PhDs and MFAs

Thinking about a PhD or MFA? Read this article.

PhD and MFA programs:

Trent University Cultural Studies PhD Program
This intensive four-year program has a strong commitment to theory and its bearing in the study of arts, media, and technology. Successful applicants will have an MA in a cognate discipline completed by July 2008 and a defined dissertation project in mind, evidence of a capacity to work independently in a context of ongoing discussions with a range of faculty and peers, and an interest in the innovative nature of our dissertation.


Bowling Green State University
The Rhetoric & Writing PhD Program seeks to prepare women and men to be scholar-teachers who understand the professional synergy of mastering knowledge, advancing it through their own inquiry, and sharing knowledge and habits of inquiry with students in the writing courses they teach and administer. In pursuing this broad goal, students and faculty in the program utilize a range of the intellectual approaches (rhetorical, cultural, empirical, political) that characterize the field of rhetoric and composition. The program requires seven core courses — Rhetorical Theory, Rhetorical History (2 seminars), Research, Computer-Mediated Writing, Scholarly Publication, and a Special-Topic Seminar–as well as a number of additional Rhetoric & Writing electives (or for those with an MA in rhetoric and composition, an optional cognate in an area like administration, literature, technical writing, or women’s studies).


The University of Texas at San Antonio
This Ph.D. in English is unique in its focus, preparing students as well as specialists in cross-cultural, transnational approaches to English language and literature, as well as in the theory and practice of teaching composition. Students are required to take courses in Latino/a literature and cultural studies, and are offered options in a wide array of other courses such as rhetoric, linguistics, and literary theory. The faculty have been awarded Fulbright Fellowships, NEH Fellowships, Ford Foundation Fellowships, Rockefeller Foundation grants, and many other awards. The students have been selected for prestigious Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships, as well as American Association of University Women awards.


Michigan State University
The Ph.D. in English is flexible and responsive to students’ research interests. Students have the freedom to organize a course of study oriented toward completing the degree requirements efficiently and maximizing their professional training. To assist students, the department of English has established several doctoral emphasis areas: Literatures of the Americas, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Narrative Theory, Postcolonial and Diaspora Studies, and Transatlantic Modernities.


The University of Tennessee
The Ph.D. in English and the Ph.D. with Creative Dissertation offer outstanding training in the many facets of the discipline. In addition to breadth of faculty expertise, the faculty have been cultivating particular areas of strength in Medieval and Renaissance studies, Modern and Contemporary Literature and Culture, and Rhetoric and Composition, as well as other nexus points of research. The nationally recognized faculty work closely with graduate students, providing excellent instruction, mentoring relationships, and research opportunities that develop the intellectual and professional potential of the students.


The University of Tulsa
By design, this program is small and intensive, offering qualified students the chance to pursue MA and PhD degrees. In addition, the department has created a combined MA/PhD program which can be completed in five years. They seek to provide generous support for graduate students in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships, and editorial internships at the James Joyce Quarterly, Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, and the Modernist Journals Project. Although the faculty teach and work in almost all areas, the faculty have particular expertise in British, Irish, and American literatures from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries.