phd in literature programs

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Earning a master's degree or doctorate in English can improve your writing skills, sharpen your analytical abilities and broaden your literary knowledge. These are the top schools for a graduate degree in English. Each school's score reflects its average rating on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (outstanding), based on a survey of academics at peer institutions. Read the methodology »

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Ph.D. in Literature

Students in our Ph.D. program gain advanced knowledge of literature spanning from the British Middle Ages and colonial America to global/postcolonial and contemporary U.S. works. They also develop expertise in literary theory, literary analysis, and interdisciplinary methods. The curriculum balances a comprehensive study of national literary traditions with innovative approaches and topics, including literature and science, literature and environment, translation, gender and sexuality studies, and critical race studies.

Our Ph.D. students engage in a wide range of interdisciplinary and public initiatives. Some participate in interdisciplinary Designated Emphases , while others have secured grants to create podcasts, lead interdisciplinary working groups, or organize annual graduate conferences. Each year, one student joins a year-long exchange with the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies in Mainz, Germany. Additionally, many have worked as Graduate Assistants and researchers in centers like the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Program , the experimental media ModLab , and the university’s DataLab .

Students graduate with the qualitative and quantitative skills necessary for professional research and teaching in English, as well as extensive pedagogical training and a range of teaching experience that includes writing and composition, as well as designing and teaching Introduction to Literature courses. Our  Alumni Directory  includes titles of recent dissertations, as well as information about the diverse careers for which the Ph.D. has helped prepare our graduates. There is  an option to complete an MA in literature , but it is not a stand-alone program.

Students graduate with the qualitative and quantitative skills needed for professional research and teaching in English, along with extensive pedagogical training and diverse teaching experience in writing, composition, and designing and teaching introductory literature courses. Our Alumni Directory features recent dissertation titles and highlights the wide range of careers for which the Ph.D. has prepared our graduates. While there is an option to complete an MA in literature , it is not offered as a stand-alone program.

Questions? Contact:

Aaron Barstow Graduate Program Coordinator, Ph.D. Program in Literature [email protected]   (530) 752-2738 Pronouns: he/they

• Ph.D. Program Requirements

The English Ph.D. program degree requirements (with more details linked) include 50 units of coursework, with at least 44 units taken for a letter grade, proficiency in one foreign language prior to degree conferral, preliminary and qualifying exams, and a dissertation. Students also have opportunities to pursue a Designated Emphasis and gain teaching experience.

Coursework Requirements

3 Core Courses (8 units) • English 200: Introduction to Graduate Studies (taken as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory) • One survey course in literary theory (Critical Theory 200A or 200C taken for a grade) 1 Workshop (2 units) English 288: Prospectus Workshop (taken as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory); students may petition to complete this course independently with a Prospectus Adviser.

10 Graduate-level Seminars (40 units) • All courses must be taken for a grade • Five courses must satisfy the breadth requirement (see below) • Five courses will be comprised of electives (see below) • Students may count one undergraduate 100-level course as one of their ten required courses • Aside from ENL 200, no course graded Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory may count as one of the twelve required seminars • Independent and group studies may not be taken for a grade

13 Total Graduate Courses (50 units; 44 units taken for a grade)  Additionally, students who enter the Ph.D. program without a MA degree can earn one en route to the Ph.D. degree.

• Foreign Language Requirement

The English Ph.D. requires reading proficiency in one foreign language prior to degree completion; this is not an admissions requirement. Proficiency can be demonstrated through previous or current coursework or an exam. Any of the following options fulfill this requirement:

* Completion of three semester-length or four quarter-length undergraduate courses in a foreign language within the past eight years, with a passing grade (Pass/No Pass is acceptable).

* Passing the Placement Test at the UC Davis Language Center , which certifies intermediate-level proficiency.

* Earning a Pass on the language exam offered by the English Department at the beginning of each Fall or Spring quarter.

• Breadth Requirement

The breadth requirements must be met through coursework in the Department of English or courses taught by English Department faculty. Five courses (from the 40 required units) fulfill this requirement: two in Earlier Period literature, two in Later Period literature, and one Focus course.

Earlier Period Courses Pre-1800; or Pre-1865 if the course focus is on American literature

Later Period Courses Post-1800 or Post-1865 if the course focus is on American literature

Focus Course Interdisciplinary, Identity, Genre, Other National, Method, Theory

Faculty and/or the Graduate Advisor may designate a course as fulfilling more than one category, but students may use it to satisfy only one requirement. For example, a course on women in Early Modern literature could fulfill either the Earlier Period requirement or the Focus (Identity) requirement, but not both. Similarly, a course on Cold War Drama could satisfy either the Later Period requirement or the Focus (Genre) requirement, but not both.

• Electives Requirement
• The electives requirement can be met through seminars offered within or outside the English Department. Five elective courses are required to satisfy degree requirements. UWP 390 may count as one elective. Note that while 299 courses are ungraded, they still contribute to the total unit count. With approval from the Graduate Adviser, students may also take a graduate course at another University of California campus through the Intercampus Exchange Program .
• Course Waiver and Course Relief

Students who enter the Ph.D. program with MA coursework from another institution may petition the Graduate Adviser for a Course Waiver up to three of the twelve required seminars; each approved petition will reduce the number of required courses by one. Students may not reduce their coursework to fewer than nine seminars.

Students holding an MA may also petition the Graduate Adviser for course relief for up to five of the breadth requirements; each approved petition allows the student to substitute elective courses. ENL 200 may not be waived or relieved.

For each waiver or relief request, students must submit to the English Graduate Office a Course Waiver or Relief Request form (available in the office) along with the syllabus from the course and the student's seminar paper.

