PhD in English

We offer a broad range of graduate-level courses in English studies and encourage interdisciplinary approaches informed by cultural studies and contemporary critical theory. In addition, we offer focused areas of study in American studies, composition and rhetoric, and early modern and Renaissance studies.

Application information & deadlines

December 15, 2023.

Interdisciplinary research informed by cultural studies and critical theory with specialized tracks in American studies, composition, and rhetoric.

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Berkeley Berkeley Academic Guide: Academic Guide 2023-24

About the Program

The Berkeley English Department offers a wide-ranging PhD 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 MA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing upon completion of the PhD course requirements (one of which must be a graduate writing workshop) and submission of a body of creative work.

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

Visit Department Website

Admission to the University

Applying for graduate admission.

Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. A complete list of graduate academic departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website .

Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application can be found on the Graduate Division website .

Admission Requirements

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;

A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and

Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.

For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page . It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here .

Where to apply?

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page .

Doctoral Degree Requirements

The doctoral degree requires satisfactory completion of the following five requirements:

1)  Thirteen courses undertaken in graduate status at Berkeley;

2)  Course work in a broad range of fields of English and American literature;

3)  Demonstration of competence in two foreign languages, or advanced knowledge of one,

relevant to the student's research interests;

4)  An oral qualifying examination;

5)  A prospectus and dissertation.

The normative time to complete the doctoral program is six years (twelve semesters).

REQUIREMENT 1: COURSES

The general goal of the first two years of the program is to assure that the student has a broad and varied knowledge of the fields of British, American, and Anglophone literature in their historical dimensions, and is also familiar with a wide range of literary forms, critical approaches, and scholarly methods. A coherent demonstration of this knowledge is the aim of the course and breadth requirements and of the system of regular advising and evaluation of student work. At the end of the two-year period, the student's record is reviewed in its entirety in order to ascertain whether they are able and ready to proceed to the qualifying examination and the more specialized phase of Ph.D. study.

Students will complete twelve 4-unit graduate-level courses, and remove all incomplete grades, before taking the qualifying examination. A required thirteenth course in reading and composition pedagogy may be taken later. The distribution of the twelve courses is as follows:

1)   ENGLISH 200 , "Problems in the Study of Literature"

2)  Medieval through Sixteenth Century

3)  Seventeenth through Eighteenth Century

4)  Nineteenth Century

5)  Twentieth Century

6)  A course organized in terms other than chronological coverage (special problems, theory, minority

discourse, etc.)

7-12) Elective courses

At least seven courses must be drawn from English Department offerings; however, students are strongly encouraged to take courses offered in other departments, in part to work with outside faculty members who may later serve on qualifying exam and dissertation committees. Courses offered for 3 units in other departments may be approved as electives at the Graduate Chair’s discretion. At least one course must be an English 250 seminar, requiring a substantial piece of writing. Four courses (#2-#5 above) will be devoted to  fulfilling the historical breadth requirement.

Upper-division or graduate courses in a foreign language may count toward the twelve-course requirement, whether they also are used to fulfill the language requirement or not.

Independent Study: Up to two independent studies, ENGLISH 298 (Directed Reading) courses, may count toward the twelve-course requirement, with the approval of the Graduate Chair. English 298s should meet on a regular basis; instructors should provide a course description and a sequence of readings at the beginning of the semester, and should assign at least twenty pages of student writing over the course of the semester. With the consent of the instructor, students may also enroll in English 298s in conjunction with undergraduate upper-division lecture courses (100-series courses) and when employed as Readers for undergraduate courses. Reading and writing assignments should be commensurate with those of standard graduate seminars.

Students wishing to engage in independent study courses with English Department Faculty may petition the Director of Graduate Studies for approval. The student must submit a plan of reading and writing, as well as approval from the instructor. In the case of an independent study taken in conjunction with an upper-division undergraduate course, the student may provide a syllabus and a list of any additional readings. Once approved, the GSAO will email a Class Number to the student which can be used to enroll via CalCentral.

Students who have completed graduate-level course work at other institutions may submit a written petition to the Graduate Chair requesting that specific courses be considered for credit (transferred) toward satisfying course and breadth requirements. The petition should provide a brief description of the course(s) to be considered. In no case will such credit be given for more than three courses.

ENGLISH 200 , "Problems in the Study of Literature," is taken by entering students in the fall semester. Students who have done previous graduate work elsewhere may petition for a waiver of English 200 by submitting to the Graduate Chair a letter describing an equivalent course they have successfully completed, reviewing any research projects already done in graduate courses, and enclosing a transcript.

All courses fulfilling the course requirement, except for the pedagogy course, must be taken for a letter grade. (So must Independent Study/Directed Research courses numbered 298.) Any additional courses in which students enroll may be taken for a grade of Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, including lower-division language courses taken in preparation for satisfying the language requirement.

In addition to the twelve courses that must be completed before the qualifying examination, each student must take ENGLISH 375 , “The Teaching of Composition and Literature" (or its equivalent in a comparable department, under special circumstances). This course must be taken no later than the semester in which the student first serves as a Graduate Student Instructor, typically in the fall semester of the third year. This requirement may be waived, with permission from the Graduate Chair, if the student has acquired significant teaching experience before entering the program.

REQUIREMENT 2: BREADTH

A student must take one course at the graduate level in the Department of English from each of the following four historical groups:

1)  Medieval through Sixteenth Century (British);

2)  Seventeenth through Eighteenth Century (British and/or American);

3)  Nineteenth Century (British, American, and/or Anglophone);

4) Twentieth Century (British, American, and/or Anglophone).

The courses satisfying these four groups must include at least one course in American literature, but no more than two such courses. No more than one group is to be satisfied by a course in Anglophone literature.

No single course may be used to satisfy more than one group. A student may satisfy a group with a course that covers material in more than one group, provided that the main emphasis of their work in the course falls on material in the relevant group. In such a case or in any case where ambiguity might arise, the student should ask the instructor to indicate which group the student's work has satisfied.

If an Old English course is used in partial satisfaction of the language requirement, it cannot also count as satisfying the requirement of a course in group 1.

One independent study course, English 298, may be used to fulfill a breadth requirement, contingent on prior approval of the Graduate Chair. No more than two groups may be satisfied by graduate-level courses completed at other institutions (transfer courses).

Information About Courses

All information regarding courses may be found on the following websites:

The Berkeley Academic Guide, http://guide.berkeley.edu/courses/ The Online Schedule of Classes, http://classes.berkeley.edu/ English Department Course offerings and descriptions, http://english.berkeley.edu/courses/

REQUIREMENT 3: LANGUAGES

For the Ph.D. in English, the student must demonstrate either:

1)  Proficiency in two approved foreign languages; at least one of these must be satisfied by exam; or

2)  Advanced knowledge in one approved foreign language.

Before the review of course work at the end of the second year, a student is expected to have been certified as proficient in at least one approved language. The student must complete the entire language requirement before taking the oral qualifying examination.

There are no "canonical languages" in the program. Rather, each new Ph.D. candidate will prepare a brief "Preliminary Rationale for Language Study" indicating the manner in which they intend to fulfill the language requirement; this rationale is subject to approval by the Chair of Language Exams. The student's statement will specify which languages are to count, how they relate to the student's intellectual interests, and on which level (proficiency or advanced) the competence in each language is to be demonstrated. If the student believes that part of the requirement has already been met by recent course work (see below), the rationale should also include that information.

The Graduate Division will accept any natural language with a system of writing if the department certifies that the language has scholarly value in the field; if the language is integral to the training of a particular student; and, if a member of the Berkeley academic senate qualified to administer the examination is available. Each student selects the language(s) used to satisfy this requirement from a set of languages certified by the Graduate Council. Students may substitute an uncertified language only if the Graduate Chair makes such a request and it is approved by the Dean of the Graduate Division.

Proficiency is understood as the ability to translate (with a dictionary) a passage of about 300 words into idiomatic English prose in ninety minutes. Copies of past examinations are available through the Graduate  Resources section of the department website. Proficiency examinations are given three times annually, during the third week of instruction in the Fall and Spring semesters and at the end of the Spring semester. (Please note the specific information announced each term by the Graduate Office.) A student has the option of not handing in the examination. Examinations passed elsewhere will not be accepted in fulfillment of this requirement.

The language requirement can be met, wholly or in part, through prior or current course work. A student who has successfully completed one upper-division or graduate literature course in a language approved by the Graduate Chair may count that language toward fulfillment of the proficiency requirement. The same credit can be given for successful completion of a course after enrollment at Berkeley. In the case of Old English, however, two upper-division or graduate courses are needed. In the case of Latin or Greek, the proficiency requirement may be satisfied by completing the Summer Workshop with a grade of "B" or better.

Advanced knowledge in an approved language will be granted if a student passes an advanced language exam or successfully completes a number of upper-division or graduate courses in the literature of that language. For the exam, advanced knowledge is understood as the ability to translate (without a dictionary) a passage of about 1,000 words into idiomatic English prose in three hours. According to Graduate Division standards, students must demonstrate an exceptionally thorough reading knowledge and an adequate knowledge of the grammatical structure of the language. To satisfy the advanced requirement by coursework, a student must have completed:

1)  Three upper-division or graduate courses taken prior to enrollment at Berkeley;

2)  Two such courses taken after enrollment at Berkeley; or

3)  Two such courses taken prior to enrollment at Berkeley plus one such course taken at Berkeley thereafter.

In order to be counted toward either proficiency or advanced credit, a given course (whether current or prior) must be passed with a grade of "B" or better. Prior courses must normally have been taken within four years of enrollment at Berkeley. Courses in which the foreign literature is read in English cannot be counted toward the requirement. If there is any other compelling evidence of linguistic competence, such as a record of published translations, the student may petition the Graduate Chair for credit in this language.

The Graduate Chair serves as Director of Graduate Studies and as the head graduate adviser for all students in every phase of the program. The Graduate Chair is available for consultation during regularly scheduled office hours and by appointment. The Graduate Chair provides final departmental approval for all programmatic matters, including satisfaction of the course and language requirements, fields for the qualifying exam, and the dissertation prospectus, as well as for various administrative and bureaucratic matters. The Graduate Chair will hold a mandatory meeting with each incoming student during orientation week to review requirements and discuss strategies for fulfilling them over the next two years. One function of this meeting will be to inform students of faculty members who share their academic interests and, in turn, inform faculty members of students being directed their way. In addition, the Graduate Chair will serve as the Second-Year Review adviser for students who have not already chosen an orals adviser. The Graduate Student Affairs Officer also serves as an adviser regarding the technical details of the program’s requirements and for administrative and bureaucratic matters.

All entering students will be assigned a faculty mentor to give additional guidance on course work, language requirements, and professional development in the first two years of the program. There is no expectation that first-year mentors will serve on an advisee's qualifying exam or dissertation committee, though they may serve. Mentors will be assigned by the Graduate Chair in consultation with the Admissions Committee Chair.

The Second-Year Review

Graduate Students in their fourth semester must complete the ‘Second-Year Review of Course Work’ form to record their completed course work and delineate the satisfaction of the program’s course and language  requirements; the form also asks students to identify an orals adviser. Students who have not identified an orals adviser will meet with the Graduate Chair. Along with the ‘Second-Year Review of Course Work’ form, students also will consult the ‘Second-Year Review Adviser's Guide,’ a series of questions aimed at focusing the conversation between a student and their adviser.

After completing the ‘Second-Year Review of Course Work’ form, the student will arrange a meeting with their orals adviser or the Graduate Chair. At this meeting, the adviser will review with the student the completed review form and work with the student to develop a plan for fulfilling any course or language requirement not yet satisfied. With the help of the ‘Second-Year Review Adviser’s Guide,’ the adviser will also discuss academic goals with the student, advising the student on how to refine and meet these goals, and addressing any apparent obstacles to the student’s progress. The adviser may help the student preliminarily to determine historical fields and a specific area of interest for the qualifying exam and dissertation.

At the end of the meeting, the adviser (or the Graduate Chair) will sign the student’s review form and comment briefly on the outcome of the meeting. The student will submit the signed form to the Graduate Office. The Graduate Chair will, in the case of a student who has made only uncertain progress toward fulfillment of the program’s requirements, arrange to meet with the student and the review adviser to determine the conditions under which the student might proceed to the Ph.D. oral qualifying examination.

PLEASE NOTE: It is essential that any incomplete grades be removed at the earliest possible date. Incompletes can keep the student from advancing to the qualifying exam and adversely affect the student's chances for fellowships, teaching appointments, and readerships. For courses taken since the fall of 2016, an instructor may submit incomplete grades through CalCentral. Incomplete grades for courses taken prior to fall 2016 are changed by petition, which should be submitted to the instructor with the final work for the course. The instructor sends this petition to the Registrar once a course grade is assigned.

The M.A. Degree for Students in the Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. program has no comprehensive M.A. requirement. Doctoral students who wish to take the M.A. because they have decided to leave the Ph.D. program or in transit to the Ph.D. as an additional credential for a specific professional opportunity may do so in one of the following ways:

1)  By writing an M.A. thesis; or

2)  By passing a written M.A. examination

Students who select the thesis option must fulfill the historical breadth requirement and complete at least 20 total units with a minimum overall grade-point average of 3.0. The thesis must be directed and approved by a three-member faculty committee configured as follows: a Chair (English Dept.); a second inside reader (English Dept.); a reader from outside the English Dept. (this is preferred, but not required and may be replaced by a third English Dept. reader). The thesis must also conform to Graduate Division guidelines: https://grad.berkeley.edu/academic-progress/thesis/.

Students who select the written examination option must fulfill the historical breadth requirement and complete at least 24 total units with a minimum overall grade-point average of 3.0. Students must petition to take the exam, by written request of the Graduate Chair, before the end of the fifth week of the semester. Students select one historical field on which to be examined and may submit a brief written statement describing specific interest(s) within that field. The Graduate Chair appoints two faculty members who each write two broadly conceived questions, from which the student selects two to answer, for an eight-hour open-book exam. The exam is sent electronically by the graduate office to the student at an agreed upon time and the student must return their essays electronically within eight hours. Both faculty members grade the exam; in cases of disagreement, a third faculty member will be consulted.

The M.A. with Emphasis in Creative Writing for Students in the Ph.D. Program

For students interested in writing a creative M.A. thesis, the Graduate Program requires enrollment in the English Ph.D. program (see below for exceptions), enrollment in an English 243 seminar, and a proposal, to be submitted by the student to two thesis advisors who have agreed to advise the thesis and to the chair of the department’s Creative Writing Committee.

The two thesis advisors should include a director (a member of the English department faculty) and a second reader. At least one advisor should be a faculty member whose primary expertise is creative writing. The other may be from a traditional scholarly field. The proposal should be 500-1000 words long, should describe a field of concern and/or an initial argument for the thesis, and should include a projected completion date for the thesis. When the proposal has been approved, the Creative Writing Committee Chair will send it to the Graduate Student Affairs Officer, who will add the M.A. as a degree goal for the student in CalCentral.

The student should meet regularly with the thesis director to examine drafts of the work and discuss the progress of the project. The final shape and genre of the thesis are to be decided by the student and the thesis director. The thesis in toto should be of substantive length, but it may comprise a group of discrete and connected pieces or sustain a single project. A critical introduction is optional.

Once the completed thesis has been approved by both thesis advisors, the director will inform the Creative Writing Committee Chair, who will notify the Graduate Student Affairs Officer. The Graduate Student Affairs Officer will complete the M.A. degree goal in CalCentral.

