The Doctor of Philosophy in English program trains students to be successful scholars and teachers of literature and of writing and rhetoric. The program begins with an immersion in coursework, designed to introduce the discipline at a broad level and to lay the ground for avenues of individual research. The Comprehensive Exam solidifies the student's grounding in three fields of study linked to that which the student intends to specialize. The dissertation, completed under the close supervision of both the dissertation director and the dissertation committee, is an original research project that stands as the student's entry into the field of professional scholarship.
Graduates of Ph.D. in English program are able to:
Employ primary and secondary materials to analyze critical debates and positionality within subfields of English.
Demonstrate expertise in theories, methods, and social, cultural, and political histories of three subfields of English studies pertinent to the student's plan of research and teaching.
Formulate and defend original and critically significant arguments, communicating them effectively in genres relevant to English studies (e.g., research papers, conference presentations, digital projects).
We have a high rate of placement for students conducting both local and national job searches. Our graduates have obtained tenure-track positions at four-year colleges and universities across the country and abroad, including: Columbia College (Chicago), the Florida Institute of Technology, Frankiln Pierce University, McKendree University, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Middle Tennessee State University, the National Technical University, Norway, Oberlin College, Park University (Missouri), Providence College, Sterling College, Rhode Island College, Wesleyan College (Georgia), and the University of Puerto Rico. Other full-time placements include positions in departments of English and in writing programs at the American University of Dubai, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California, and Wheelock College (Boston). Tenure-track placements at two-year colleges include Bristol CC, Queensborough CC, and Quincy College.
