English, Ph.D.
Rhonda L. McDaniel, Program Director
(615) 898-5285
Rhonda.McDaniel@mtsu.edu
The Department of English offers the Master of Arts and the Doctor of Philosophy.
Graduate study in English is primarily an engagement in the deep and intense study of literature and language, theory, and writing, undertaken for the special pleasure in knowledge and understanding of the world and its semiotic systems that such studies bring. It also provides preparation and training for careers within and outside of the academy.
The Ph.D. in English offers a program that promotes the kind of dual specializations that provide breadth of knowledge and are often sought in academic employment. Student may seek specializations in the fields of American Literature; Anglophone Literature; British Literature; Children's and Young Adult Literature; Composition and Rhetoric; Critical Theory; Film Studies; and Popular Culture. Courses are designed as seminars, and graduate students may expect highly individualized attention from the graduate faculty.
Please see undergraduate catalog for information regarding undergraduate programs.
Admission Requirements
Admissions decisions are based on the department's judgment of the applicant's capacity, suitability, and preparation for graduate study. Admission to graduate study is not automatically guaranteed by meeting minimum admission requirements.
Candidates will be expected to have earned an M.A. degree in English or closely-related field.
Students in the Ph.D. program who have earned an M.A. in English at MTSU may apply up to 12 hours of course credit from the M.A. program toward the Ph.D. program.
Application Procedures
All application materials are to be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies.
Those seeking teaching assistantships must apply by February 1 for the following Fall semester. All other applications for Summer/Fall admission must be complete by March 1. Applications for Spring admission must be complete by October 1. Those seeking teaching assistantships must apply by February 1 for the following Fall semester. All application materials, including the assistantship application, should be sent directly to the College of Graduate Studies through www.mtsu.edu/graduate/apply.php.
Applicant must
- submit an application with the appropriate application fee online (www.mtsu.edu/graduate/apply.php). Once this initial application has been accepted, the applicant will receive directions on how to enter the graduate portal to be able to submit other materials.
- submit three letters of recommendation from professors or professionals that address the applicant's potential to successfully complete a Ph.D. program in English;
- submit official scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) (English subject test optional);
- submit official transcripts of all previous college work;
- submit a writing sample of 3,000 to 5,000 words;
- submit a 500-word statement of purpose outlining academic interests and professional goals.
Degree Requirements
The Doctor of Philosophy in English requires completion of 60-71 semester hours.
Candidate must
- demonstrate a reading knowledge of one foreign language. (Committees may require more than one language.) (NOTE: The requirement may be waived for students whose native language is not English.) The language requirement must be fulfilled in one of the following ways:
- completing two 3-hour foreign language courses of 3000- or 4000-level work emphasizing reading, translation, or composition;
- earning a final grade of A or B in a foreign language course numbered 5990 or in SPAN 5920;
- passing a reading examination administered by the World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department;
- earning a final grade of B or better in both ENGL 7011 - Old English Language and Literature and ENGL 7015 - Beowulf, which must be taken sequentially; or
- meeting this requirement at the M.A. level.
- near the completion of coursework, successfully complete two written Ph.D. exams in chosen concentrations from among the following areas: Old and Middle English Literature; Early Modern British Literature (1500-Milton); Restoration and 18th Century British Literature; Long 19th Century British Literature (1770-1900): 20th Century and Contemporary British Literature; Early American Literature (through 1900); 20th Century and Contemporary American Literature; Anglophone Literature; Children's and Young Adult Literature; Composition and Rhetoric; Popular Culture and Film; Criticism and Critical Theory; Folklore; or a student-researched custom area. An oral component to the exam may be required upon the successful completion of each written component.
- complete a dissertation (12 hours minimum) and oral dissertation defense.
Curriculum: English
The following illustrates the minimum coursework requirements. In addition, a maximum of 23 hours of dissertation research may be required to fulfill degree requirements.
Core Courses (6 hours)
ENGL 6001 - Introduction to Graduate Study: Bibliography and Research
3credit hours
Scholarship and professionalism in the various fields of English: the nature, scope, and ethics of professional pursuits; traditional and innovative methods; the definition and solution of research problems; the production of scholarship in literature, language, and rhetoric and composition. Required of all master's students enrolling in English.
ENGL 7001 - Introduction to Graduate Study: Bibliography and Research
3credit hours
Scholarship and professionalism in the various fields of English: the nature, scope, and ethics of professional pursuits; traditional and innovative methods; the definition and solution of research problems; the production of scholarship in literature, language, and rhetoric and composition. Required of all doctoral students enrolling in English.
ENGL 7701 - History of Criticism
3credit hours
Examines significant critical movements in Western literature from classical times into the twenty-first century.
ENGL 7705 - Contemporary Critical Theory
3credit hours
Covers major critical trends in literary theory since 1965, including feminist, Marxist, structuralist, and deconstructive approaches to literature. Students explore background and implications of these theories and analyze selected works of literature in light of these approaches.
One course from each of the following groups (9 hours)
British Literature through the Renaissance
ENGL 7011 - Old English Language and Literature
3credit hours
Introduction to Old English language (grammar, phonology, syntax, and vocabulary) and literature (poetry and prose) and to the historical and cultural background of the Old English period.