Students enrolled in other UC Berkeley doctoral programs may petition the Graduate Chair in English for admission to English in pursuit of the Creative M.A. This petition should include the 500-1000 word proposal described above, a note of recommendation from the Head Graduate Advisor of their own department, and a note of agreement from a faculty member in the English department to direct the thesis. Admissions requirements and decisions will be made by an ad hoc committee comprised of the Graduate Chair, the Admissions Chair, and the Creative Writing Committee Chair. Such students, once admitted, remain subject to all other degree requirements above. Units counted toward the Creative M.A. may not be counted toward any other master’s degree.

Questions about procedure should be directed to the current Creative Writing Committee Chair.

REQUIREMENT 4: QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

Students who have fulfilled all course and language requirements may proceed to the oral qualifying examination. Students are expected to take the qualifying examination by the end of the third year. This is considered normative time by the department and the Graduate Division.

Contiguous fields from this list, or any single field and a related field in Comparative Ethnic and/or Anglophone Literatures (field 14). In many instances, the fields are contiguous if their numbers are consecutive. Contiguity can also be established by crossing national borders; thus, for example, field 4 (Seventeenth Century through Milton) is deemed contiguous with field 10 (American Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries). Students with special research interests must petition  to the Graduate Chair for approval to declare two non-contiguous fields.

The Qualifying Examination consists of three parts of approximately equal time, which should be about thirty minutes each. Two of these parts examine students on each of their two historically defined fields,  chosen from the list below — namely any two:

• Old English
• Middle English
• Sixteenth Century
• Seventeenth Century through Milton
• Restoration and Early Eighteenth Century
• Later Eighteenth Century
• British Twentieth Century
• American 17th- & 18th- Centuries
• American Nineteenth Century
• American Twentieth Century
• Contemporary
• Comparative Ethnic and/or Anglophone Literatures

When constructing a reading list in a selected field, students and their examiners should strive to balance breadth and individual emphasis. In Fall 2020, the department approved the addition of fields 13 and 14. Contemporary (field 13) has no fixed starting date or national designation; students determine the historical and geographical scope of the field. Comparative Ethnic and/or Anglophone Literatures (field 14) provides no fixed historical, national, or (if applicable) translingual parameters; students organize these elements based on their intended area of study.

The English Department does not provide a single orals list for each historical field, because we believe Ph.D. students benefit from constructing field lists themselves. The EGA and the Graduate Office keep a record of student-generated lists; these are valuable study aids, available for students to examine and compare. Students should consult with faculty when designing their lists. This process begins with the orals adviser, but should extend to all committee members. One month before the exam, students will submit to the graduate office a final list for each field, approved by the field examiner. The graduate office will distribute the three lists to the exam committee. While students may not consult historical field lists during the exam, faculty may use them to inform and focus their exam questions. Students are responsible only for the texts on the three approved lists.

The third part examines students on field statements of their own design and explores topics in preparation for the dissertation. A field statement of fifteen to twenty pages, plus a bibliography of no more than four pages, will be approved by the student's adviser and field statement examiner and then submitted to the Graduate Office, at least thirty days prior to the oral qualifying examination, for circulation to the full committee. (For students offering statements in fulfillment of requirements in other programs, such as Medieval Studies, this length may vary.) Failure to approve the field statement will delay the examination. The field statement is not a prospectus setting out the specific plan of research for a dissertation, but a broader and more preliminary engagement with the theoretical, methodological, and disciplinary resources that may best help a student work toward a prospectus. The field statement’s bibliography provides the sources that inform the writing of the statement. The statement may proceed as a single discussion or may be modular in structure, articulating a series of questions and arguments about the works on the bibliography.

At the beginning of the semester in which the student intends to take this examination, they should submit for the approval of the Graduate Chair a departmental orals application, signed by the orals adviser, listing the two historical fields and a brief description of the third field. The application form is available on the Graduate Program website. The student and adviser together are encouraged to propose the names of appropriate examiners; suggestions for the ‘outside examiner’ (see below) are especially welcome. There can be no guarantee, however, that the actual committee will match the proposed list. While students may wish to do ‘mock’ exams with their advisers as practice for the actual qualifying examinations, they should not do ‘mock’ exams with any member of the faculty who is a potential or actual field examiner. 

Ph.D. qualifying examination committees will consist of five ladder faculty, at least three of whom must be from the English Department, who will serve in the following capacities:

A. TWO FIELD EXAMINERS: Each of these examiners has the primary responsibility for one of the historically defined fields listed by the candidate in their description of the fields. A field examiner should expect to conduct a direct examination of approximately thirty minutes on that field.

B. A FIELD STATEMENT EXAMINER: The field statement examiner should expect to conduct an examination of approximately thirty minutes on the candidate's field statement, circulated to the full committee prior to the exam.

C. ONE GENERAL EXAMINER: The primary aim of the general examiner is to maintain an overview of the examination and to ensure that the standards of the Graduate Division and the Department have been met. The General Examiner should ideally come from a department other than English and thus serve as an “outside examiner.” The Graduate Chair can allow for exceptions when a committee proves difficult to constitute.

D. THE CANDIDATE’S ADVISER: The faculty member primarily responsible for guiding the candidate in their selection and preparation of fields will also be on the committee. The adviser’s presence should reduce the ambiguities and misunderstandings that can arise between the candidate and the committee as to the nature and content of the fields under examination.

One of the above examiners, though not the adviser, will be selected by the Graduate Office to chair the examination. The Qualifying Examination Chair must be from the English Department and a member of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate. The chair ensures that the examination is well-conducted and thorough as well as fair to the candidate, that there is a judicious coverage of the material in breadth and depth, clear lines of questioning, and a variety of approaches to the material. The chair of a qualifying examination cannot go on to become the candidate’s dissertation director.

The chair is also responsible for drafting the report of the examination results. The chair should circulate an initial draft to all exam committee members within seven days of the exam. While the chair may wish to incorporate suggestions from other committee members, ultimate authority over the content of the report remains with the chair (though any committee member has the option of filing a letter supplementing the chair’s report). The final report should be no more than 700 words and must be filed in the Graduate Office within 14 days of the exam. The Graduate Student Affairs Officer will forward the report to the student and put a copy in their file.

Another examiner will serve as Academic Senate Representative (ASR). The ASR must be a Berkeley Academic Senate member and serves as the Dean’s representative to lend the balance and independence needed to ensure that the candidate’s mastery of the subject matter is broad and comprehensive. The ASR may also serve as a field examiner or as the general examiner but cannot chair the exam.

Advancement to Candidacy for the Ph.D.

When the student has fulfilled the program’s first four requirements, they must apply to the Dean of the Graduate Division for advancement to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. This is done in CalCentral, with the Higher Degree Committees eForm, available through the “Student Resources” section. A candidacy fee of $90 will also be assessed and charged to the student’s account. At this time, students should also inquire in the Graduate Office if they are interested in acquiring the degree of Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.), for which they are now eligible.

Students should submit their application for candidacy no later than June 30 of year three. Students who fail to file for advancement within normative time (by the end of the third year) may lose priority for some GSI appointments until they file for candidacy.

After advancement is approved, the candidate will undertake 12 units of Independent Study (English 299) for prospectus or dissertation writing. The Graduate Office emails the Class Number for English 299 to all students prior to enrollment appointments each semester.

When international students advance to doctoral candidacy, they become eligible for a Graduate Division waiver of “Nonresident Student Tuition” (NRST) for a period of three calendar years. For further information, see the section on NRST toward the end of the handbook.

REQUIREMENT 5: DISSERTATION

Dissertation committees.

The dissertation committee is normally composed of three or four faculty members: the Chair, one or two secondary readers, and an outside reader. The Chair and at least one secondary reader of the dissertation must be from the English Department.

The outside reader (who also serves as the Dean’s Academic Senate Representative) must be a member of the Berkeley Academic Senate and typically should come from a department other than English. However, students may petition the Graduate Chair for an exception if they are having difficulty constituting a committee or if there are compelling academic reasons for convening a committee with English faculty only. The outside reader cannot serve as chair or co-chair.

The Graduate Division requires a minimum of three faculty members for all dissertations. For some projects, it may be desirable to add a fourth member to the committee as an additional secondary reader. There are different options for adding a fourth committee member . . .

A student can invite an English department faculty member to serve as an additional secondary reader. This is warranted when a student’s project requires additional faculty expertise from within the English department. This reader is thus an additional inside reader. The role played by such a reader should supplement but in no way replace the core advising carried out by the Chair or other members of the committee. If the student chooses to add such a reader, the role of that English faculty member should be clearly understood by the whole committee. It is recommended that the student consult with the dissertation Chair about the appropriateness of adding a reader from within the department. No official approval is required by the Graduate Chair to add an English department faculty member as a reader.

Committees may be co-chaired, but not by two members of the English department. If a committee is co- chaired by a faculty member within the English department and a faculty member from another Berkeley department, it is still necessary to have a second reader (from inside the English department) and an outside reader (ordinarily from another Berkeley department). Co-chaired committees are by necessity four member committees; typically two members are from the English department and two members are not.

University policy states that, with the Dean’s approval, a non-Berkeley faculty member may be added to the committee as a fourth (or fifth) member. A non-Berkeley faculty member cannot serve as the outside reader. Any request to add a non-Berkeley faculty member to the dissertation committee should come first to the Graduate Chair. If approved, the Graduate Chair will petition Graduate Division on the student’s behalf.

Professors Emeriti (or Professors of the Graduate School) are members of the academic senate. They may direct dissertations and serve as readers.

Prospectus for the Dissertation

The prospectus consists of an essay and bibliography setting forth the nature of the research project, its relation to existing scholarship and criticism, and its anticipated value. The essay is meant to serve as an introductory “working paper” that articulates in ten to fifteen pages the issues to be addressed in the dissertation, the approach the candidate expects to take, the relation of that approach to recent knowledge and judgment as expressed in published sources, and an indication of how the candidate plans to begin the project. The bibliography, of approximately five pages, represents a preliminary survey of the pertinent primary and secondary literature. The prospectus should be developed in consultation with the dissertation director and presented for approval within one or two semesters following the qualifying examination.

Since the prospectus conference is not an examination, the director must not allow the conference to be scheduled until they are reasonably satisfied that the prospectus has been carefully written and proofread, that  its bibliographic citations are pertinent and up to date, and that the general line of proposed argument is sound. The prospectus conference is not an appropriate setting for negotiating fundamental differences between the candidate and director.

When the student is ready to schedule a prospectus conference, they must submit two items to the Graduate Chair at least two weeks prior to the conference date: (1) a copy of the prospectus, approved and signed by the dissertation director; (2) the Prospectus Graduate Chair Approval form. If it seems appropriate, the Graduate Chair may request further written clarification of the project before giving it final approval. Prior to the conference, the student must also obtain from the Graduate Program website the Prospectus Conference Approval form, which the dissertation committee members should sign after the conference, giving final approval to proceed with the dissertation; the student will return the signed approval form to the Graduate Office.

At the prospectus conference, the committee members explore with the candidate the issues outlined in the proposal. Normally the conference takes about an hour. Its purpose is to enable the candidate to begin work on the dissertation having benefited from a full and detailed discussion with all concerned faculty present. After the conference, the candidate writes a memorandum of the discussion and submits copies to each member of the committee and to the Graduate Chair, whose copy will be placed in the candidate's file. The other copies will serve the dissertation committee members as a baseline of expectations and will be especially useful in the next year's meeting of the dissertation candidate with their committee--a gathering now mandated by the Graduate Division, which expects an annual report of progress toward completion.

The prospectus conference must be completed by the end of the fourth year. Students entering year five who have not completed the conference may be ineligible for some GSI appointments until the prospectus is approved and the conference is scheduled.

Online Academic Progress Report

All students in candidacy are required to file an annual Doctoral Candidacy Review (DCR) with Graduate Division. The DCR eform is available to graduate students and their dissertation chairs in CalCentral: https://grad.berkeley.edu/academic-progress/advanced/doctoral-candidacy-review. Graduate students should complete the eform; dissertation chairs then review, add comments, and release it back to the students for response.

The online report is available from the first day of the fall semester until the day before the fall semester in the following year. Students who do not file the DCR will not be able to claim their Doctoral Completion Fellowships the following year. They also may be denied other requests from Graduate Division, including extensions of candidacy.

Submission of the Dissertation

The dissertation is the culmination of the student's graduate career; it is expected to be a substantial and original work of scholarship or criticism. Instructions about final deadlines, filing fee eligibility, preparation of the manuscript, approval page, copyright, and embargo should be obtained from Graduate Services, 318 Sproul or online at http://grad.berkeley.edu/academic-progress/dissertation/

ENGLISH 200 Problems in the Study of Literature 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Approaches to literary study, including textual analysis, scholarly methodology and bibliography, critical theory and practice. Problems in the Study of Literature: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Open only to students in the English Ph.D. program

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: English/Graduate

Grading: Letter grade.

Problems in the Study of Literature: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 201A Topics in the Structure of the English Language 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2019, Spring 2007 Studies in the structure of the English language, varying by semester. Possible topics include phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, either separately or in relation to literature, culture, and society. Topics in the Structure of the English Language: Read More [+]

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Topics in the Structure of the English Language: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 201B Topics in the History of the English Language 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2009 Topics in the History of the English Language: Read More [+]

Topics in the History of the English Language: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 203 Graduate Readings 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Graduate lecture courses surveying broad areas and periods of literary history, and directing students in wide reading. Offerings vary from semester to semester. Students should consult the department's "Announcement of Classes" for offerings well before the beginning of the semester. Graduate Readings: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Open to advanced undergraduates, with the consent of the instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Graduate Readings: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 205A Old English 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2011, Fall 2009 Old English: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Open to undergraduates with the consent of the instructor

Credit Restrictions: Offered for 4 units in fall and in spring, 3 units in summer.

