Program Overview

English, PhD

The Doctor of Philosophy program in English is designed to prepare students for a lifetime of literary study, as well as for the wide range of professions that require well-developed reading, research, writing, teaching, and administrative skills. The program emphasizes individual initiative, careful choice, and creativity. Students may concentrate in one or more of several areas, including literary history, critical theory, cultural studies, the digital humanities, and pedagogy.

Learning Outcomes

• Writing skills: proficiency in writing publishable academic and creative work of high quality.
• Historical knowledge: comprehensive historical knowledge of literary history, reflected in courses taken across a range of literary periods and national/international traditions.
• Critical theory and approaches: rigorous study of critical methodologies and interpretive strategies.
• Research skills: familiarity with library research into secondary scholarship on primary texts, archival research methods, and field research, where applicable.
• Teaching skills: ideally, students will move from foundations-based grading positions under the supervision of tenure track faculty (introduction to the major) to rhetoric/composition coursework (rhetoric), and then on to literary analysis-focused courses (general education literature). Students learn to build their own syllabi, develop a teaching portfolio, and manage their own courses independently.
• Professional development: preparing conference presentations, curriculum vitae, résumés, and teaching statements, as well as gaining exposure to career tracks, both academic (e.g., tenure track jobs, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, etc.) and alternative professions (e.g., digital humanities, humanities organizations, publishing, etc.).

Program Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy in English requires a minimum of 72 s.h. of graduate credit. Students may receive credit for up to 18 s.h. of transfer courses. They must maintain a graduate college program grade-point average of at least 3.00. Students may focus in areas such as literary history and critical theory, as well as interdisciplinary areas such as cultural studies and transnational studies.

Required Courses

• Introduction to Graduate Study (ENGL:5000, 3 s.h.)
• Historical Distribution Courses: students complete one course from each of the following three historical areas for 9 s.h. total. A grade of B-plus or above is required for each course.
  • Pre-1700:
    • ENGL:6100 Readings in Medieval Literature and Culture (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6110 Medieval Authors (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6200 Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Authors (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6210 Readings in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Genres (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6220 Shakespeare (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:7100 Seminar: Medieval Literature and Culture (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:7200 Seminar: Early Modern Literature and Culture (3 s.h.)
  • 1700-1900:
    • ENGL:6300 Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6400 Romantic Literature (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6500 Victorian Literature (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:7300 Seminar: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:7400 Seminar: Romantic Literatures (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:7500 Seminar: Victorian Literature (3 s.h.)
  • 1900-Present:
    • ENGL:6720 Twentieth-Century Literatures (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6730 Modernist Studies (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6760 Topics in Contemporary Literature (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6800 Readings in Postcolonial Literature and Theory (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:6850 Topics in Creative Writing (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:7700 Seminar: Studies in the 20th and 21st Century (3 s.h.)
    • ENGL:7800 Seminar: Postcolonial Studies (3 s.h.)
• Upper-Level English Courses: students complete an additional 18 s.h. of English courses (prefix ENGL) numbered 5000–7899, excluding ENGL:5990 MA Portfolio in Literary Studies, ENGL:5999 MA Thesis in Literary Studies, ENGL:6950 Colloquium: Teaching Foundations of the English Major, and ENGL:6960 Colloquium: Teaching Literature; these courses must be taken on an A–F graded basis.
• Seminars: of the 18 s.h. in upper-level courses and 9 s.h. in historical distribution courses, 9 s.h. must come from seminars. A grade of B-plus or above is required for each seminar.
  • ENGL:7000 Seminar: Cultural Studies (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7010 Seminar: Literary Criticism and Theory (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7050 Seminar: Performance Theory and Practice (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7100 Seminar: Medieval Literature and Culture (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7200 Seminar: Early Modern Literature and Culture (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7300 Seminar: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7400 Seminar: Romantic Literatures (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7500 Seminar: Victorian Literature (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7600 Seminar: American Literature and Culture (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7700 Seminar: Studies in the 20th and 21st Century (3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7800 Seminar: Postcolonial Studies (3 s.h.)

Electives

Students complete 21 s.h. of coursework taken on an A-F graded basis. Students are encouraged to explore their interdisciplinary interests, including the opportunity to complete a graduate certificate in book arts and book studies.

Additional Courses

Students complete 21 s.h. of additional coursework that may be taken either on an A–F or satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) graded basis. They are required to complete the following three comprehensive exam preparation courses and the thesis course, each for a minimum of 1 s.h.

• At least 1 s.h. from each of these:
  • ENGL:7910 Advanced Studies in a Literary Period (1-3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7920 Advanced Studies in a Literary Form (1-3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7960 Advanced Studies in a Literary Theme (1-3 s.h.)
  • ENGL:7999 PhD Thesis (1-18 s.h.)