• Designated Emphasis
• Graduate students may participate in a  Designated Emphasis (DE) , a specialization that might include a new method of inquiry or an important field of application which is related to two or more existing Ph.D. programs. The DE is awarded in conjunction with the Ph.D. degree and is signified by a transcript notation; for example, “Ph.D. in Literature with a Designated Emphasis in Native American Studies.”  More information
• Preliminary Examination

In the Spring Quarter of the second year or Fall Quarter of the third year of graduate study, students take a Preliminary Examination in two historical fields and one focus field. Three faculty members conduct the oral examination, each representing one of the fields. Prior to taking the Preliminary Examination, students must have completed the following:

• Introduction to Graduate Studies (ENL200) • Survey of Literary Theory (CRI200A or CRI200C) • Four of five Breadth Requirements • Four of five Elective Requirements

Additionally, students select one focus field.  A student may devise her/his own focus list in collaboration with two faculty members or, as is more common, choose one from among the following:

• Black Studies • Critical Theory • Disability Studies • Ecocriticism and Environmental Humanities • Feminisms • Film Studies • Marxism • Media Technologies • Performance Studies • Poetics • Postcolonial Theory • Psychoanalysis • Queer Feminisms • Queer Theories • Race and Ethnicity Studies • Science and Literature • Science Fiction

English 299 (Independent Study) is ordinarily used the quarters before the Preliminary Examination to prepare for the oral  examination and is graded Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory. Students may register for ENL 299 under the Graduate Advisor or a faculty member in the field of their exam for the quarter(s) they intend to study.

In the event that the student does not pass the exam, the exam chair will report the decision to the Graduate Adviser, who will work with the committee to decide whether the student should be given a chance to retake the exam (no less than six months later) or whether the student should be dismissed from the program. The Graduate Adviser will report this final decision to the student within 72 hours of the exam’s conclusion.

Any remaining requirements after taking the Preliminary Examination must be completed before scheduling the Qualifying Examination.

Students will select two historical fields from among the following list.   Students who would like to do non-consecutive historical fields need to get prior approval from the Graduate Adviser.  These lists and additional helpful documents can be accessed via our box folder  "Preliminary Exam"  in the English Graduate Program file.

• 20th Century British • African American Literature 20th Century • American Antebellum, 1800-1865 • American Indian Literature, 1768-present • American Literature Early 20th c., 1900-1945 • American Literature, Later 1945-present • American Literature, Later 19th-c., 1865-1914 • Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature • Colonial - Early American to 1800 • Later Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature (1675-1792) • Middle English • Old English (Anglo-Saxon) • Postcolonial Literature • Restoration and Eighteenth Century Literature (1660-1792) • Romanticism (1776-1832) • Seventeenth-Century English Literature From 1604-1675  • Sixteenth-Century Literature From 1485-1603 • Victorian

• Qualifying Examination

The Qualifying Examination  happens as early as the spring of the third year and should be taken no later than the spring of the fourth year. The reading list for this exam, which is conducted orally, is constructed by the student in consultation with his or her three-person dissertation committee. When making their lists, students may consult the standard lists for preliminary exams available on the department's Box site. If the student has elected a designated emphasis (DE), materials from that field should also be incorporated into the Qualifying Exam reading list.

Graduate Studies requires the  Qualifying Examination Application to be submitted at least 30 days prior the the scheduled exam date or it won't be approved.

Qualifying Examination Committee  The student, in consultation with their Prospectus Adviser and, if needed, the Graduate Adviser, nominates  four  faculty to serve on the Qualifying Examination Committee:  • The three proposed Dissertation Committee members • One member must be from outside the English graduate program (this may be a member of the Dissertation Committee)

The QE Committee is responsible for administering the exam. Neither the “Prospectus Adviser” nor the Dissertation Director (in many, though not all, cases these will be same) may be the chair of the QE Committee. Students with a designated emphasis (DE) must include one faculty member affiliated with the DE on both their qualifying and dissertation committee. DE paperwork must be approved before the QE application is submitted. The exam will focus on the Prospectus and the Qualifying Exam reading list. The bibliography of the prospectus will normally overlap substantially with the Qualifying Exam reading list.

A Report on the Doctoral Qualifying Examination - PhD   must be submitted withing 72 hours of the exam. Upon successful completion submit your Advancement to Candidacy application.

• Exam Accommodations
• If you are disabled, you are entitled to accommodations for all requirements of the program you’re enrolled in, a process formally handled by the  Student Disability Center . We recommend starting the process of coordinating with the SDC early in your graduate school journey, as it can take time for the Center to process information.  We must work with the SDC to implement your accommodations for your exams.  Please indicate your need for accommodations to us as soon as possible, so we can include the Center in our exam scheduling process.  Please notify us by the fourth week of the quarter in which you intend to sit the exam.
• Dissertation
• The dissertation must be an original work of scholarship and/or interpretation. It may be critical, bibliographical, historical, or biographical in its subject. Students work with a dissertation director and consult with two official readers as well as with other faculty knowledgeable about the project.  Additional details

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

• PhD in Literature

Doctorate in Literature

Interdisciplinary clusters.

The Department of English's Doctoral program in Literature  offers advanced study and research in literary history, criticism, and theory, with excellent opportunities for interdepartmental and interdisciplinary study. Courses within the department cover major genres, periods, authors, and a broad range of methodological and theoretical approaches.

The graduate curriculum is enhanced by frequent lectures and workshops with Northwestern faculty and visiting scholars from around the world. Student-organized colloquia, conferences, reading groups, and dissertation groups provide opportunities for students to present their research to an audience of peers.

The PhD program provides superb professionalization and training in a variety of settings, including teaching assistantships for undergraduate lecture courses and the opportunity to develop and lead courses in Northwestern's Writing Program and the School of Professional Studies .