Old English: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 205B Old English 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2014 Old English: Read More [+]

ENGLISH 211 Chaucer 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2018 Discussion of Chaucer's major works. Chaucer: Read More [+]

Chaucer: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 212 Readings in Middle English 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2016, Spring 2012 Rapid reading of selections in Middle English, from the twelfth century through the fifteenth. Readings in Middle English: Read More [+]

Readings in Middle English: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 217 Shakespeare 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2016, Fall 2014 Discussion of selected works of Shakespeare. Shakespeare: Read More [+]

Shakespeare: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 218 Milton 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Spring 2019 Discussion of Milton's major works. Milton: Read More [+]

Milton: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 243A Fiction Writing Workshop 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Spring 2020 A writing workshop in fiction for graduate students. Fiction Writing Workshop: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor, normally based on prior writings submitted

Fiction Writing Workshop: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 243B Poetry Writing Workshop 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 A writing workshop in poetry for graduate students. Poetry Writing Workshop: Read More [+]

Poetry Writing Workshop: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 243N Prose Nonfiction Writing Workshop 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020 A writing workshop in prose nonfiction for graduate students. Prose Nonfiction Writing Workshop: Read More [+]

Prose Nonfiction Writing Workshop: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246C Graduate Proseminars: Renaissance: Sixteenth century (excluding, or at least not prominently featuring, Skakespeare) 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2019, Spring 2017 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Renaissance: Sixteenth century (excluding, or at least not prominently featuring, Skakespeare): Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Renaissance: Sixteenth century (excluding, or at least not prominently featuring, Skakespeare): Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246D Graduate Proseminars: Renaissance: Seventeenth century through Milton 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Fall 2017, Spring 2015 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Renaissance: Seventeenth century through Milton: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Renaissance: Seventeenth century through Milton: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246E Graduate Proseminars: Restoration and early 18th century 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Fall 2010, Fall 2008 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Restoration and early 18th century: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Restoration and early 18th century: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246F Graduate Proseminars: Later 18th century 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Fall 2019, Spring 2016 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Later 18th century: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Later 18th century: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246G Graduate Proseminars: Romantic 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2017, Spring 2015 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Romantic: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Romantic: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246H Graduate Proseminars: Victorian 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2020 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Victorian: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Victorian: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246I Graduate Proseminars: American to 1855 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2012, Fall 2011 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: American to 1855: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: American to 1855: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246J Graduate Proseminars: American 1855 to 1900 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2014, Spring 2011 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: American 1855 to 1900: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: American 1855 to 1900: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246K Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1900 to 1945 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2019, Fall 2014 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1900 to 1945: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1900 to 1945: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 246L Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1945 to Present 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2014, Fall 2007 Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1945 to Present: Read More [+]

Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1945 to Present: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 250 Research Seminars 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Required of all Ph.D. students. Advanced study in various fields, leading to a substantial piece of writing. Offerings vary from semester to semester. Students should consult the department's "Announcement of Classes" for offerings well before the beginning of the semester. Research Seminars: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two to Three hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Research Seminars: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 298 Special Studies 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021 Directed research. Open to qualified graduate students wishing to pursue special topics. If taken to satisfy degree requirements, must be taken for four units and a letter grade. Special Studies: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-12 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Three to twelve hours of independent study per week.

Special Studies: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 299 Special Study 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 Normally reserved for students directly engaged upon the doctoral dissertation. Special Study: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-30 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 2-23 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to twelve hours of independent study per week. Two to twenty three hours of independent study per week for 8 weeks. Two and one-half to thirty hours of independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.

Special Study: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH N299 Special Study 1 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2012 10 Week Session, Summer 2010 10 Week Session, Summer 2009 10 Week Session Primarily for students engaged in preliminary exploration of a restricted field, involving research and the writing of a report. May not be substituted for available seminars. Special Study: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-5 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Independent.

ENGLISH 375 The Teaching of Composition and Literature 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Discussion of course aims, instructional methods, grading standards, and special problems in the teaching of composition and literature, with practice in handling sample essays. When given for graduate student instructors in the English R1A-R1B Program or the English 45 series, the course will include class visitation. The Teaching of Composition and Literature: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture/discussion per week.

Subject/Course Level: English/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers

Formerly known as: English 302

The Teaching of Composition and Literature: Read Less [-]

ENGLISH 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015 Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. May not be used for unit or residence requirements for the doctoral degree. Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week

Subject/Course Level: English/Graduate examination preparation

Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read Less [-]

Contact Information

Department of english.

322 Wheeler Hall

Phone: 510-642-3467

Fax: 510-642-8738

Department Chair

323 Wheeler Hall

[email protected]

Graduate Advisor

April Sanders

[email protected]

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MA/PhD Program in English Requirements

All students pursuing their PhD in English must complete the following major components of our MA/PhD program:

• Graduate coursework, including language requirement
• Advising meeting, portfolio project and preliminary program of study
• Final program of study 

Candidacy exam

• Dissertation prospectus
• Dissertation
• Final oral exam (dissertation defense)

The accordions below provide information about how students may fulfill each of these components. For an overview of the program, please see the representative timelines below that show roughly when in a graduate student’s career they can expect to pass each milestone.  

Program requirements

Each student must take a minimum total of 36 credit hours to earn an MA in English on the way to the PhD. Students who enter the program with a BA typically earn the MA at the end of their second year. Specific course requirements include the following:

• English 6700.01: Introduction to Graduate Study in English (three credits)
• A course in critical theory (three credits)
• Two courses to fulfill the breadth requirement (six credits)
• English 6781: Introduction to the Teaching of First-Year English (three credits)
• English 8903: Teaching College English (three credits, repeatable)
• English 6998: Research in English: Portfolio Preparation (variable credit hours)
• English 8193: Graduate Workshop (one credit)

Critical theory requirement

Students must take at least one course in critical theory (three credits); this course must be taken for a letter grade. The critical theory requirement can be fulfilled through English 6760, 6761, 6776.01, 6776.02, 6790, 6791, 7861, 7876, 7890, 7891, or 8888. Additional courses in English or other departments can be petitioned to count.

Breadth requirement

Each student must complete two courses to add breadth to the student’s program (six credits total). These courses must be taken for a letter grade and conform to the following guidelines:

• Students concentrating on literature or theory after 1800: Two courses in pre-1800 literature, rhetoric, folklore, etc.
• Students concentrating on literature or theory before 1800: Two courses in post-1800 literature, rhetoric, folklore, film, etc.
• Students concentrating in non-literary fields: Two courses to add breadth as determined in consultation with the faculty advisor and the director of Graduate Studies

Graduate workshop requirement

In addition to their regular coursework, MA/PhD students must complete two graduate workshops by the end of their fourth year in the program (preferably before candidacy).

The graduate workshops provide opportunities to enrich the department's formal graduate curriculum by regularly bringing in scholars from other institutions to discuss their recently-published and current work with students and faculty. Typically, the department is able to offer three to five workshops per academic year, which rotate among fields. Each workshop is organized by a faculty coordinator, and students enroll by signing up with the Graduate Studies office.  

The visiting speaker participates in two events: a public lecture or other kind of formal presentation, open to all members of the department and university community; and a closed session with graduate students who have enrolled in the workshop. For the smaller workshop, the visiting speaker assigns a text or group of texts for discussion (their own work or some other work relevant to the speaker's current interests). Students read the assigned texts on their own and submit short position papers to the faculty coordinator. The completion of these short essays, in combination with student participation, determine whether a student receives a grade of "S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory) for the workshop.

S/U grading guidelines

Individual faculty set the specific guidelines for S/U versions of graduate courses. The typical expectation for a grade of "S" (satisfactory), however, is that students complete readings, contribute meaningfully to class discussion and satisfactorily complete readings-related assignments that enrich discussion (e.g., writing brief reading responses, posting comments to Carmen discussions and/or leading in-class discussions on readings). Students taking a graduate course for S/U credit will typically not be expected to write longer papers or to complete and present on independent research projects.

Independent study

Graduate Independent Study courses require the approval of the director of Graduate Studies. Students interested in pursuing an independent study should consult with the appropriate faculty member at least a semester in advance. The faculty member should then prepare a one-page request that briefly outlines 1) the rationale for the independent study (e.g., why the student is unable to pursue similar work in regularly-scheduled courses) and 2) the syllabus for the independent study (e.g., list of readings, schedule of meetings, specific assignments or projects to be completed).

Students who enter with an MA from another program or another institution will typically transfer 30 hours, which means they will typically need to earn a minimum of an additional 56 credit hours for the PhD. Specific course requirements include the following:

• English 6700: Introduction to Graduate Study in English (three credits)     
• Critical theory requirement (three credits)
• Breadth requirement #1 (three credits)
• Breadth requirement #2 (three credits)
• English 8996: Research in English: Candidacy Exam (variable credit hours)
• English 8999: Research in English: Dissertation (variable credit hours)

Students must take at least one course in Critical Theory (three credits); this course be taken for a letter grade. Students may fulfill this requirement through coursework completed at their MA institution. The critical theory requirement can be fulfilled through English 6760, 6761, 6776.01, 6776.02, 6790, 6791, 7861, 7876, 7890, 7891, or 8888. Additional courses in English or other departments can be petitioned to count.

Each student must complete two courses to add breadth to the student’s program (six credits total). These courses must be taken for a letter grade and conform to the following guidelines:

• Students concentrating on literature or theory after 1800: Two courses in pre-1800 literature, rhetoric, folklore, etc.

Students may fulfill this requirement through coursework completed at their MA institution.

The graduate workshops provide opportunities to enrich the department's formal graduate curriculum by regularly bringing in scholars from other institutions to discuss their recently-published and current work with students and faculty. Typically, the department is able to offer three to five workshops per academic year, which rotate among fields. Each workshop is organized by a faculty coordinator, and students enroll by signing up with the graduate studies office.  

Independent Study

Graduate Independent Study courses require the approval of the director of Graduate Studies. Students interested in pursuing an independent study should consult with the appropriate faculty member at least a semester in advance. The faculty member should then prepare a one-page request that briefly outlines 1) the rationale for the independent study (e.g., why the student is unable to pursue similar work in regularly scheduled courses) and 2) the syllabus for the independent study (e.g., list of readings, schedule of meetings, specific assignments or projects to be completed).

Language Proficiency Coordinator: Galey Modan ( [email protected] )

The graduate program in the Department of English requires that students demonstrate current proficiency in a natural language other than English. (Natural languages are all languages, including ASL, that have evolved naturally among humans through use and repetition; natural languages do not include constructed languages such as Klingon or computer programming languages.) There are multiple reasons that language proficiency is required. These include the following: 


• Extensive and technical familiarity with a language other than English constitutes a powerful way for graduate students to gain an understanding of the distinctive characteristics of English language structure. 
• Proficiency in a language other than English allows students access to primary and secondary texts composed in that language. Graduate students in all areas of English studies with even a modest level of proficiency benefit from this access.
• To fulfill our department’s commitment to diversity, it is vital for students to gain proficiency in languages other than English. To gain a basic understanding of multilingual and non-English-speaking communities requires a familiarity with the languages of those communities.
• As English itself is an increasingly culturally- and geographically-differentiated language, deep familiarity with the languages that English comes into contact with is vital to an understanding of English’s global manifestations.

Doctoral research in some specialties (such as Medieval, Renaissance or U.S. ethnic literatures) may require proficiency in additional languages beyond the one that satisfies the departmental requirement. Students therefore must discuss the language requirement with faculty in their chosen area of specialization as soon as possible.

There is no set list of languages approved for PhD candidates in English. The expectation is that students will choose a language pertinent to their research interests.

Native speakers of languages other than English may use their native languages to fulfill the departmental requirement, unless their area of study requires knowledge of other particular language(s).

For doctoral students, the language requirement(s) should be met by the end of the first year of enrollment beyond the MA and must be met before any part of the candidacy examination may be scheduled.


Students can fulfill the language proficiency requirement in any of the following six ways: 

Method #1: Multimedia computer-adaptive placement test

Students wishing to fulfill the requirement with Spanish, German, French, Arabic, Hebrew, Italian or Swahili may take a multimedia computer-adaptive placement test administered by the  Center for Languages, Literatures, and Cultures . These exams test both comprehension and production. To fulfill the language requirement through a placement test, students must do one of the following:

• If the student and their advisor decide that both comprehension and production are necessary for their further research, the student must achieve a score sufficient for placement into a 2000-level language class on both sections.

• If the student and their advisor decide that comprehension alone is suitable, the student must achieve a score sufficient for placement into a 2000-level language class on the comprehension portion of the exam. Please note: Students will need to be in contact with the language proficiency coordinator prior to taking the exam if just a “comprehension” score is necessary, as the exams do not automatically produce a score solely for comprehension. The coordinator will need to confirm with the Center for Languages, Literature and Cultures that the exam is set up correctly for the student. This option involves more paperwork to set up, so the comprehension and production option above is preferred.

Method #2: Department-administered placement test

If the requirement is to be met with a language not listed above, students may take a placement test administered by an Ohio State department that teaches the language in question. As with the CLLC option, students must place into a 2000-level class. This is the method of choice for ASL and other signed languages. If the language in question is not taught at Ohio State, the student will meet with the language proficiency coordinator to set up a testing process. (Note: if the language is one tested through the CLLC, that option must be chosen.)

Method #3: Year of university-level language classes

Students may take a year's worth of university-level language classes and get at least a grade of 'B' in both semesters. Students must consult the appropriate language department for course offerings. Since sequences often begin only in the autumn semester, students should be sure to check well ahead of time when the courses will be offered. 

Method #4: Graduate reading course

Students may complete a graduate reading course offered by an Ohio State language program with a grade of 'B' or higher (see below for more information on departments offering reading courses).

Method #5: Translation test

In consultation with the student’s advisor and the language proficiency coordinator, students may take a translation test (typically a translation with the aid of a dictionary) administered by an Ohio State language program, qualified faculty member of the English department or qualified faculty member at another university, as approved by the language proficiency coordinator. Students intending to take a translation exam administered by another department should note that each language department has its own set of deadlines that must be met in order to enroll for the exam. Students should contact the relevant language department during the semester before they intend to take the exam in order to ensure that they do not miss the exam registration date. 


Method #6: Oral proficiency test

Students may take an   oral proficiency test. Students can show proficiency based on the following the criteria:

• Comprehension: The examinee understands the content of an oral text such as a radio or broadcast news story. The content may be on current events or on a topic relevant to a student’s research. The examinee must show ability to 1) summarize a given text in a cohesive and coherent manner without prompting, 2) produce a statement summarizing their own view, and 3) answer follow-up questions in a cohesive and coherent manner. 

• Production: The examinee shows ability to describe the text in a comprehensible way, producing extended, connected discourse in all major time frames (past, present, and future). The reference point for ‘comprehension’ is a speaker who does not speak other languages that the examinee is proficient in. Vocabulary may be primarily generic in nature. However, if the examinee must use the language under examination for their scholarly work, they must also show command of relevant vocabulary when dealing with topics of interest. This will be decided in consultation with the student's advisor. Circumlocution and rephrasing are to be expected. Speech must be clear and not lead to confusion. Pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and discourse structure should not be so faulty as to prevent comprehension by a speaker not proficient in the other languages in which the examinee is proficient. Discourse may reflect the information structure of the examinee’s own language/s, rather than that of the target language.

In cases where an examiner cannot be located, students can take the Oral Proficiency Interview, as administered by Ohio State Testing Center and described  here .   The department may pay the fees associated with the OPI upon approval. 

Reading courses and exam information for common language choices

Below you will find information about German, French, Spanish and Italian reading proficiency classes and testing procedures. In the past, these have been the most common choices made by students, and these departments have the most structured systems for assessing proficiency. If another language is more appropriate for your research, see above for assessment procedures.

• German:  Courses that satisfy graduate reading proficiency include German 6102 and German 6202. Contact Natascha Miller ( [email protected] ) with questions about coursework prerequisites. If you choose to take the reading exam to demonstrate proficiency, you must schedule it in cooperation with your advisor and the English department’s language proficiency coordinator. Your advisor should select a passage for you to translate and submit it, along with a completed exam scheduling form, as directed on the  exam website . Information about testing dates is usually updated the third or fourth week of the semester; visit the  exam website  to view testing dates and download the exam scheduling form.
• French:  Courses that satisfy graduate reading proficiency include French 6571 and French 6572. Contact Joan Obert ( [email protected] ) with questions about coursework prerequisites. If you choose to take the reading exam to demonstrate proficiency, you must schedule it in cooperation with your advisor and the English department’s language proficiency coordinator. The Department of French and Italian provides a detailed overview of the test, as well as information on exam preparation, evaluation, dates and registration on their  website .
• Spanish:  The Department of Spanish and Portuguese does not offer courses to demonstrate reading proficiency in Spanish. If you would like to take a translation test, you must schedule the reading exam in cooperation with your advisor and the English department’s language proficiency coordinator. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese provides a detailed overview of the test, as well as information on exam preparation, dates and registration on their  website . 
• Italian : The Department of French and Italian does not offer courses to demonstrate reading proficiency in Italian. If you choose to take the reading exam to demonstrate proficiency, you must schedule the reading exam in cooperation with your advisor. The Department of French and Italian provides an overview of the test on their  website . Contact Joan Obert ( [email protected] ) to schedule the exam and to request more detailed information on testing dates and procedures.

