For further details, contact: Director of Graduate Studies Department of English The University of Iowa 308 English Philosophy Bldg, Iowa City, IA 52242-1492 or telephone the Graduate Studies Program Assistant at 319-335-0440.

The following pages provide details about the various aspects of the Ph.D. in English. Steps to the Ph.D. Policies & Procedures Commencing Study Distribution Requirement Seminar Reqirement Foreign Language Requirement Other Requirements Qualifications Application for Candidacy form (PDF) Comprehensive Exam Dissertation After the PhD Admissions Funding Courses  Current Grad Students Graduate Placement PhD Student Publications See Also: The Graduate College Graduate Assistanship Bulletin Board Graduate College Sources of Financial Support

Overview of the PhD in English

Although time to degree varies with the student's funding package, the department generally perceives the program as six years for those entering with a B.A. and as five years for those entering with an M.A. and transfer credit of at least 15 semester hours (s.h.).  Given that timeline, the summary below is meant as a general guideline for movement through the program. 

Year One:  Course work providing introduction to the profession, grounding in critical theory, and progress towards completion of the historical distribution, seminar, and foreign language requirements; employment as R.A., T.A., advisor, or editorial assistant or support for a first-year fellowship; seeking general professional guidance from assigned faculty mentor and specific Program guidance from the Director of Graduate Study who acts as advisor; attendance at all visiting and faculty lectures in the department.

Year Two:  Course work towards completion of the historical distribution and foreign language requirements; application for qualification, that is, doctoral candidacy, and therefore first articulation of a field of inquiry and discovery of field-appropriate faculty mentors; training for and teaching in the Rhetoric Program; participation in a UI or other graduate student conference such as Craft, Critique, Culture or the Jakobsen Conference;  with faculty mentors, identification of written work appropriate for revision and submission for publication; attendance at all visiting and faculty lectures in the department.

Year Three:  Completion of the seminar requirement; for M.A.-entering students, completion of course work and then comprehensive exams; training for and teaching in the General Education Literature Program; revised written work submitted to journals or collections for publication; submission of work for regional or national conferences; investigation of and application to summer institutes appropriate to chosen field; joining a departmental or interdisciplinary reading group appropriate to chosen interests; attendance at all visiting and faculty lectures in the department.

Year Four:  For B.A.-entering students, completion of course work and then comprehensive exams; for M.A.-entering students, prospectus meeting, application for summer research and fifth-year dissertation fellowships (internal and external funding); teaching in the General Education Literature Program; continued conference activity (especially the MLA) and submission of at least one revised essay for publication; leadership roles in, for example, the Gen Ed Lit Program or the Iowa Journal of Cultural Studies or the Craft, Critique, Culture conference or AGSE (Association of Graduate Students in English) or COGS (TA/RA union); investigation of and application to summer institutes appropriate to chosen field; attendance at all visiting and faculty lectures; for M.A.-entering students, attendance at job placement and orientation events in the department including job talks by (outside) candidates for department positions.

Year Five:  For B.A.-entering students, prospectus meeting launching work on the dissertation; for M.A.-entering students, completion of the dissertation; for-B.A.-entering students, initial attendance at job placement training activities; for-M.A.-entering-students full participation in placement training as they apply for jobs and postdocs; teaching in the General Education Literature Program or, for those with dissertation fellowships, full engagement in research and writing; for B.A.-entering students application for summer research and dissertation-year fellowships (internal and external funding); MLA and other major conference attendance; pursuing publication in appropriate venues; attendance at job talks by candidates for departmental jobs; for M.A.-entering students, late spring or early summer defense of the dissertation.

Year Six:  Full participation in placement training as students apply for jobs and postdocs;  dissertation-year fellowship or teaching in the General Education Literature Program or other more specialized programs as appropriate; late spring or early summer dissertation defense.