Ph.D. in English Literature

Program Overview

This doctoral program in English offers a comprehensive curriculum with flexible scheduling, including modules in British and American literature. Students engage in a doctoral exam and dissertation, while also receiving extensive teaching training through fellowships and workshops. Graduates pursue careers in academia and beyond, including roles in education, research, and writing.

Program Outline

Outline:

• Course Schedule: Students must take 27 credit hours of coursework beyond the M.A.
degree, excluding dissertation credits. Students will take 27 credits (10 courses, including two 1-2 credit courses) which will allow for flexible scheduling of courses.
• Individual Modules:
• British Literature prior to 1800
• British Literature after 1800
• American Literature prior to 1900
• American Literature after 1900

Assessment:

• Doctoral Exam: The doctoral exam in English is a comprehensive exam with two major stages: a field exam and a specialized project.
• Field Exam: Designed to give students a broad and comprehensive knowledge of a literary historical period.
• Specialized Project: Allows students to immerse themselves in a topic of interest related to their field of study.
• Dissertation: A book-length project that makes an original contribution to a field of scholarship.
Can be interpretive, critical, or historical.

Teaching:

• Teaching Fellowships: Students may hold a teaching fellowship for four years, providing students make satisfactory progress in the program.
• Training for Teachers:
• Center for Teaching Excellence:
Offers a three-day workshop to all new teaching fellows, covering advice for teachers and resources.
• Director and Assistant Director of Freshman English: Offer a workshop specifically designed for English teaching fellows.
• Course on Teaching College Writing: Required for all first-year fellows.
• Co-Teaching: New fellows with little or no teaching experience will spend their first semester co-teaching a first-year writing class with a more experienced teacher/mentor.
• Teaching Workshops: Held during the academic year, led by English faculty or teaching fellows.
• Writing Center: Director and assistant director offer an orientation session and professional development meetings throughout the academic year.

Careers:

In the Professoriate:

• Ball State University
• Oberlin College
• Roger Williams University
• University of Maryland
• Stonehill College
• Geneva College
• Central Penn College
• Spring Hill College
• Penn State Altoona
• Rocky Mountain College
• College Misericordia
• Southeastern University
• Slippery Rock University
• Fairmont State University

Beyond the Professoriate:

• Assistant Director of Online Learning, Duquesne University
• Research Facilitator, Fanshaw College
• Legal Writer, Fragomen Associates
• Assistant Director of Institutional Giving, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
• Instructional Designer, University of Pittsburgh