English 8903 is a teaching internship with a faculty member, which students must complete before they can be assigned to teach any of the 2000-level literature, language or folklore courses. English 7881.02: Teaching Basic Writing, 7881.03: Teaching of College Composition in English as a Second Language and 7881.04: Teaching Business and Professional Communication may be substituted for English 8903 by students whose teaching interests include basic writing, ESL and/or business and professional writing. However, English 8903 will be a prerequisite for teaching the relevant 2000-level courses (just as the English 7881 series is now a prerequisite for teaching the specialized writing courses).

English 8903 carries one to three credit hours. The course may be repeated. In order to coordinate their teaching interests with scheduled courses, students planning on taking English 8903 should also consult the undergraduate course offerings and faculty teaching them.

Faculty and students will have considerable flexibility in constructing the day-to-day details of the apprenticeship, but a typical pattern would look something like this:

• Student and professor agree to do English 8903 in an upcoming semester.
• When the book order requests are distributed, the professor and student meet to discuss which books they will use and why. 
• At some point before the course starts, the professor and student meet to discuss the course syllabus. They consider such matters as the objectives of the course and how best to design the schedule of readings, the students' writing assignments and the classroom atmosphere so that those objectives can be met.
• Before each class, the professor and student meet to talk about the session's goals and the pedagogical means they will use to meet them. In addition, they consider how the goals of the upcoming session fit in with the overall goals of the course. (For all class sessions but the first, this meeting might occur an hour or so before walking into the session.)
• Before each writing assignment (including exams), professor and student discuss what they want to achieve and how they might design the assignment to reach those goals.
• The professor must take responsibility for all grades assigned in the course, but the student may assist in grading by reading, commenting and assigning possible grades to a subset of the papers or exams. Since the student is an apprentice and not a TA, however, the point of this work is not to lighten the faculty member's load but rather to provide the occasion for discussion of criteria for different grades, how to address students in commentary and so on. In all cases, the professor must read the papers marked by the apprentice and assign the final grades.
• The student takes primary responsibility for some teaching, in the range of four to six hours of instruction over the course of the semester.
• After the course is over, the professor and student read the student evaluations and discuss them as well as their own assessments of what worked and what didn't.
• The course is graded S/U. The faculty member should also be prepared to write a letter of recommendation for the student's dossier.
• The student writes a report on the apprentice experience, reflecting on how their thinking about pedagogy has been influenced by English 8903.

In general, the idea of the internship is to give the student the opportunity to work closely with a faculty member on everything from the design of a course to its day-to-day operations, from its goals and purposes to its grading and evaluation.

Students may work with a professor in any undergraduate course. No more than two students may sign up for English 8903 with the same professor and the same course in any one semester. Students must take English 8903 before they are assigned their own sections of 2000-level courses, but they need to take English 8903 only once as a general preparation for that teaching. In other words, students do not have to take a new English 8903 for every new 2000-level course they teach.

Of course, students will generally gravitate toward courses in their areas and in the areas where they would most like to teach. Below are the usual links between English 8903 experiences and the assignment of undergraduate courses, but graduate students should have considerable leeway in choosing their apprenticeships and those assigning graduate students to 2000-level courses should have some flexibility in making those assignments. For example, English 4520.01 will count for 2200 and 2201; English 4560 for 2260; English 4561 for 2261; English 4550 and English 4551 for 2290.

When students are assigned their own 2000-level class, they will consult with a faculty mentor (ideally the person whose class they observed, but possibly the course director or their advisor) on the preparation of the syllabus and other issues relating to the class. The faculty member will observe the class at least once and write a report for the course director.

The advising meeting is a critical step in the process toward the PhD and, for students who enter the program with a BA, it is the formal mechanism for awarding the MA. Typically, the advising meeting will take place at the end of the spring semester of the second year for all students who enter with a BA and at the end of the spring semester of the first year for all students who enter with an MA. 

The advising meeting will include a faculty committee composed of the student's selected advisor, who serves as chair; a second faculty member chosen from a list of three submitted by the student; and a third member selected by the director of Graduate Studies or their designee. The advising meeting will last for at least one hour but for no longer than two hours. During the meeting, the student and faculty committee will consider the student's plans for completing the PhD as reflected in the Preliminary Program of Study. Students will also answer and ask questions about items included in the portfolio project.

After the advising meeting, the chair of the faculty committee will write a brief report of the meeting for the student's file. In addition to a short summary of the conversation, for students who enter with a BA, this report will include the committee's recommendation to award the MA degree based on satisfactory completion of all MA requirements. For all students, the report should also include recommendations about the composition of the student's committee for the candidacy exam and dissertation.

By week seven of the spring semester, the student will prepare a portfolio that includes:

• A Preliminary Program of Study, signed by the student’s advisor.
• A short statement about the student’s pursuit of interests outside the regular curriculum and the major field (e.g., attendance at workshops, lectures, readings and other such activities).
• A research project, which can be a traditional academic essay, a new media composition and so forth, as determined in consultation with the student's faculty advisor.

Typically, the research project will have begun in a course and been subsequently revised with a broader academic audience in mind and with a clear articulation of how its argument and methodologies fit within ongoing conversations in the relevant field or fields. The student should be working toward potential publication of the project, and/or toward its integration into her or his dissertation.

Students who enter the program with an MA may use a project begun in a course in their MA program.

The Preliminary Program of Study consists of three components:

• A description and short rationale for the student’s intended major field and minor field or fields for the candidacy exam. (See description of Final Program of Study for explanation of field areas.)
• A summer reading list of about 15 works related to one or both of these areas.
• A brief discussion of teaching and other GA work, completed and planned.

The Preliminary Program of Study should be designed in consultation with the student's faculty advisor and must be signed by the advisor in preparation for the advising meeting.

A copy of the Final Program of Study and letter of endorsement from the advisor should be submitted electronically to the graduate program coordinator ( [email protected] ) by 4 p.m. on the due date.  The Final Program of Study has two main purposes: to establish parameters for the candidacy examination and to present a detailed map of the student's path toward earning the PhD. The Final Program of Study must be completed, approved by the student's candidacy examination committee and then approved by the Graduate Studies Program and Policy Committee before the student may schedule their exam. It is important to keep in mind that the POS has multiple audiences: the student's exam chair and exam committee, but also the Graduate Studies Program and Policy Committee, which is made up of faculty who represent the various areas of specialization in the department as a whole. The POS needs to be written so that it is accessible to non-specialists in the student's specific area.  

Program of Study Components

• A list of the chair and other faculty members of the student's candidacy examination committee. The Graduate School requires four members, and the chair must hold "P" status (typically, this means a tenured associate or full professor). This committee is formed specifically to administer the candidacy exam and is not the same as the dissertation committee.
• The major field should be broadly rather than narrowly defined. Typically, the major field will be an academic job category.
• The reading list for the major field should consist of between 75 and 85 works (primary and secondary) and should both provide coverage of the broad field and locate the student’s specific interests within it.
• The reading list should not include works of criticism authored by any member of the student's exam committee as it is difficult for students to be examined impartially about material written by an examiner.
• The minor field can be primarily a supplement to the major field (e.g., a second academic job category), or
• The minor field can partially overlap with the major field, or
• The minor field can be a body of theory that is broader than but relevant to the student’s location within the major field.
• The reading list for the minor field should consist of between 40 and 45 works (primary and secondary). For two minor fields, the lists should consist of between 22 and 25 works for each.
• The draft of the dissertation prospectus should be submitted to the committee one week before the student begins the written portion of the candidacy exam.
• A concise list of completed coursework for the MA/PhD , organized by date of completion, including grades received. Please provide a one-sentence description for independent study projects.
• A concise statement of the student's teaching experience thus far , plans for taking English 8903 and plans for future teaching in the department.
• A concise timeline for the student's progress toward graduation . The timeline should be organized by year and semester, and it should indicate the projected dates for the completion of all PhD requirements, including coursework, language requirement, English 8903(s), graduate workshops, candidacy exam, dissertation prospectus, dissertation research and writing, and the job application process.
• Reading lists for the major and minor fields.

Letter of endorsement

The Final Program of Study must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Program and Policy Committee with a letter of endorsement from the student's chair for the candidacy exam committee. The letter of endorsement should confirm that the student has worked with the entire committee and that the entire committee has approved the POS; briefly contextualize the membership of the committee, with more context if the committee includes faculty from outside the department; and articulate the chair's confidence in the student's rationales for the major and minor fields.

The candidacy examination must be taken no later than two semesters after the completion of required coursework. Students must register for English 8996 with the chair of the exam committee while preparing for the candidacy exam.

The candidacy exam consists of a take-home written portion and a two-hour oral portion. The Application for Candidacy must be filed with the Graduate School at least two weeks before the oral examination. The application can be filled out on the Graduate School's forms webpage . The written portion is a three-day take-home exam, with an upper limit of no more than 5,000 words total. Failure to adhere to the word limit constitutes failure of the entire candidacy examination. No notes of any kind are permitted (i.e., no footnotes or endnotes), but in their answers to the exam questions, students should cite relevant primary and secondary works from their reading lists and use parenthetical citations.

• Written exam: The written portion of the candidacy exam should address two questions, one of which is dedicated to the student's major field and one of which is dedicated to the student's minor field or fields. The questions are written by the student's exam chair in consultation with the other members of their committee. The questions are given to the student only at the time the written exam is administered. The written exam must be taken over a seventy-two hour period; it can be sent via email or picked up by 4 p.m. on the first day and turned in to the committee and the English Graduate Studies office via email by 4 p.m. on the last day of that period. Students may opt to start the exam on a Monday, Tuesday or Friday so that it is due in the English Graduate Studies office, respectively, the following Thursday, Friday or Monday.
• Oral exam: The oral portion of the exam must follow no sooner than one week but within two weeks (i.e., 7-14 days) after the written portion is completed and turned in. The written exam should be regarded as the beginning of a discussion that will be continued during the oral exam. Prior to the oral, the student should meet with the candidacy exam chair to clarify expectations for the oral exam; at this meeting, it is expected that the chair will ask a few sample questions to assist the student with their preparations. The oral exam lasts two hours, and it covers both the candidate's major field and minor field or fields. The chair of the committee should ensure that at least 60 minutes are devoted to the major field. The final 30 minutes of the exam can include a discussion of the draft dissertation prospectus.

Candidacy Examination Committee

The Candidacy Examination Committee consists of four faculty members, chaired by a member of the graduate faculty who holds "P" status (typically, a tenured associate or full professor). The student selects the members of her or his committee in consultation with the chair. The committee must include faculty representation for both the major field and the minor field or fields. Typically, this will mean two faculty members representing the major field and two faculty members representing the minor field, or two faculty members representing the major field and one faculty member representing the first minor field and one faculty member representing the second minor field. Only in unusual circumstances should a faculty member represent both the major and a minor field for the purposes of the candidacy exam. The committee meets with the student prior to the exam to discuss the reading lists for the major and minor fields.

Students are responsible for distributing the following materials to all members of the Committee at least one week before the written exam:

• The draft Dissertation Prospectus.

Students are responsible for distributing the following materials to all members of the Committee at least one week before the oral exam :

• The Final Program of Study
• The written exam
• The student's Major Field and Minor Field or Fields reading lists (if updated from the POS)
• The official description of the Candidacy Exam; please refer faculty to the information on this page (optional).

Candidacy exam assessment

Failure of the candidacy examination occurs if the committee considers either of the following to be the case:

• The written and/or oral portions of the exam indicated that the candidate is not ready to proceed to a dissertation, owing to insufficient knowledge of the field, 
• The candidate is insufficiently focused on a dissertation project, which makes it unlikely that they will be able to submit an approved prospectus within two months. In case of failure, the committee can specify the nature of a repeat examination, but it, too, must contain a written and an oral portion. A second failure means dismissal from the PhD program (see Graduate School Handbook).

A successful pass must be a unanimous decision of the committee. The chair of the committee is required to submit a written report on the candidacy examination to the director of Graduate Studies. Failure, in whole or in part, may occur if any one member of the committee is not satisfied with the results. In the case of failure, each individual faculty member of the committee may specify areas or material on which a re-examination must take place and so instruct the student. The chair of the committee will then submit a written account of what will be required of the student to repeat the exam. The Graduate School will assign an outside representative for all second examinations.

Time limits for candidacy

If a candidate fails to complete the dissertation and final oral examination within five years after the candidacy examination, admission to candidacy is canceled. To be re-admitted to candidacy, the student must take a supplemental candidacy examination. The examination committee is comprised of the advisor and at least three other authorized graduate faculty members, and the examination must include a written and an oral portion that last approximately two hours. A graduate faculty representative is appointed if a prior unsatisfactory examination result is on record. All other rules pertaining to candidacy examination must be followed.  The supplemental examination will typically be tied to the student's dissertation and may consist of the presentation and oral defense of a chapter or a substantial part of a chapter. In short, the purpose of requiring the supplemental examination is not to punish the student but to help move them along to completion of the PhD and to ensure that they have kept up with the current scholarship in the field. On passing the supplemental examination, the student is readmitted to candidacy and must complete the dissertation and final oral examination within two years.

Dissertation prospectus process

There are three steps in the dissertation prospectus process:

• The student presents a draft of the dissertation prospectus to their candidacy exam committee at least one week prior to the written portion of the exam.
• The student then presents a revised dissertation prospectus to their dissertation committee in a prospectus conference, typically no more than six weeks after the completion of the candidacy exam.
• The student presents a final version of the dissertation prospectus, approved by their dissertation chair, to the director of Graduate Studies, typically no more than two weeks after the prospectus conference. The approved final version of the prospectus should be submitted together with a  Prospectus Approval Form .

Dissertation prospectus content

The Dissertation Prospectus should:

• State the problem that the candidate proposes to solve;
• Explain the significance of the project and its relation to current scholarship in the field;
• Describe the candidate's current knowledge of the subject;
• Indicate the direction the candidate's investigation will take;
• Reflect the candidate's familiarity with relevant bibliographical materials and critical methods.

Students and faculty should keep in mind that the prospectus is a preliminary project, not a mini-dissertation. It is meant to help students move on to the dissertation writing stage of their programs. Typically, the prospectus should be no longer than eight to twelve double-spaced pages, plus a working bibliography.

Dissertation committee

The dissertation committee consists of three faculty members, chaired by a faculty member who holds "P" status (typically, a tenured associate or full professor). This committee is constituted separately from the candidacy exam committee and can include faculty members who did not serve on the examination committee.

Prospectus conference

The prospectus conference is a meeting of the student and all members of their dissertation committee to discuss the revised prospectus and the student's plans for researching and writing the dissertation. The prospectus conference also provides an opportunity for the student and the committee to set guidelines for their working relationship.

Because graduate students pursue a wide range of research and writing projects in the Department of English, there are no department-wide guidelines for the dissertation. Students should work with their advisors and committees to determine the relevant parameters for projects in their specific fields and areas of interest.

