Dec 10, 2024  
2012-2013 Graduate Catalog 
    
2012-2013 Graduate Catalog ARCHIVED CATALOG: CONTENT MAY NOT BE CURRENT. USE THE DROP DOWN ABOVE TO ACCESS THE CURRENT CATALOG.

English Ph.D.


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Degree & Certificate Programs

 

Admission Requirements

  1. Possession of an M.A. in English from an accredited institution with at least 21 credits in English and American literature on the graduate transcript and a graduate GPA of 3.50 or better. Applicants must send two sets of official transcripts from all universities attended; one set goes to the Graduate College and one directly to the English department. Students wishing to enter the Creative Writing Track may possess either an M.A. in English as stated above or an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from an accredited institution.
  2. Official submission of scores on the Verbal portion of the General Test and the Literature in English Subject Test of the Graduate Record Examination
  3. Three letters of recommendation specifically for Ph.D. study from professors of English.
  4. Two or three writing samples totaling at least 30 pages of literary criticism, history or analysis and offering substantial evidence of the student’s ability to do work at the doctoral level. Students wishing to enter the Creative Writing Track must submit a 50-page (or longer) writing sample of the candidate’s creative work, to be read and judged by the Creative Writing faculty.
  5. A letter of application to the Graduate Committee stating the applicant’s reasons for wanting to enter the program and the intended areas of specialization.

 

Degree Requirements


  1. A total of 48 credits of approved course work beyond the M.A. degree, as follows:
    Thirty credits in English courses with grades of B or better, including ENG 703 - Survey of Literary Criticism and Theory , required for students who have not previously taken an equivalent graduate-level course. Of the required 30 credits, at least 24 credits must be taken at the 700-level. Students writing a Creative Dissertation must take 24 credits in non-Creative Writing English classes, which may include:ENG 729 - Forms of Fiction or Poetry , to be taken only once.
    1. Six credits of the 30 may be earned with a concentration in Composition Studies.
    2. b. Eighteen hours of dissertation credits.
  2. Reading knowledge of two foreign languages or proficiency in one. Students in the Creative Writing track must demonstrate a reading knowledge of one foreign language.
  3. Superior performance on qualifying examinations in the student’s three areas of specialization. These examinations consist of three four-hour written exams: one in the historical period of specialization, one in the genre of specialization, and a third in either an additional chronological period, a major author approved by the graduate committee, or a special topic approved by the graduate committee, and a two-hour oral examination.
  4. Doctoral dissertation involving original thought and superior scholarship on a topic or author in British, American, or third-world literature in English. The Creative Dissertation is to be an original work of fiction or poetry of high quality and substantial length.

 

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Degree & Certificate Programs