Doctor of Philosophy in English with an Emphasis in English and American Literature (36 Hours*)

For admission, the applicant must have a master’s degree or its equivalent. Each candidate must have a major and minor field. The major field may be chosen from the following: Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and 18th-century English literature, 19th-century English literature, 20th-century English literature, colonial and 19th-century American literature, 20th-century American literature. The following may be used for the minor field only: linguistics, comparative literature, criticism theory, women’s studies, history of the book and authorship, composition and rhetoric, and Southern literature. Students may choose to design an ad hoc minor, subject to approval by the Graduate Program Committee. Examples of ad hoc minors approved in the past include religion and literature, children’s literature, and computers and literature.

Admission by the Department of English for graduate study does not mean admission as a candidate in the English and American literature Ph.D. program. Students are admitted to such candidacy on the basis of their record and a meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies and the major adviser, to be held at the beginning of the student’s third term. Prior to this meeting, the Graduate Director will review the student’s class grades with the expectation of at least a 3.0 GPA over the course of the first year of the study. The student will come to the meeting with a completed Program of Study form and an accompanying statement detailing progress thus far and plans for future study. In the event of an unsuccessful review, the student will be put on probation, not be admitted to candidacy, and be required to maintain a 3.5 GPA for each of the following two semesters. Additionally, field faculty will meet at the end of the student’s second year in order to make a recommendation to the Graduate Director about the student’s future in the program. The Graduate Director will factor this recommendation and the student’s GPA into a decision about whether the probationary student should be admitted to candidacy at the end of the second year and allowed to continue the program.

* Students who have taken equivalent graduate courses prior to admission to the PhD program may petition the Graduate Program Committee to transfer up to six hours credit in lieu of courses required for the Ph.D. However, these courses cannot be more than eight years old by the time they receive their degree.

Requirements include the following:

Doctor of Philosophy in English with an Emphasis in Composition and Rhetoric (42 Hours*)

For admission, the applicant must have a master’s degree, or its equivalent, in English, composition and rhetoric, or a related field.

Admission by the Department of English for graduate study does not mean admission as a candidate in the composition and rhetoric Ph.D. program. Students are admitted to such candidacy on the basis of their record and a meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies and the major adviser, to be held at the beginning of the student’s third term. Prior to this meeting, the Graduate Director will review the student’s class grades with the expectation of at least 3.0 GPA over the course of the first year of study. The student will come to the meeting with a completed Program of Study form and an accompanying statement detailing progress thus far and plans for future study. In the event of an unsuccessful review, the student will be put on probation, not be admitted to candidacy, and be required to maintain a 3.5 GPA for each of the following two semesters. Additionally, field faculty will meet at the end of the student’s second year in order to make a recommendation to the Graduate Director about the student’s future in the program. The Graduate Director will factor this recommendation and the student’s GPA into a decision about whether the probationary students should be admitted to candidacy at the end of the second year and allowed to continue in the program.

* Students who have taken equivalent graduate courses prior to admission to the PhD program may petition the Graduate Program Committee to transfer up to six hours credit in lieu of courses required for the Ph.D. However, these courses cannot be more than eight years old by the time they receive their degree.

Requirements include the following:

Direct-Admission Doctor of Philosophy in English with an Emphasis in English and American Literature (60 Hours)

Direct admission to the Ph.D. program may be offered to highly-qualified applicants who are completing or have completed their baccalaureate studies. Each candidate must have a major and minor field. The major field may be chosen from the following: Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and 18th-century English literature, 19th-century English literature, 20th-century English literature, colonial and 19th-century American literature, 20th century American literature. The following may be used for the minor field only: linguistics, comparative literature, criticism theory, women’s studies, history of the book and authorship, composition and rhetoric, and Southern literature. Students may choose to design an ad hoc minor, subject to approval by the Graduate Program Committee. Examples of ad hoc minors approved in the past include religion and literature, children’s and young-adult literature, and computers and literature.

Direct admission by the Department of English for graduate study does not mean immediate admission as a candidate in the English and American literature Ph.D. program. Students are admitted to such candidacy on the basis of their record and a written qualifying exam (satisfied by successful completion of the Master’s Comprehensive Examination and the readers’ recommendation of candidacy). Students should take this qualifying exam no later than the spring term of their second year in the program. A student is allowed only two attempts to pass the admission-to-candidacy exam.

Requirements include the following:

Admission to Candidacy

Admission by the Department of English for graduate study does not mean admission as a candidate in the composition and rhetoric Ph.D. program. Students are admitted to candidacy by The Graduate School on the basis of their academic record, an approved program of study, and successful completion of a written qualifying exam—the M.A. three-hour comprehensive exam in composition and rhetoric. Students should take this exam no later than the semester in which they are taking their 15th hour of course work. A student is allowed only two attempts to pass the exam. Students in the M.A. program who apply to and are accepted into the Ph.D. program may request that their M.A. exams be reread as a Ph.D. qualifying exam. In such a case, the rereading will count as one attempt. M.A. exams will not be read for Ph.D. qualifying purposes unless or until the student has been accepted into the Ph.D. program.