Finalizing the dissertation manuscript

All doctoral candidates must submit the final draft of the dissertation electronically; students are no longer required to submit a final paper copy to the Graduate School. However, hard copies of the dissertation are still required for distribution to the student's committee and to the outside representative. For more details about the electronic submission process, including how to delay internet dissemination of the dissertation (strongly recommended) and how to format the dissertation, visit the Graduate School website.

Final approval

Final approval of the dissertation cannot occur until the final oral examination has been passed. Each dissertation committee member must sign the Final Approval Form. This form must be submitted no later than one week before commencement.

Students should be aware that the deadlines imposed by the Graduate School do not always allow enough time for their committees to evaluate their work.  Most committees will need to have a complete draft of the dissertation at least two or more months before all formal requirements are met, so that sufficient time for revision will be assured. A student who does not present a draft of the dissertation until the semester of anticipated graduation may encounter obstacles and delays. No faculty member is obliged to sign the Draft Approval Form until they are satisfied that the work is ready for scrutiny at the final oral examination.

This two-hour examination is held after the dissertation committee has approved the dissertation by signing the Draft Approval Form, available from the Graduate School. The Draft Approval Form must be submitted to the Graduate School no later than two weeks before the date of the final oral examination. At the time the student submits the Draft Approval Form, they must also present a hard copy of the approved dissertation draft to both the Graduate School (for the purposes of format check) and the dissertation committee members.

The oral examinatio n  deals intensively with the candidate's field of specialization and need not be confined exclusively to the dissertation defense. A successful examination is one that is awarded a "pass" by the entire examining committee, including the outside representative, who is appointed by the Graduate School. This representative must receive a hard copy of the approved dissertation draft at least one week in advance of the examination.

If a candidate fails to complete the dissertation and final oral examination within five years after the candidacy examination, admission to candidacy is canceled. To be re-admitted to candidacy the student must take a supplementary candidacy examination. This supplementary examination will typically be tied to the student's dissertation and may consist of the presentation and oral defense of a chapter or a substantial part of a chapter. In short, the purpose of requiring the supplemental candidacy examination is not to punish the student but to help move them along to completion of the PhD and to ensure that they have kept up with the current scholarship in the field. On passing the supplementary candidacy examination, the student is re-admitted to candidacy and must complete the dissertation and final oral examination within two years.

• People Finder

English — Graduate Certificate, MA, MTPC, PhD

Degree programs.

• English — MA
• English — PhD
• Technical and Professional Communication — MTPC

Graduate Certificates

• Technical Communication  

The Department of English offers programs leading to the Master of Arts (MA), the Master of Technical and Professional Communication (MTPC), and the PhD. These graduate programs prepare students for careers in teaching and research, writing, editing, business, and other professions seeking broadly educated individuals skilled in analysis and communication. In addition, individuals holding a teaching certificate may, with an additional graduate course in Communication, earn Alabama Class A or AA certification under a state-approved Strengthened Subject Matter Option program in English/Language Arts. The Department of English also offers the Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication (GCTC).

• More information about the MA in English is available at  https://www.cla.auburn.edu/english/programs/graduate-degrees/master-of-arts-in-english/ .
• More information about the MTPC is available at https://cla.auburn.edu/english/programs/graduate-degrees/master-of-technical-and-professional-communication/ .
• More information about the PhD in English is available at https://www.cla.auburn.edu/english/programs/graduate-degrees/phd-in-english/ .
• More information about the Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication is available at https://cla.auburn.edu/english/programs/graduate-degrees/graduate-certificate-in-technical-communication/ .

Master of Arts

Admission requirements.

For admission to the MA program, the student must normally have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with the equivalent of 24 semester hours of credit in upper-division English courses and satisfactory scores on the General Test of the GRE. Applicants lacking the required undergraduate courses must typically make up these deficiencies before they can be admitted to the degree program.

Applicants should ensure that the following materials are submitted to the Graduate School web application:

• Official transcripts from every undergraduate institution attended
• Official scores from the General Test of the GRE

They should submit the following to the Department of English:

• Writing sample
• Statement of purpose
• Three confidential letters of recommendation that speak to the applicant’s potential for successful graduate study

Application materials are due by January 15.

Options and Course Requirements

For the MA, students may select one of the following three tracks: literature, composition and rhetoric, or creative writing. Each track requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of coursework.

The literature track requires the following:

• Three major area courses (one pre-1800 literature, one post-1800 literature, one literary theory)
• One comparative literature, genre, or author-based course
• One technology and culture, globalism, sustainability, or diversity course
• One course in technical and professional communication, rhetoric and composition, linguistics, or creative writing
• Two elective courses in English
•   ENGL 7940 Teaching College English  
• Two courses in a coordinated minor, chosen from courses in English or another discipline relevant to the student’s professional and academic goals

The creative writing track requires the following:

• Three major area courses ( ENGL 7130 Fiction Writing  and ENGL 7140 Poetry Writing , with one repeated for a total of three creative writing courses)
• One pre-1800 literature course
• One technical and professional communication, rhetoric and composition, or linguistics course
•   ENGL 7940 Teaching College English

The composition and rhetoric track requires the following: 

• Three major area courses ( ENGL 7040 Engl Compn issues And App , ENGL 7050 Studies In Composition , and ENGL 7300 Rhetoric: Theory And Practice )
• One course in technical and professional communication or linguistics
• One literature or creative writing course
• ENGL 7940 Teaching College English

Other Graduation Requirements

In addition to completing the required course work, students must successfully complete a portfolio and pass an oral examination based on the portfolio. They also must demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language.

Master of Technical and Professional Communication

For admission to the MTPC program, students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, satisfactory scores on the General Test of the GRE, and excellent writing skills. Undergraduate course work in English is not required.

• Official transcripts from every undergraduate institution attended, including high school transcripts in the case of AP classes
• A sample of professional or scholarly writing (e.g., a technical manual, a business report, a research essay)
• A statement of purpose explaining their interest in the program
• Three letters of recommendation. At least two of the letters should come from professors or instructors; the other letter may come from an academic adviser, an employer, or some other person who can speak to their potential for success in the MTPC program.

Application materials should be received by January 15.

Course Requirements

• Four required courses ( ENGL 7000 Tech and Professional Editing , ENGL 7010 T Pc Issues And Approaches , ENGL 7060 Web Development , ENGL 7080 Document Design
• Three elective courses in English approved by the student's advisory committee
• Three courses in a coordinated minor or three additional courses in English approved by the student's advisory committee

Students must compile a portfolio of work accepted by the student’s advisory committee, make a formal presentation about the portfolio, and pass an oral examination.

Doctor of Philosophy

For admission to the PhD program, the student must normally have a master’s degree in English and satisfactory scores on the General Test of the GRE.

• Official transcripts from every undergraduate and graduate institution attended

Concentrations and Course Requirements

The PhD requires a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the BA, including 10 hours of dissertation credit. Students entering our program with an MA in English from Auburn or from another institution transfer in their course work; in consultation with their graduate advisory committee, students then select additional courses. Students may choose to pursue either a concentration in literature or a concentration in composition and rhetoric.

After completing course work, students must take general doctoral examinations, both written and oral, over three related areas. These areas might include a literary period, a genre, an issue in composition or rhetorical studies, language and linguistics, or literary and cultural theory. After passing these examinations, students advance to doctoral candidacy. Within three months after advancing to doctoral candidacy, students must submit an approved dissertation prospectus to the director of graduate studies. Students must write and defend a dissertation.

Doctoral students must demonstrate a reading knowledge of two foreign languages or advanced proficiency in one foreign language.

Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication

For admission to the Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication, students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and excellent writing skills.

• Three letters of recommendation from professors, academic advisers, employers, or others who can speak to their potential for success in the GCTC program

Financial Aid

The department offers financial aid in two forms: fellowships and assistantships. Graduate teaching assistantships or graduate assistantships are often available for the most qualified students, except those enrolled in the GCTC. Assistantships are renewable, provided that students perform satisfactorily and make adequate progress toward the degree. A few outstanding applicants also receive first-year or second-year fellowships. Review of applications for financial aid will begin on January 15 for the MA, PhD, and MTPC.

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English Master’s Degree Program

Deepen your understanding of fiction, poetry, and drama while learning to analyze and interpret literary texts.

Online Courses

11 out of 12 total courses

On-Campus Experience

2 weekends or one 3-week course

$3,220 per course

Program Overview

Through the master’s degree in the field of English you build:

• The ability to identify topics and develop questions that lead to meaningful scholarly inquiry.
• An enhanced knowledge of the philosophical, historical, and cultural forces that shape literary works.
• A deeper understanding of the work that literary scholars do.
• The skills required for communicating your ideas and entering a critical conversation.

Program Benefits

Customizable course curriculum

Expert instructors, including faculty from Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Personalized academic & career advising

A faculty-supported thesis or applied research project

Paid research opportunities

Harvard Alumni Association membership upon graduation

Customizable Course Curriculum

Our curriculum is flexible in pace and customizable by design. You’ll experience the convenience of online learning and the immersive benefits of learning in person.

With a wide array of courses to choose from, you can tailor your experience to meet your unique learning goals. To further personalize your experience, you choose between a thesis or capstone track. You may choose to earn a graduate certificate in American literature and culture along the way.

11 Online Courses

• Primarily synchronous
• Fall, spring, January, and summer options

You’ll complete 1 on-campus course, Engaging in Scholarly Conversation, at an accelerated or standard pace:

• 2 weekends (1 in fall and 1 in spring)
• A 3-week summer session

Capstone or Thesis Track

• Thesis:  features a 9-month independent research project with a thesis advisor
• Capstone: includes exploring classic novels and completing a project in a classroom community

The path to your degree begins before you apply to the program.

First, you’ll register for and complete 3 required courses, earning at least a B in each. These foundational courses are investments in your studies and count toward your degree, helping ensure success in the program.

Getting Started

We invite you to explore degree requirements, confirm your initial eligibility, and learn more about our unique “earn your way in” admissions process.

Our Community at a Glance

Your peers from the field of English work in a variety of writing, research, and communication-intensive industries, such as fundraising, publishing, advertising/marketing, and education (secondary and higher education).

Upon successful completion of the required curriculum, you will earn the Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, Field: English.

Download: English Master's Degree Fact Sheet

Average Age

Average Courses Taken Each Semester

Work Full Time

Would Recommend the Program

Professional Experience in the Field

Pursued for Personal Enrichment

Tuition & Financial Aid

Affordability is core to our mission. When compared to our continuing education peers, it’s a fraction of the cost.

After admission, you may qualify for financial aid . Typically, eligible students receive grant funds to cover a portion of tuition costs each term, in addition to federal financial aid options.

Coffee Chat: All About Liberal Arts Programs at HES

Are you interested in learning more about liberal arts graduate degree programs at Harvard Extension School? Attendees joined us for an informational webinar where they had the opportunity to connect with program directors, academic advisors, and alumni.

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• American Literature and Culture Graduate Certificate

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

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• Programs & Courses
• Degree Requirements

MA/PhD Degree Requirements: Master's Degree

Students who enter the MA/PhD program without an MA in English or a related field are required to earn an MA in the first two years of the program. (Note that the UW Department of English does not admit students for a terminal MA degree.)

The degree requirements for the MA in English Language and Literature at the University of Washington are:

• Language requirement : Evidence of ability to make scholarly use of at least one language other than modern English
• Coursework : At least 40 graded credits of coursework
• Master’s essay : Graduate students who intend to continue on to the fully-integrated PhD program must complete a Master's Essay (5-10 credits) as part of their coursework

The requirements are detailed below.

Language requirement

Students are required to demonstrate intermediate-level reading competency in a language other than modern or Middle English. This requirement can be fulfilled up to three years prior to entering graduate school at UW. Students completing their MA in English Language & Literature at UW must satisfy the language requirement prior to earning their MA.

Options for completing this requirement are:

• A 3.0 or higher in the final course of a second-year college-level course sequence (or more advanced), taken within three years prior to entrance; or
• A score on a   UW language test   that demonstrates competency at the level of the final course of a second-year college-level course sequence; or
• Native-speaker ability in another language; or
• Completion of Advanced Old English language and literature ( Engl 513 ) with a grade of 3.0 or better

All credits earned in fulfilling the language requirement by coursework at the 100-400-level are in addition to the graduate credits required for the degree. 

At least forty (40) credit hours in graded graduate courses are required for the MA degree, including:

• English 506: Introduction to Graduate Study in English (5 credits)
• English 590: Master's Essay (5-10 credits)

Students who decide to leave the program with a terminal master's degree may substitute five (5) graduate seminar credits for the master's essay. If they subsequently decide to continue toward the PhD, they must complete the master's essay.

What counts for coursework:

• 500- & 600-level graded English graduate courses
• Credit for courses taken outside of the department require approval by the DGS
• Students may petition the DGS to transfer up to five (5) credits taken as a graduate student at another institution

What does not count for coursework:

• 100- through 400- level courses
• Creative writing workshops
• Internships

Master’s Essay

The master’s essay is a scholarly paper that allows students to demonstrate the research skills and knowledge they have gained throughout their master's studies. It often develops from a paper written for a course and follows the form of an article for a scholarly journal. The particulars of its argumentation and format will vary depending on a student's academic area(s) of specialization. The master’s essay is the final component of the MA degree.

The following three options are available for completion of the master’s essay:

• One quarter, 10 credits;
• Two quarters, 5 credits each. First quarter would culminate in the submission of an annotated bibliography and abstract (max. 500 words) OR an equivalent, approved by the master’s essay director;
• One quarter, 5 credits. Student would select a particular paper from a seminar and develop and expand it to publishable length.

The master’s essay is not a thesis and is not submitted to the UW Graduate School to be filed in the library.

The master’s essay director is selected by the student and must be a member of the English graduate faculty. A second reader is selected in consultation with the master’s essay director. After securing the agreement of the director, the student registers for 5-10 credits of English 590.

Specifications

The usual length of the master's essay is that of an article in a scholarly journal. It should be prepared according to the citation scheme appropriate for one's area of specialty, such as MLA, Chicago Manual, or APA.

Both the director and the second reader evaluate the essay and send copies of their evaluations to the student and to the English Graduate Advising Office. The grade for the essay (and for Engl 590) is assigned by the director.

The Director of Graduate Studies serves as advisor for all degree requirements. A student entering the program should meet as soon as possible with the Director of Graduate Studies. At this meeting the Director will review degree requirements, discuss coursework choices, and appoint a graduate faculty member who shares the student’s research interests to serve as entrance adviser to counsel the student on academic matters, including scholarship, course selection, and professional preparation. This role will continue until the student chooses a Master’s Essay Director who then assumes mentorship.

Applying for the Degree

Students wishing to graduate with the Master of Arts degree must submit an on-line application to the Graduate School. Students must be registered for a minimum of two credits during the quarter the degree is conferred. Note that the MA degree is a “non-thesis” degree option.

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The M.A. Program

A hallmark of the M.A. English program is close student-faculty contact where the maximum enrollment per seminar is 18 students. Classes are held in the afternoons and early evening hours. We offer a rigorous program with a multi-faceted final thesis project, and, once admitted, students have up to three years to complete the degree.

Starting in Fall 2021, the M.A. program requires eight courses (24 credits) plus completion of a thesis and allows students to earn the degree within a four-semester/two year schedule. Many students in the program have full-time status and successfully complete their work in four semesters.

The normative credit load for a full-time student is three courses (9 credits) in the fall and spring of the first year, and one course (3 credits) plus Thesis Research in the fall and spring of the second year. Typically, if a student begins the program in the fall, their course schedule would look like this:

• Fall 1st Semester: 3 graduate courses
• Spring 2nd Semester: 3 graduate courses
• Fall 3rd Semester: 1 graduate course (must be the M.A. Thesis Seminar) plus Thesis Research
• Spring 4th Semester: 1 graduate course plus Thesis Research

However, students who may be working full-time and/or are interested in accelerating or decelerating the normative credit load are welcome to contact the Director of Graduate Studies and submit a request for consideration.

    The Thesis Project

We define the thesis project broadly, to include critical works, as well as multimodal and public outreach projects. It requires that students register for a thesis seminar course—typically taken in the fall of the second year—along with a 0-credit thesis research course in the fall and spring—in order for students to maintain full-time status to complete work on the thesis project. During the spring semester, students are expected to budget their time accordingly as they complete their thesis while taking their final elective. This includes meeting independently with faculty advisors on an ad-hoc basis and managing deadlines and requirements in a professional manner.

Visit the Thesis Project page for more information on the breakdown of writing the thesis and to view examples of past projects.

We invite you to take a look at our  faculty directory , meet our current graduate students, and learn about some of the  professional development opportunities  typically available to students in a given academic year.

Read answers to Frequently Asked Questions .

MA & PhD Requirements

Ma program requirements.

The Graduate School defines the degree in terms of credits earned. Conceived in this manner, the MA in English is a 30-credit degree. The MA program requires a minimum of one year to complete, though students with graduate assistantships usually take two years, which is the department’s limit on assistantship funding at the MA level. According to Graduate School regulations, all requirements must be met within eight years, though the department reserves the right to stipulate that a student fulfill remaining requirements within a shorter period.

• Ten 3-credit courses in English, six of which must fulfill the distribution requirements for the degree (ENGL 501; one course in theory or rhetoric; two courses in pre-1800 literature in English; two courses in post-1800 literature in English), and one of which may be an independent study course leading to a Writing Project;
• A reading knowledge of a language other than English;
• Completion of a Writing Project. The Graduate School requires each student to submit an essay prior to graduation (see Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin). Students fulfill this requirement by submitting either a Master’s Essay or a revision of one of their seminar papers into article form.

The University requires graduate assistants to register for a minimum of 9 credits a semester. Credits may be earned during the summer.

The department requires graduate assistants to register for at least 1 credit of ENGL 602 (Supervised College Teaching) in each of their first two semesters.

Distribution Requirements

• English 501
• One course in literary theory or rhetoric
• Two courses in literature in English prior to 1800
• Two courses in literature in English after 1800

Note: Courses which overlap the divisions listed above may be used to fulfill requirements in one or the other area, so long as the final project addresses the period for which the distribution credit is sought, but no one course may be used to fulfill more than one requirement.

Transfer Credit. According to Graduate School regulations, a maximum of 10 credits earned in residence at another graduate institution may be used toward fulfillment of degree requirements. The transfer of credits must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.

Upper-level undergraduate courses (400-level) may serve to introduce students to new areas of study or to substitute for graduate courses when the latter are not available. With the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee, M.A. candidates may apply two 3-credit 400-level courses toward the fulfillment of the ten-course requirement. These courses may not, however, be used to fulfill the distribution requirements. Additionally, M.A. students considering the Ph.D. are advised that admission to the Ph.D. will be based primarily on their performance in English graduate seminars.

Proseminars are designed to introduce master’s and beginning doctoral level students to areas in which they lack sufficient breadth to enable them to perform well in specialized seminars. Their function is both to introduce students to primary texts in multiple genres and to map out the historical and critical territories surrounding those texts. Proseminars carry a heavier reading load and a lighter writing load than do seminars.

Students may register for courses in other departments, but use of any course toward fulfillment of the ten-course requirement requires approval by the Graduate Studies Committee. The committee is usually hospitable to requests that offer a coherent rationale for taking the course.

The department requires a demonstrated reading knowledge of one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Latin, or Classical Greek. Other languages may be substituted with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee.

The language requirement may be fulfilled by one of the following:

• A grade of B or better in an intermediate- or advanced-level foreign language or literature course at Penn State.
• Successful performance on an examination administered by English department faculty (or faculty in other Liberal Arts departments) with competence in the language. (The Director of Graduate Studies will compile and update a roster or appropriate examiners.)
• A waiver granted by the Graduate Studies Committee for bilingual students, native speakers, or students whose academic records otherwise demonstrate competence (e.g., an undergraduate major or minor).

Students should begin to think about satisfying the language requirement as soon as they enter the program. There have been cases in which MA candidates have waited until their last semester and then either failed the examination or were unable to find a course to satisfy the requirement.

The Writing Project is a Graduate School requirement for a final project that will demonstrate mastery of the field. In the English department, the Writing Project may be fulfilled either by submitting a Master’s Essay or by substantially revising a seminar paper into article form.

The Master’s Essay is a 3-credit option that enables a student to conduct independent research leading to an extended essay (25-30 pages) on a single topic. The Master’s Essay is equivalent to one course and should be completed within a single semester. It must be directed by a graduate faculty adviser and one additional member of the graduate faculty chosen by the student in consultation with the principal advisor. Both faculty members and the Graduate Studies Committee must formally approve the topic before the student registers for the Independent Study Course (English 596) in which the essay will be written. Both faculty members must approve the essay in its final form before the adviser awards it a letter grade, and the student must submit a copy of the approved version of the Essay to the department’s Graduate Office.

A candidate who chooses not to write a formal Master’s Essay is required instead to present one of  their best and most extensive term papers revised into article form to the Graduate Office in fulfillment of the requirement for a “suitable essay or paper” set forth in the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin. This paper should be approved, as fulfilling the requirement, by the faculty member for whom it was written and by the Graduate Studies Committee. The deadline to submit the essay or paper is the last day of classes for the semester of graduation.

With the approval of the graduate studies committee, a student may pursue a minor in another field. The student must take at least eight 3-credit courses in the English department, plus at least three 3-credit courses in the minor field. Thus a total of 33 credits is required for the degree (eleven 3-credit courses).

Early in the fall semester, the Graduate Office issues a memo through which second-year MA candidates may apply for admission to the PhD program. Students with both BA and MA from Penn State are discouraged from applying. Students applying to the PhD from the Penn State MA  program are required to submit a writing sample (preferably an essay from a graduate English course), a CV, and a one- to two- page statement of professional purpose. In considering candidates for the Ph.D., the Graduate Studies Committee gives highest priority to performance in graduate courses and solicits comments from all of the student’s graduate instructors. Students should make sure that they have no outstanding deferred grades at the time of application. The committee makes its decisions between October and early March.

PhD Program Requirements

The Ph.D. is expected to take four years beyond the M.A. to complete. According to Graduate School regulations, all requirements must be met within eight years, though the department reserves the right to stipulate that a student fulfill remaining requirements within a shorter period. Those interested in completing a dual-title degree should review the English partners and  The Graduate School’s dual-title degree policy .

There is no fixed number of courses or credits required for the PhD degree; however, most students take up to six courses in PhD-1. Students must fulfill the minimal course requirements listed below. These requirements  must be met by 3-credit graduate courses taken either at the MA (for students who enter at the MA level), or the PhD level (for students who are accepted directly into the PhD program).

Upon entry into the PhD program, students will consult with  the Associate Graduate Studies Director to decide which of these requirements have been fulfilled at the MA level and which have yet to be completed. Students may not count Penn State 400-level courses or equivalent undergraduate courses from elsewhere toward distribution requirements. PhD students entering from another institution will need to consult with their prospective committee to determine if more preparation is needed in areas outside the areas of specialization. These are the distribution requirements:

• one course in methods, materials, and contexts of literary study (ENGL 501 or the equivalent)
• one course in literary theory or rhetoric
• two courses in literature in English prior to 1800
• two courses in literature in English after 1800

Courses which overlap the divisions listed above may be used to fulfill requirements in one or the other area, as long as the major project in the course addresses the period for which the distribution credit is sought. .No one course may be used to fulfill more than one requirement.

Proseminars are designed to introduce master’s and beginning doctoral students to areas in which they lack sufficient breadth to enable them to perform well in specialized seminars. Their function is both to introduce students to primary texts in multiple genres and to map out the historical and critical territories surrounding those texts. Proseminars carry a heavier reading load and a lighter writing load than do seminars. While proseminars are most appropriate for master’s level students, doctoral students may also find them useful. Doctoral level students should consult with their advisers on these and other courses before registration.

At the beginning of of their  third semester in the PhD program, all PhD students will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee. As part of its review, the Committee will consider the candidate’s first semester grades and instructors’ comments and will also seek the views of each candidate’s second semester instructors. Students will meet individually with the DGS to discuss the review.

For an official minor, the student must take at least 15 credits in the minor field. (For additional information on the official minor, consult the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin .) With the approval of a student’s doctoral committee, the area of the candidate’s minor may be added to the comprehensive examinations.

A student is required to demonstrate reading knowledge of one of the following languages: Chinese, Classical Greek, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Russian, Spanish, or any other language approved by the Graduate Studies Committee. Additional languages needed for individual students’ programs will be determined by their doctoral committees. (See the section above on the language requirement for the MA for information on procedures for fulfilling the language requirement.)

Purpose of Comprehensive Exam

The comprehensive exam is designed to encourage students to identify the areas of expertise that will support their research and teaching. It requires them to build reading lists for each of three areas described below in consultation with advisor(s) and committee members. In the exam itself, students will demonstrate a broad knowledge of primary texts, historical periods, methodologies, theoretical approaches, and scholarly conversations.

Examination Format

The comprehensive exam has written and oral components. The written component consists of three discrete take-home exams, each of which is to be completed within twenty-four hours. Please note that students are not meant to stay awake for 24 hours and are therefore asked to observe an upper page limit of 10-12 pages or 2500-3000 words for each exam. All three written exams will be completed within a week’s time. The oral component is designed to allow committee members to engage substantively with the answers provided in the written component, to consider the student’s understanding of relevant theory and methods, to request clarification or elaboration of assertions made in the written component, and to discuss the viability of the student’s plans for the dissertation. The two-hour oral component will stand as the Graduate School’s official record of the comprehensive exam. The date, time, and location for the oral component must be agreed upon by the entire committee and scheduled through the graduate office at the same time as the written exam is arranged.

The written component of the exam consists of three parts:

• Major Area The Major area exam encompasses a range of issues and scholarly conversations within a recognized field, broadly construed. Examples include but are not limited to: Early Modern Literature, 19th-20th Century American Literature, Rhetoric and Composition, African American Literature, Visual Culture.
• Theory and Methods The Theory and Methods exam allows students to engage a set of theoretical texts and tools, an area of interdisciplinary inquiry, or a particular set of methods. Examples include but are not limited to: science studies, historiography, feminist theory, digital studies, environmental humanities, critical theory, ethnographic methods.
• Special Topic The Special topic exam asks students to engage with a focused body of work. This topic is open and may encompass a secondary subfield. It may also engage a set of questions relevant to the student’s plans for a dissertation. The written examinations will form the basis for the two-hour oral examination.

Exam Preparation

In the fall of the second year in the PhD program, students will form a doctoral committee consisting of at least three members of the English graduate faculty and, in accordance with Graduate School regulations, at least one graduate faculty member from another department. The student must file a form in the Graduate Office establishing the committee by the end of their second semester in the Ph.D. program. The student should meet periodically with the advisor and with members of the committee in order to develop a list for each of the three exam areas. Each reading list should be accompanied by brief (250-word) rationales for the list design and purpose. Exam reading lists and rationales need to reach final form no later than one month prior to the exam. The number of items on the lists should range between 150-200 works total.

Scheduling the Exam

Steps for planning and scheduling the comprehensive examination:

•  Meet with the examination committee to determine three exam areas.
• Check with the graduate office to make sure you have no missing or incomplete grades (students must be in registered status and have all missing or incomplete grades resolved before taking exams).
• Select date to complete the written component of the comprehensive examination.
• Schedule oral examination date, time, and place with your committee. Consult with the graduate office for help reserving a room. The oral exam date should allow at least two weeks for committee members to read and consider written material.
• Two weeks prior to the beginning of the exam, notify the graduate office of the dates for the written component, and specify date, time, and location for the oral component. The date, time, and location for the oral component must be agreed upon by the entire committee, because it becomes the Graduate School’s official record of the exam.

Recommended steps for advisors:

• Meet regularly with graduate students to discuss examination areas and rationale.
• Review lists and rationale; make sure the student is consulting with committee members about lists and rationales.
• Hold an organizational meeting for committee and graduate students. This meeting will provide an opportunity for the committee to organize itself around the exam, to collaborate on questions and design.
• Gather questions from the committee and create the exam with clear instructions. Consider offering choices of questions, and please consider asking students to answer only one or two questions for each area exam.
• One week before the written exam is scheduled to take place, send exam questions to the staff assistant in the graduate office as an email attachment. Make sure it is clear which exam is to be given on which date.

At the end of the oral examination, the committee will deliberate about the student’s performance on both components of the exam. Committee members will offer feedback to the advisor, who will then offer an overview of the feedback to the student. Each committee member will also rate the candidate’s knowledge of the field and preparedness to embark on the dissertation research according to the evaluative categories that appear on the Graduate School’s “report on the doctoral comprehensive examination” form:

4 (Superior) 3 (Above Average) 2 (Average ) 1 (Below Average) 0 (Fail)

A favorable (passing) vote of at least two-thirds of the committee members is required for passing.

• Candidates should have selected a thesis topic by the time of their comprehensive exams and should submit a detailed thesis proposal after the completion of comprehensive exams (proposal forms are available upon request in the graduate office). After the proposal has been approved by all members of the student’s committee, it should be sent to the Director of Graduate Studies for final approval on the basis of the committee’s assessment. The dissertation proposal needs to be completed and approved by ninety (90) days after the completion of the comprehensive examination.
• The doctoral thesis committee will consist of the chairperson (who must be a member of the English graduate faculty), at least two members of the English graduate faculty whose special fields of interest bear some relation to the topic of the thesis, and one member of the graduate faculty from outside the department. Please note that dual title degree programs have additional requirements for committee composition. (For additional information on the membership of the doctoral thesis committee, consult the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin .)
• Students should make sure that every member of the committee is involved in each stage of the project–from the initial proposal to the final oral defense. Students should consult with their advisers to decide whether to convene the entire committee for periodic conferences as the thesis develops.
• Upon completion of the thesis but before it is in final typed form, an oral defense should be scheduled by the committee chair, in consultation with the student and the Director of Graduate Studies, at least two weeks in advance with the Graduate Secretary (using an Exam Request Form which is also filed with The Graduate School). Before the oral defense is scheduled, all members of the thesis committee must agree that the thesis is complete and ready to be defended. After a successful defense, a clean copy of the thesis should be delivered to the department head for his or her signature.
• It is the responsibility of the chair of the thesis committee to make sure that changes and recommendations agreed upon during the oral defense are carried out by the student. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that the copies of the thesis submitted to the Graduate School and to the English Graduate Office are absolutely clean and free of error.

This examination is taken after the thesis has been submitted to the thesis committee, but before the thesis has been typed in final form. The thesis committee acts as the examining committee. Satisfactory performance in this exam is necessary for acceptance of the thesis. The examination is oral and open to the public. Please note the following Graduate School policy in regard to the final oral examination:

The State of the Doctoral Thesis at the Time of the Final Oral Examination

Both the thesis director and the student are responsible for assuring the completion of a draft of the thesis and for adequate consultation with members of the thesis committee well in advance of the oral examination. Major revisions to the thesis should be completed before this examination. The dissertation should be in its final draft, with appropriate notes, bibliography, tables, etc., in place at the time of the oral examination; both the content and style should be correct and polished when this final draft is in the hands of the committee. Again, there should be an adequate period of time (at least two weeks) between the delivery of the final draft of the thesis to committee members and the scheduled oral examination.

