English PhD

The English department offers a wide-ranging course of study that combines historical research with theoretical inquiry in a stimulating, challenging and supportive environment. Our programs are among the most open and flexible in the country. Students take seminars across a number of fields, including American and British literature, modernism, contemporary literature, psychoanalysis, cultural studies, poetics and critical theory. Combining professional rigor with highly individualized mentorship, our graduate programs prepare students to become innovative scholars and teachers of literature, culture, and critical theory.

Curriculum

Required Core (30 credits)

Minimum of 7 ENG lecture or seminars Credits: 21
3 additional seminars in humanities Credits: 9

Elective Courses (12-30 credits)

ENG 600TUT - Independent Study Credits: 1 - 6
ENG 601TUT - Supervised Reading Credits: 1 - 8
Any graduate level course approved by advisor

Dissertation (30 credits max.)

Book-length work of original scholarship

Total Credit Hours: 72

3.0 Degree GPA required

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

1) Ability to acquire broad and diverse knowledge of the historical and geographical contours of Anglophone literature; to become familiar with major critical methods and movements in literary theory; and to develop analytical and persuasive skills in both oral and written modes.

2) Ability to think deeply about specific field- or period-based areas of focused study, but also synthetically across and through these areas; and to begin to situate one’s own critical focus within larger literary, cultural, and critical debates.

3) Ability to demonstrate specialized conceptual analysis; produce compelling and original scholarship; and locate one’s research in relation to the current state of the literary-critical and cultural fields.

4) Ability to participate in a variety of scholarly forums and navigate the professional responsibilities that come with such participation, while also fostering a sense of how skills learned and practiced in the PhD program can be used beyond the academy.

5) Ability to teach English composition courses; basic and advanced professional writing courses; and discipline-specific writing courses beyond the English department.

6) Ability to teach literature, literary critical writing, and literary theory at the college or university level.

SED Statement

This program is officially registered with the New York State Education Department (SED).