Graduate Programs in English

Degree Programs

The Department of English currently serves approximately 40 students in its Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program. This program offers opportunities for study in all major areas of British and American literatures, with strengths in Renaissance and early modern literature, British and Irish modernism, Caribbean literature, gender and feminist theory, and ethnic and postcolonial studies. Many of our students take graduate seminars offered by the Departments of History and Modern Languages and Literatures. For those interested in creative writing, the department also offers the M.F.A. program, which at present enrolls 14 students. Please write directly to Professor M. Evelina Galang, Director of Creative Writing, for a description of the M.F.A. program.

In 2008 we began admitting strongly qualified students with a B.A. in English literature directly to the Ph.D. program, which requires 54 credits of coursework and a demonstrated reading knowledge of two foreign languages, successful completion of the qualifying examination, and a scholarly dissertation. Students who have completed an M.A. at another institution are granted credit for one year of coursework, and therefore are required to complete 36 credits. After satisfying course requirements, the student must register for a total of 12 dissertation research credits.

Our graduate studies program focuses on the Ph.D.; we do not admit students to the terminal M.A. After two years, if students decide not to continue or if they do not make satisfactory progress, but they have completed 36 credits of graduate work and demonstrated a reading knowledge of one foreign language, they will receive the M.A.

Students must be formally accepted into the Ph.D. or M.F.A. program before beginning coursework. The department does not waive admission requirements, nor does it accept students in post-baccalaureate or probationary status.

Stipends

For students in the Ph.D. program, the Department of English has 36 graduate assistantships, which include a full tuition scholarship and a substantial stipend ($20,000 for Ph.D. students in 2009-10). Graduate assistants teach one class per semester or serve as tutors for 10 hours per week at the University Writing Center; first year graduate assistants are required to attend a year-long teaching practicum on writing (fall) and literature (spring), and receive regular guidance in classroom or tutorial instruction. Assistantships are awarded on the basis of academic merit, and all students admitted to the graduate program are automatically considered for funding. Assistantships are provided up to a maximum of six years (for those admitted with a B.A.) or five years (for those admitted with an M.A.).

Other Support

The dean provides summer funding ($5000) and dissertation fellowships, both awarded on a competitive basis. The Center for the Humanities awards dissertation fellowships on a competitive basis. The department provides support for travel to conferences and archival research for the doctoral dissertation. We regularly offer workshops on publishing articles and preparing for the job market, as well as mock-interviews and opportunities to practice job talks, organized by the faculty placement officer. We support an active Dissertation Discussion Group. The graduate students have recently organized colloquia and mini-conferences and plans are underway for the annual graduate student conference in the spring.