Book Studies Specialization

The book studies specialization requires 72 s.h. in courses numbered 3000 or above. Of these, at least 24 s.h. must be in English courses (prefix ENGL) numbered 5000 or above, 15 s.h. must be in Center for the Book courses (prefix UICB) numbered 4000 or above, 12 s.h. may be in courses numbered 3000 or above in the Department of English or in another unit, and 9 s.h. must be in independent studies related to a comprehensive exam. The remaining 12 s.h. of post-comprehensive courses numbered 3000 or above may be taken as graded or independent study coursework.

Additional Requirements

World Language

Students must fulfill the program's world language requirement, usually by taking a standardized test or completing an advanced undergraduate course numbered 3000 or above in a language other than English with a grade of B or higher.

Comprehensive Exam

The comprehensive examination consists of the following: a portfolio of five scholarly questions based on a period of literary history (usually British or American), a review essay and annotated bibliography in a special area of interest, two course syllabi or alternate materials pertaining to an academic-adjacent career, an article to be submitted for publication, and an introduction to the portfolio that synthesizes its parts in preparation for a two-hour oral exam. Students enroll in ENGL:7910 Advanced Studies in a Literary Period, ENGL:7920 Advanced Studies in a Literary Form, and ENGL:7960 Advanced Studies in a Literary Theme to prepare for the exam.

Dissertation

A dissertation is required. Students present their prospectus formally to a faculty committee and must undergo a final exam defending the dissertation. Students continuously enroll in ENGL:7999 PhD Thesis throughout the dissertation process, from developing the prospectus until completing the final exam.

Teaching

All doctoral candidates are strongly advised to gain teaching experience, preferably in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Rhetoric and in GE CLAS Core literature courses.

MA in Library and Information Science/PhD in English

The combined MA in library and information science/PhD in English program prepares students for careers in academic libraries as humanities subject specialists, reference and instruction librarians, first-year experience librarians, special collections librarians and curators, and archivists. It also enhances the research profiles and methodological toolboxes of digital humanists as well as archival historicists, in addition to improving pedagogical skills.

Sample Plan of Study

Sample plans represent one way to complete a program of study. Actual course selection and sequence will vary and should be discussed with an academic advisor.

English, PhD

Plan of Study Grid (Manual) Academic Career

Any Semester| Hours
72 s.h. of graduate level coursework must be completed; up to 18 s.h. of graduate transfer credits from an accredited institution allowed upon approval. More information is included in the General Catalog and on department website. a, b |
Graduate College program GPA of at least 3.00 is required. c |
| Hours| 0
First Year
Fall
ENGL:5000 | Introduction to Graduate Study d | 3
ENGL:6950 | Colloquium: Teaching Foundations of the English Major e | 1
Historical distribution course f, g | 3
Historical distribution course f, g | 3
| Hours| 10
Spring
ENGL:6950 | Colloquium: Teaching Foundations of the English Major e | 1
Historical distribution course f, g | 3
Upper-level English course f, h | 3
Upper-level English course f, h | 3
World language requirement i |
| Hours| 10
Second Year
Fall
RHET:5350 | Colloquium: Teaching Rhetoric j | 3
Upper-level English course f, h | 3
Elective course k | 3
| Hours| 9
Spring
Upper-level English course f, h | 3
Elective course k | 3
Elective course k | 3
| Hours| 9
Third Year
Fall
Upper-level English course f, h | 3
Elective course k | 3
Elective course k | 3
| Hours| 9
Spring
ENGL:6960 | Colloquium: Teaching Literature e, l | 2
Upper-level English course f, h | 3
Elective course k | 3
| Hours| 8
Fourth Year
Fall
ENGL:7910 | Advanced Studies in a Literary Period e | 1 - 3
ENGL:7920 | Advanced Studies in a Literary Form e | 1 - 3
ENGL:7960 | Advanced Studies in a Literary Theme e | 1 - 3
Exam: Doctoral Comprehensive Exam m |
| Hours| 3-9
Spring
Dissertation Prospectus Defense |
ENGL:7999 | PhD Thesis e, n | 3
| Hours| 3
Fifth Year
Fall
ENGL:7999 | PhD Thesis e, n | 3
| Hours| 3
Spring
ENGL:7999 | PhD Thesis e, n | 3
| Hours| 3
Sixth Year
Fall
ENGL:7999 | PhD Thesis e, n | 3
| Hours| 3
Spring
ENGL:7999 | PhD Thesis e, n | 2
Exam: Doctoral Final Exam o |
| Hours| 2
| Total Hours| 72-78