Ph.D. in English Requirements

Admission Requirements

The applicant must meet the School of Graduate Studies’ current minimum general admission requirements as published in the graduate catalog. The program-specific requirements for admission to the PhD in English include:

1. A master’s degree of at least 30 semester credits of courses in English Studies (literature, literary theory or methods, creative writing, writing pedagogy, linguistics, or other closely related subjects).
2. A written Statement of Goals.  At the PhD level, this statement is expected to specify the candidate’s background in English Studies, research interests, professional goals, and reasons for applying to UND’s English Department in particular.  Candidates seeking a Graduate Teaching Assistantship should use this statement to indicate any previous teaching experience and to express their interest in the teaching of writing.
3. A Writing Sample of 10-15 pages. Successful candidates will include written work in literary criticism as at least part of the sample. Candidates may also include other genres of written work (creative writing or other analytical work in English Studies) if appropriate to the proposed program of study.

Note: Writing ability is a key factor in admission to the PhD in English; therefore, neither the Statement of Goals nor the Writing Sample may be composed through generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, other chatbots, or similar technology.  Candidates using generative artificial intelligence in these admission materials will not be admitted to the program. This policy applies to generative artificial intelligence (AI-embedded features that do writing or revision for you): using spelling or grammar checkers to support proofreading is not a violation of this policy.

Applications will be considered for fall admission. Application deadlines can be found on the UND website.

Degree Requirements

Students seeking the Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of North Dakota must satisfy all general requirements set forth by the School of Graduate Studies as well as particular requirements set forth by the Department of English Language and Literature:

1. Completion of 90 credits beyond the baccalaureate degree (a completed MA degree will count as 30 credits of this total).
2. 90 credits will include the completion, with grades of A or B, of ENGL 500 Introduction to Graduate Studies and either ENGL 510 History of Literary Criticismor ENGL 511 Problems in Literary Criticism . And, for Graduate Teaching Assistants, ENGL 501 Teaching College English with a grade of A or B and ENGL 501L Teaching College English Laboratory with a grade of S. Graduate courses taken elsewhere may be used to fulfill these requirements if the student can demonstrate a strong equivalency through petition to the Director of Graduate Studies.
3. Up to ten credits may be in Readings and Research courses: 1-4 Credits in ENGL 590 Readings; 1-6 credits in ENGL 591 Readings for Ph.D. Comprehensive Examinations; and 1-4 credits in ENGL 593 Research.
4. Proficiency in one language other than English to Level IV (the equivalent of at least two-years or 4 semesters of college-level language study).  Additional language study and/or other scholarly tools may be taken, in consultation with the advisory committee, by students engaging in particular areas of study.
5. A “Pass” on two written comprehensive exams: 1) a major field exam; 2) a second field or special topic exam. The major field exam develops the breadth of knowledge needed to teach in English Studies, while the second exam develops the student’s own work as a researcher, anticipating the dissertation. Both exams are in areas relevant to a student’s research interests and both must be approved by the student’s Advisory Committee.
6. Fifteen (15) hours of credit may be granted for the dissertation, which may take the form of a closely focused scholarly-critical investigation of a single topic; a creative work or group of works; or a number of related, publishable essays.  All dissertation projects must be approved by the student’s Advisory Committee and must be in keeping with current scholarly standards in English Studies.