Graduate School Requirements for Residency and Credits

There is no required minimum of credits or semesters of study, but over some twelve-month period during the interval between admission to candidacy and completion of the PhD program the candidate must spend at least two semesters (which may include the semester in which the candidacy examination is taken) as a registered full-time student.

After a student has passed the comprehensive examination and met the two-semester residence requirement, no further registration for credit will be required by the Graduate School. However, status as a student must be maintained by registering continuously (for each semester, beginning with the first semester after both of the requirements mentioned above have been met) until the thesis is accepted by the doctoral committee. This registration may be for noncredit ENGL 601 or 611, with payment of the special thesis preparation fee; students who want to combine course work with thesis preparation must register for ENGL 600 or 611 (not 601 which is full-time thesis preparation ) plus course registration at the regular per-credit fee.

ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR KNOWING THESE REQUIREMENTS, THE REGULATIONS AND PERTINENT PROCEDURES OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL AS SET FORTH IN THE GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS BULLETIN, THE THESIS INFORMATION BULLETIN , AND THE GRADUATE HANDBOOK OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT. NOTHING IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD TO SUPERSEDE ANY REGULATIONS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL.

The doctoral committee serves several functions: 1) to advise the student on all matters relating to his or her program; 2) to administer the comprehensive examination; and 3) to supervise and approve the doctoral dissertation. Every entering PhD student assembles a doctoral committee upon formal admission to candidacy (by passing the candidacy review). The committee bears the principal responsibility for guiding and assessing the student’s progress through the program.

The Guidelines for Doctoral Committees is designed to help faculty and students adjust to the department’s policy of establishing doctoral committees early in the PhD program. It should be read in conjunction with the Graduate School’s regulations concerning doctoral committees ( Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin ) and the English department’s general requirements and procedures for the PhD program.

• Establishing the Committee
• Every entering student should begin to consider the field or combination of fields on which he or she wishes to focus. Soon after admission to the program, the student should arrange to meet with the graduate director or associate director to identify areas of interest and faculty who work in these areas. Penn State M.A.s are encouraged to begin this process as soon as they are admitted to the PhD; M.A.s from other institutions will begin the process early in the second semester in the program.
• By the end of the first year of the program, the student should have his or her doctoral committee assembled and one member of the committee identified as the chair. A committee consists of at least three members of the Department of English, and in accordance with Graduate School regulations, at least one graduate faculty member from another department. If the student is pursuing a PhD minor field, then the external member must be from that field. All students must file a form in the English Graduate Office establishing their committee by the end of their second semester in the PhD program. After choosing a committee, the student should then meet with committee members to develop a specific course of study leading to the comprehensive examination and subsequent research. Committees should meet together at least once–preferably more often–before the student takes the comprehensive examination.
• Changes in the committee membership should be done in consultation with the committee chair. If a student wishes to change the chair of the committee, he or she should consult with the Graduate Director.
• Comprehensive Examinations
• Every student should work with the doctoral committee to develop a coherent program of study that looks forward to the comprehensive examination and beyond to the doctoral dissertation and other professional research. The student should consult with individual committee members on a regular basis and arrange periodic meetings of the entire committee.
• By the beginning of the second year, students should have selected their examination areas. The committee may tailor readings and exams to the student’s individual needs, but should follow some general guidelines: a) no examination area should be a mere subset of another area–for example, if Renaissance is the major field and poetry a secondary field, the latter should not be confined to Renaissance poetry; b) the examination area should not be defined too narrowly–for instance, readings in a historical period should cover the range of genres, and genre preparation in all areas should include not only primary texts but also acquaintance with the relevant historical contexts and current critical debates. If the committee decides that its existing membership is not fully qualified to guide the student in a particular area, then it may consider adding an additional member for the purpose of the examination.
• Full-time students are expected to take the comprehensive examination no later than the end of the second year in the program. Any extension beyond that point requires a petition with full justification to the Graduate Studies Committee. All curricular requirements for the degree must be fulfilled by the end of the semester in which the student is taking the exam. The student, in agreement with the doctoral committee, sets the precise date, but the exam must be scheduled at least three weeks prior to the last day of classes for the semester. The English Graduate Office must be notified by the student at least two weeks prior to the exam in order to process Graduate School forms. The student must be registered for at least 1 credit in the semester during which the exam is taken. Summer session is included if exams are scheduled during this time.
• The structure of the examination is laid out in the Graduate Student Handbook. Individual members of the committee may be responsible for preparing specific areas of the examination, but the entire committee should review the exam before it is administered, and should read all of the student’s work once it is completed.
• After the examination the committee chair should notify the English Graduate Office of the results. In the event that the student fails one or more parts of the exam, the doctoral committee will decide whether the student should retake the exam in its entirety or only those parts that he or she has failed. It may also recommend against retaking the exam and ask the graduate studies committee to review the student’s overall performance in the program.

III. Doctoral Dissertation

• After passing the comprehensive examination, the student may modify committee membership to suit the specific needs of thesis research. Such changes should be made as quickly as possible.
• Students who have passed the comprehensive exam should turn immediately to the doctoral dissertation. Thesis proposal forms are available upon request from the Graduate Office and proposals must be approved by the doctoral committee and submitted to the graduate office no later than ninety (90) days after the completion of the comprehensive exams.
• Guidelines for writing the thesis and taking the final oral examination appear on pp. 8-9 of the graduate handbook.

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MA PhD Integrated Course, Eligibility, Admission, Syllabus, Scope & Career

• What is MA Ph.d?

The MA PhD programme, or the Master of Arts - Doctor of Philosophy integrated program, is a four-year or five-year (depending on the university) educational programme which begins with studying for a Master of Arts degree and ends with you receiving your Doctorate in Philosophy.

Different universities offer different specialisations under the MA portion of the programme, which we will get into a bit later. Aside from this, in this guide about the MA Ph.D. integrated degree course, we will be exploring the following main points about the course. MA Ph.D. dual degree combines both MA and Ph.D. MA or Master of Arts is a postgraduate programme. While, Ph.D or Doctor of Philosophy is a doctoral degree programme. MA takes two years and the duration of Ph.D is five to seven years. The duration of the integrated MA Ph.D. programme is five years.

What is MA Ph.D. full form?

Ma ph.d highlights, ma ph.d fee structure, why choose ma ph.d, ma ph.d eligibility, ma ph.d skills required, ma ph.d admission process, ma ph.d entrance examination, ma ph.d. cut off, ma ph.d syllabus, ma ph.d specialisation, what after ma ph.d dual degree, careers opportunities after ma ph.d dual degree, expected salary after ma phd, top private ma ph.d colleges, top government ma ph.d colleges.

MA Ph.D. stands for Master of Arts- Doctor of Philosophy. It is a combined programme with postgraduate MA and doctoral integrated Ph.D. MA Ph.D dual degree programme is offered in the humanities discipline. Candidates who want to enroll in the MA Ph.D integrated course are required to successfully complete BA (bachelor of arts) with a minimum of 55 per cent marks from a recognised university.

In a tabular form for you to understand the basics, here’s what you need to know about the course, in brief:

The following is the approximate semester-wise fee structure for MA PhD integrated courses.

MA M.Ed fee

Pursuing a MA Ph.D. dual degree has a lot of advantages for students. If you are still doubtful about the degree, here are certain advantages of pursuing this integrated programme.

Dual Degree: After successful completion of Master’s, students have the opportunity to complete their doctoral degree. This will save time and the hassles of applying for a dual degree separately.

Rich Field of Opportunity: The course provides students with interesting opportunities in literary fields. This will also help you get better job opportunities as the number of students with dual degrees in MA Ph.D. is less.

Better Qualification Graph: As Ph.D. is one of the most honoured degree programmes in India, it will improve your qualification graph and help you have a stable career ahead.

The eligibility criteria required for an MA Ph.D. integrated course is as follows:

Class 10 or equivalent pass from a recognised institution

10+2 or equivalent pass from a recognised institution

Holder of a Bachelor’s degree (of Arts or other) from a recognised institution

All in all, the candidate aspiring for the MA Ph.D. dual degree must have completed her 10+2+3 or 10+2+4 or equivalent education from a formally recognised institution.

The eligibility criterion begs the question of whether it is necessary to have a Bachelor of Arts degree to pursue the Master of Arts - Doctorate of Philosophy integrated course. The answer to this question is ‘no’:

Although it is a dual degree course, it is not necessary that the Bachelor’s degree has to be a Bachelor of Arts degree to be eligible for the MA Ph.D. integrated course. Although it is definitely a plus, a BA is not a requirement. However, a Bachelor’s degree, such as a BBA , BCom and BSc. all fit the eligibility criteria for MA Ph.D.

Alternatively, Srishti allows for candidates to meet additional criteria for their MA Ph.D. courses. These pertain to the educational institutions alternative to the ones that only offer regular bachelor programs:

Four year undergraduate diploma from a recognised design institute.

Five year Bachelor’s degree from a recognised professional institute.

Since the MA Ph.D integrated degree combines two degree programmes, it means double the work that either of the standalone courses would have to offer. Aside from this, it is a course where the world of social sciences and humanities completely takes you over.

The admission process for enrollment in MA Ph.D dual degree may vary from institution to institution. We have provided below the MA Ph.D admission process of top colleges in India.

Individuals are required to register for admissions on the official website of colleges.

They may take physical forms from university premises, submit it after filling for registration.

Candidates are required to appear in the entrance examination conducted by the universities and colleges.

They must qualify the entrance examination and get seat allotment.

Complete the documentation process

Pay the academic fee.

Ensure successful completion of the enrollment in MA PhD dual degree programme.

Once again, it is necessary to note that different institutions have different enrolment processes for MA Ph.D. integrated courses. The entrance exams for MA Ph.D. integrated degree programme work according to the admission process of the respective institution.

In most cases, the only available option for registering for the entrance exam is via an online application, although some institutions offer offline applications.

IIT Bombay conducts written examination and personal interview to select eligible candidates to provide admissions in MA Ph.D integrated course. Candidates are requested to visit the official website of college for more details.

A cut off varies from institution to institution depending on various factors such as number of candidates appearing in the entrance examinations, difficulty level of examination, total availability of seats and demand of getting admission in the institution. A minimum score, percentage or rank is announced by college authorities to select eligible candidates to provide admissions. Those who secure higher rank or scores than the cut off or equivalent to it are eligible for enrolling in the course.

MA Colleges by Location

We have provided below a table to locate colleges offering MA courses in various cities. Candidates seeking admission in MA may find colleges in their cities with the help of table. The admission process, fee structure and eligibility criteria for enrollment in MA college may vary from college to college.

Ph.D Colleges by Location

Aspirants who wish to pursue a Ph.D may check colleges in their cities offering the same with the assistance of table provided below. The admission process, fee structure and eligibility criteria for enrollment in Ph.D may vary from college to college.

The syllabus of MA Ph.D. courses differs according to the institution offering it. For example, the courses for MA Ph.D. offered at Srishti Institute of Art & Design are different from the MA Ph.D. courses offered at Pondicherry University and in MCPH. We will go into the syllabus for all of these courses.

We have mentioned below M.A.-Ph.D. Humanities and Social Sciences Integrated Programme syllabus of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.

MA Ph.d Syllabus for Semester 1 & 2

MA Ph.d Syllabus for Semester 3 & 4

MA Ph.d Syllabus for Semester 5 & 6

MA Ph.d Syllabus for Semester 7 & 8

MA Ph.d Syllabus for Semester 9 & 10

MA Ph.d Syllabus for Semester 11 & 12

Master of Arts courses specialise in a number of disciplines. We have listed below the major specialisations of MA.

Internships with MA PhD

Since all MA, as well as PhD courses, require students to take up one or more internships, MA PhD Integrated courses also require the same. Experiential learning through internships is just as important as learning within the institution, and thus the importance of internships.

Internships with archivists, in research and development companies, policy research analysis companies, content writing, and development internships, etc. are excellent choices for MA PhD internships.

The following are the career options that you can pursue after receiving an MA PhD integrated degree:

Research & development in the area of humanities and philosophy - With an in-depth knowledge of all things humanities following the completion of an MA PhD programme, individuals will be well-equipped to contribute to the philosophical, historical, political, and sociological research and development processes in the country.

Impact assessors - Heritage impact assessments (HII) and Environmental impact assessments (EII) are critical roles to be filled in the contemporary world, for assessing various impacts around the preservation of historic structures and artefacts, and in the construction of new infrastructure in countries.

Teaching - Teachers and educators play one of the most important roles in developing societies. With an integrated MA PhD qualification, individuals are eligible to become teachers and educate the young and bright.

Social work - Social workers are the need of the hour, especially when governments fail to meet the needs and necessities of their people. Social workers work towards reformation, providing the underprivileged with what they can, and myriad other vital services.

Urban planning - Once again, with an in-depth knowledge of humanities through an MA PhD integrated degree, individuals can contribute manifold to the planning of cities and towns as urban planners .

Policy maker/facilitator - The MA PhD course helps individuals critically analyse what kinds of policies to introduce, when, where and why. A critical analysis of the same not only encourages individuals to influence or facilitate policy making, but it can also provide the opportunity for the person to be a direct part of the process of policy making.

The expected salaries after MA PhD vary according to the job that the degree -holder avails. Of course, the demand for high degree-holders is quite high, thus, for MA PhD degree-holders, the market is usually always open.

Here is the breakup of salaries according to the previously mentioned career options. Please note that because of varying levels of experience at the job, salaries also vary accordingly. Also note that the mentioned salaries below are average salaries of all the jobs mentioned.

Job Profile & Salary in MA Ph.D.

There are various colleges that offer academic programmes in humanities. But, there are only a few colleges that offer integrated MA Ph.D. course. MA Ph.D. is the combined degree of postgraduate MA and doctoral Ph.D. programme. We have listed below top private MA Ph.D. colleges.

MA Ph.D is the combination of master of arts and doctor of philosophy degree programmes. It is an integrated dual degree programme. The course is offered by very few colleges in India. We have listed below such top government MA Ph.D colleges.

MA colleges by States

Candidates seeking admission in MA course may check colleges in their states with the assistance state wise MA colleges table provided below. An MA is a postgraduate programme in the arts discipline. Candidates are required to complete a BA in any specialisation to enroll in the programme.

PhD Colleges by States

We have provided below state-wise list of colleges offering PhD. A PhD is a doctoral degree research based programme. It provides opportunities to pursue academic careers such as lecturer, professor or researcher in universities and colleges.

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

No, you can apply for an MA PhD integrated course, you must have a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline/subject to pursue the course. 

Yes, it is possible to leave the institution with only an MA degree after meeting all the same requirements if you wish not to pursue the PhD after you finish your MA studies. In this way, you do not lose your Master’s degree if you wish not to continue further after.

Seacom Skills University, Manipal Centre for Philosophy & Humanities, Srishti Institute of Art & Design, Techno India University, and Pondicherry University are the institutions where MA PhD integrated courses are available.

There are several jobs which consider granting positions to MA PhD integrated degree-holders, such as impact assessors, urban planner, policy maker/influencer, educator/teacher, social worker, etc. The salaries vary from job to job, but the range lies between Rs. 2.9 lakhs per annum to even Rs. eight to nine lakhs per annum.

Courses which are similar to the MA PhD integrated course are as follows:

MDes + PhD (Master’s program in Design, Postgraduate Integrated Doctoral Program)

BA + MA (Bachelor of Arts + Master of Arts Integrated Undergraduate + Postgraduate course)

MSc + PhD (Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy Integrated Program)

MBA + PhD (Master’s in Business Administration, Integrated Doctoral Program)

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The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

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The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

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If you are intrigued by the programming world and are interested in developing communications networks then a career as database architect may be a good option for you. Data architect roles and responsibilities include building design models for data communication networks. Wide Area Networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), and intranets are included in the database networks. It is expected that database architects will have in-depth knowledge of a company's business to develop a network to fulfil the requirements of the organisation. Stay tuned as we look at the larger picture and give you more information on what is db architecture, why you should pursue database architecture, what to expect from such a degree and what your job opportunities will be after graduation. Here, we will be discussing how to become a data architect. Students can visit NIT Trichy , IIT Kharagpur , JMI New Delhi . 

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Product manager.

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Operations Manager

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Stock Analyst

Individuals who opt for a career as a stock analyst examine the company's investments makes decisions and keep track of financial securities. The nature of such investments will differ from one business to the next. Individuals in the stock analyst career use data mining to forecast a company's profits and revenues, advise clients on whether to buy or sell, participate in seminars, and discussing financial matters with executives and evaluate annual reports.

A Researcher is a professional who is responsible for collecting data and information by reviewing the literature and conducting experiments and surveys. He or she uses various methodological processes to provide accurate data and information that is utilised by academicians and other industry professionals. Here, we will discuss what is a researcher, the researcher's salary, types of researchers.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Safety Manager

A Safety Manager is a professional responsible for employee’s safety at work. He or she plans, implements and oversees the company’s employee safety. A Safety Manager ensures compliance and adherence to Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines.

Conservation Architect

A Conservation Architect is a professional responsible for conserving and restoring buildings or monuments having a historic value. He or she applies techniques to document and stabilise the object’s state without any further damage. A Conservation Architect restores the monuments and heritage buildings to bring them back to their original state.

Structural Engineer

A Structural Engineer designs buildings, bridges, and other related structures. He or she analyzes the structures and makes sure the structures are strong enough to be used by the people. A career as a Structural Engineer requires working in the construction process. It comes under the civil engineering discipline. A Structure Engineer creates structural models with the help of computer-aided design software. 

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Field Surveyor

Are you searching for a Field Surveyor Job Description? A Field Surveyor is a professional responsible for conducting field surveys for various places or geographical conditions. He or she collects the required data and information as per the instructions given by senior officials. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Pathologist

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Veterinary Doctor

Speech therapist, gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Are you searching for an ‘Anatomist job description’? An Anatomist is a research professional who applies the laws of biological science to determine the ability of bodies of various living organisms including animals and humans to regenerate the damaged or destroyed organs. If you want to know what does an anatomist do, then read the entire article, where we will answer all your questions.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Photographer

Photography is considered both a science and an art, an artistic means of expression in which the camera replaces the pen. In a career as a photographer, an individual is hired to capture the moments of public and private events, such as press conferences or weddings, or may also work inside a studio, where people go to get their picture clicked. Photography is divided into many streams each generating numerous career opportunities in photography. With the boom in advertising, media, and the fashion industry, photography has emerged as a lucrative and thrilling career option for many Indian youths.

An individual who is pursuing a career as a producer is responsible for managing the business aspects of production. They are involved in each aspect of production from its inception to deception. Famous movie producers review the script, recommend changes and visualise the story. 

They are responsible for overseeing the finance involved in the project and distributing the film for broadcasting on various platforms. A career as a producer is quite fulfilling as well as exhaustive in terms of playing different roles in order for a production to be successful. Famous movie producers are responsible for hiring creative and technical personnel on contract basis.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Individuals who opt for a career as a reporter may often be at work on national holidays and festivities. He or she pitches various story ideas and covers news stories in risky situations. Students can pursue a BMC (Bachelor of Mass Communication) , B.M.M. (Bachelor of Mass Media) , or  MAJMC (MA in Journalism and Mass Communication) to become a reporter. While we sit at home reporters travel to locations to collect information that carries a news value.  

Corporate Executive

Are you searching for a Corporate Executive job description? A Corporate Executive role comes with administrative duties. He or she provides support to the leadership of the organisation. A Corporate Executive fulfils the business purpose and ensures its financial stability. In this article, we are going to discuss how to become corporate executive.

Multimedia Specialist

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Process Development Engineer

The Process Development Engineers design, implement, manufacture, mine, and other production systems using technical knowledge and expertise in the industry. They use computer modeling software to test technologies and machinery. An individual who is opting career as Process Development Engineer is responsible for developing cost-effective and efficient processes. They also monitor the production process and ensure it functions smoothly and efficiently.

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

Information Security Manager

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

ITSM Manager

Automation test engineer.

An Automation Test Engineer job involves executing automated test scripts. He or she identifies the project’s problems and troubleshoots them. The role involves documenting the defect using management tools. He or she works with the application team in order to resolve any issues arising during the testing process. 

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Staff supervise research in most areas of English and associated studies, and have expertise in the following areas: theory, modernism and postmodernism, 18th and 19th-century studies, women’s writing, literature and visual arts, Shakespeare and the Renaissance, early modern literature and culture, medieval studies, American literature, postcolonial literature and modern poetry.

Key information

• Duration MA 1 year full-time PhD 3 to 4 years full-time
• Start date MA: September PhD: September, January, May
• Location Canterbury

The School of English has a strong international reputation and global perspective, apparent both in the background of its staff and in the diversity of our teaching and research interests.

Our expertise ranges from the medieval to the postmodern, including British, American and Irish literature, postcolonial writing, 18th-century studies, Shakespeare, early modern literature and culture, Victorian studies, modern poetry, critical theory and cultural history. The international standing of the School ensures that we have a lively, confident research culture, sustained by a vibrant, ambitious intellectual community. We also count a number of distinguished creative writers among our staff, and we actively explore crossovers between critical and creative writing in all our areas of teaching and research.

The Research Excellence Framework 2021 has produced very strong results for the School of English at Kent. With 100% of its research environment and 100% of its research impact judged to be ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. The Times Higher Education has ranked English at Kent in the UK top 20 in its subject league table, out of 92 universities. As scholars and creative practitioners, academic staff in the School of English are national and international leaders in their fields. The expert panel judged 93% of its research overall and just under 90% of its research outputs, as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Everything you need to know.

Entry requirements, study support.

A first or second class honours degree in a relevant subject (or equivalent).

A first or upper-second class honours degree in a relevant subject (or equivalent) and, normally, a taught MA qualification.

All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications. 

Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country  and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.

English language entry requirements

This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.  

Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage . 

Examples:  

IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component 

PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test 

A degree from a UK university 

A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country 

Need help with English?

Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways .

Postgraduate research is a fantastic opportunity and significant investment in your future, enabling you to expand your knowledge, skills and career options – all while making a meaningful impact and contribution to an area you are passionate about.

At Kent, we also recognise the significant financial investment that comes with postgraduate study, and we offer a range of scholarships for our postgraduate researchers, to help keep your mind on your studies, and off your finances.

Scholarships can be broad, or specific to your situation, background or even country – so please do use our scholarships finder to discover the options available to you.

We also have research partnership funding with research councils and government schemes in specific areas of interest that can help you take your research to the next level with additional financial support.

Find out more on our fees and funding page and discover what option is right for you.

As a research student, you meet regularly with your supervisor, and have the opportunity to take part in informal reading groups and research seminars to which students, staff and visiting speakers contribute papers. You also benefit from a series of research skills seminars that run in the spring term, which gives you a chance to share the research expertise of staff and postdoctoral members of the department.

As a basis for advanced research, you must take the School and Faculty research methods programmes.

Postgraduate resources

The Templeman Library is well stocked with excellent research resources, as are Canterbury Cathedral Archives and Library. There are a number of special collections: the John Crow Collection of Elizabethan and other early printed texts; the Reading/Raynor Collection of theatre history (over 7,000 texts or manuscripts); ECCO (Eighteenth-Century Collections Online); the Melville manuscripts relating to popular culture in the 19th and early 20th centuries; the Pettingell Collection (over 7,500 items) of 19th-century drama; the Eliot Collection; children’s literature; and popular literature. A gift from Mrs Valerie Eliot has increased the Library’s already extensive holdings in modern poetry. The British Library in London is also within easy reach.

Besides the Templeman Library, School resources include photocopying, fax and telephone access, support for attending and organising conferences, and a dedicated postgraduate study space.

Conferences and seminars

Our research centres organise many international conferences, symposia and workshops. 

School of English postgraduate students are encouraged to organise and participate in a conference which takes place in the summer term. This provides students with the invaluable experience of presenting their work to their peers.

The School runs several series of seminars, lectures and readings throughout the academic year. Our weekly research seminars are organised collaboratively by staff and graduates in the School. Speakers range from our own postgraduate students, to members of staff, to distinguished lecturers who are at the forefront of contemporary research nationally and internationally.

The Centre for Creative Writing hosts a very popular and successful weekly reading series; guests have included poets Katherine Pierpoint, Tony Lopez, Christopher Reid and George Szirtes, and novelists Abdulrazak Gurnah, Ali Smith, Marina Warner and Will Self.

Dynamic publishing culture

Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. They also edit several periodicals including: Angelaki: Journal of the Theoretical Humanities ; The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: 600-1500 ; The Dickensian; Literature Compass ; Oxford Literary Review ; Theatre Notebook and Wasafiri .

Researcher Development Programme

Kent's Graduate School co-ordinates the Researcher Development Programme for research students, which includes workshops focused on research, specialist and transferable skills. The programme is mapped to the national Researcher Development Framework and covers a diverse range of topics, including subject-specific research skills, research management, personal effectiveness, communication skills, networking and teamworking, and career management skills.

Research in the School of English comes roughly under the following areas. However, there is often a degree of overlap between groups, and individual staff have interests that range more widely.

Eighteenth Century

The particular interests of the Centre for Studies in the Long Eighteenth Century converge around gender, class, nation, travel and empire, and the relationship between print and material culture. Staff in the Centre pursue cutting-edge approaches to the field and share a commitment to interdisciplinary methodologies.

The Centre regularly hosts visiting speakers as part of the School of English research seminar programme, and hosts day symposia, workshops and international conferences.

Nineteenth Century

The 19th-century research group's interests include literature and gender, journalism, representations of time and history, sublimity and Victorian poetry.

American Literature

Research in North American literature is conducted partly through the  Centre for American Studies , which also facilitates co-operation with modern US historians. Staff research interests include 20th-century American literature, especially poetry, Native American writing, modernism, and cultural history.

Creative Writing

The Centre for Creative Writing is the focus for most practice-based research in the School. Staff organise a thriving events series and run a research seminar for postgraduate students and staff to share ideas about fiction-writing. Established writers regularly come to read and discuss their work.

Medieval and Early Modern

The  Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies  has a distinctive brand of interdisciplinarity, strong links with local archives and archaeological trusts, and provides a vibrant forum for investigating the relationships between literary and non-literary modes of writing in its weekly research seminar.

Modern Poetry

The Centre for Modern Poetry is a leading centre for research and publication in its field, and participates in both critical and creative research. Staff regularly host visiting speakers and writers, participate in national and international research networks, and organise graduate research seminars and public poetry readings.

Postcolonial

The Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Research has acquired an international reputation for excellence in research. It has an outstanding track record in publication, organises frequent international conferences, and regularly hosts leading postcolonial writers and critics. It also hosts a visiting writer from India every year in association with the Charles Wallace Trust.

Staff research interests

Kent’s world-class academics provide research students with excellent supervision. The academic staff in this school and their research interests are shown below. You are strongly encouraged to contact the school to discuss your proposed research and potential supervision prior to making an application. Please note, it is possible for students to be supervised by a member of academic staff from any of Kent’s schools, providing their expertise matches your research interests. Use our ‘ find a supervisor ’ search to search by staff member or keyword.

Full details of staff research interests can be found on the School's website .

Many career paths can benefit from the writing and analytical skills that you develop as a postgraduate student in the School of English. Our students have gone on to work in academia, journalism, broadcasting and media, publishing, writing and teaching; as well as more general areas such as banking, marketing analysis and project management.

The 2024/25 annual tuition fees for this course are:

• English - MA at Canterbury
• English - PhD at Canterbury

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide .

For students continuing on this programme fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact [email protected] .

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from  UKCISA  before applying.

General information

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

Additional costs

General additional costs.

Find out more about  general additional costs  that you may pay when studying at Kent. 

Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:

• University and external funds
• Scholarships specific to the academic school delivering this programme.

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

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Learn more about the  application process  or begin your application by clicking on a link below.

You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.

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Identify your strengths & weaknesses through skill assessments and build competencies to improve your employability quotient., learner experience.

I always wanted to pursue my higher education dream without quitting my job, and MUJ has made it possible for me through their online degrees. My online MCA degree has given me wings to fly and chase my career aspirations.

With one year of work experience in a hospital, I wanted to hone my managerial skills. So, I decided to pursue an online MBA in Healthcare Management. Since I’m also preparing for UPSC, pursuing an online MBA is the perfect choice and Online Manipal is playing a key role in enhancing my knowledge.  

I wanted to specialize in marketing, which is why I decided to start by pursuing an online BBA. As a working professional, an online degree was the best choice for me. The faculty at MUJ are experienced & guide us well and the student portal is user-friendly.

I have 2 years of work experience in IT as an Application Engineer. Through this program, I hope to expand my knowledge in business analytics and apply it to my current job role. Online Manipal has enabled me to learn at my convenience and the free access to Coursera content has helped me gain industry-relevant skills.

Having completed my master’s in business, I wanted to switch to the in-demand domain of business analytics, and I found MAHE’s certification program to be one of the best picks for me. The best part about this online certification program is that I can study at my own pace.    

With 12 years of work experience in procurement and supply chain, I wanted to upskill in this domain. The curriculum of the online PGCP program by MAHE is industry-relevant and is helping me in applying my skills on the job. The e-tutorials are very helpful and cover in-depth topics.  

I have been working as a lab technician in Manipal University Jaipur for 8 years, I have good technical skills like video recording and editing. However, I wanted to improve my knowledge, so I decided to pursue an online MA JMC. I want to pursue my PhD after this online program, and I also hope to become a news anchor one day. 

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Learner Testimonial: Devyani's Journey With Online BBA (MUJ)​​

Learner Testimonial: Akhil's Journey With Online MBA (MUJ)​

Learner Testimonial: Romila's Journey With Online MA JMC (MUJ)

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Course Master of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Computer Applications Bachelor of Commerce Master of Computer Applications Master of Commerce Master of Arts in Journalism & Mass Communication MSc Data Science MSc Business Analytics PGCP Business Analytics PGCP Logistics and Supply Chain Bachelor of Arts MA in English MA in Sociology MA in Political Science

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Course Select course* Master of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Computer Applications Bachelor of Commerce Master of Computer Applications Master of Commerce Master of Arts in Journalism & Mass Communication MSc Data Science MSc Business Analytics PGCP Business Analytics PGCP Logistics and Supply Chain Bachelor of arts MA in English MA in Sociology MA in Political Science