ENGL 7015 - Beowulf
3credit hours
Prerequisite: ENGL 7011. Intensive line-by-line study of Beowulf in Old English, with special emphasis on its sources and analogues, significant criticism, and current studies of the poem.
ENGL 7025 - Chaucer Seminar
3credit hours
Close study of Chaucer's major and minor works in Middle English, with attention to Chaucer's historical and cultural context (including his sources) and to significant scholarly criticism.
ENGL 7021 - Middle English Language and Literature
3credit hours
A study of Middle English literary types (in poetry, prose, and drama) and of the major authors and texts of the Middle English period. Includes study of Middle English dialects.
ENGL 7051 - Studies in Early English Drama, Excluding Shakespeare: 900-1642
3credit hours
Advanced study of the origin and development of English drama, emphasizing Elizabethan and Jacobean drama and the contributions of Shakespeare's contemporaries and successors.
ENGL 7105 - Spenser Seminar
3credit hours
Seeks to develop an understanding of individual works in Edmund Spenser's oeuvre and some sense of their place in the larger cultural systems of the sixteenth century. Philosophical meditations, pastoral eclogues, shorter poems are engaged fully to consider Spenser's range and engagement with lyric forms, as well as complete study of his major works, The Faerie Queene.
ENGL 7101 - Studies in Sixteenth-Century English Prose and Poetry
3credit hours
Considers works of prose, fiction, romance, and poetry of the sixteenth-century to investigate changing vocabularies, genres, and literary practices that emerge in the Renaissance in response to various cultural, social, and historical pressures.
ENGL 7111 - Studies in Seventeenth-Century English Prose and Poetry
3credit hours
Selected nondramatic literature of the century, with primary emphasis on the seventeenth century before the Restoration. Included are Donne, Herbert, and the metaphysical poets and Jonson and the Cavalier poets.
ENGL 7121 - Studies in Milton
3credit hours
The major poetry of John Milton, including "Lycidas," Paradise Lost, Samson Agonistes, and Paradise Regained.
ENGL 7115 - Studies in Shakespeare
3credit hours
Advanced study of Shakespeare's poems and plays, emphasizing poetic and dramatic techniques in his works and critical reaction to those works.
Other courses when appropriate:
ENGL 7171 - Major British Writers
3credit hours
An in-depth study of one, two, or three British writers. Course varies according to interests of instructor and students. May be taken for multiple credit up to 6 hours.
ENGL 7415 - Special Topics in Women's Literature
3credit hours
Study of selected women authors with a focus on the way women's voices contribute to literary discourse. Subject will vary with instructor. May be taken for multiple credit up to 9 hours.
ENGL 7611 - Special Topics in Language and Literature
3credit hours
A specialized field of literary or linguistic inquiry, its bibliography, critical problems, and probable solutions. Topics vary with the professor assigned to the course. May be taken for multiple credit up to 9 hours.
ENGL 7901 - Directed Reading and Research
3credit hours
Prerequisite: Permission of the director of graduate studies. Individually supervised reading and research in an area of English. Students may apply no more than two directed reading courses toward their degree requirements.
British Literature since the Renaissance
ENGL 7131 - Studies in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature
3credit hours
Designed to give students a definite critical knowledge of the major literary works of Restoration and eighteenth-century England, 1660-1800. Course may focus on either drama, poetry, or prose or a combination.
ENGL 7141 - Studies in English Romanticism: Wordsworth and Coleridge
3credit hours
Covers the major lyrical and narrative poetry of Wordsworth and Coleridge as well as select prose, e.g., Wordsworth's Preface to the second edition of Lyrical Ballads and Coleridge's Biogaphia Literaria.
ENGL 7145 - Studies in English Romanticism: Shelley, Byron, and Keats
3credit hours
Covers the major lyrical, narrative, and dramatic poetry of the three principal younger generation Romantics as well as select prose, e.g., Shelley's A Defence of Poetry and Keats's letters.
ENGL 7151 - Studies in Victorian Literature
3credit hours
Intellectual backgrounds of the Victorian period; major prose writers: Macaulay, Carlyle, Newman, Mill, Ruskin, Arnold, Pater; major poets: Tennyson, Browning, Arnold.
ENGL 7161 - Modern British Literature
3credit hours
Intellectual backgrounds of modern British literature; major novelists: Forster, Woolf, Joyce, Lawrence; major poets: Yeats, Eliot, Auden, Thomas; selected minor writers.
Other courses when appropriate:
ENGL 7171 - Major British Writers
3credit hours
An in-depth study of one, two, or three British writers. Course varies according to interests of instructor and students. May be taken for multiple credit up to 6 hours.
ENGL 7415 - Special Topics in Women's Literature
3credit hours
Study of selected women authors with a focus on the way women's voices contribute to literary discourse. Subject will vary with instructor. May be taken for multiple credit up to 9 hours.
ENGL 7601 - Studies in the Novel
3credit hours
The novel as a literary genre may be approached from a variety of perspectives, including generic, historical, theoretical, or single-author approaches. Course varies according to interests of instructor and students.
ENGL 7611 - Special Topics in Language and Literature
3credit hours
A specialized field of literary or linguistic inquiry, its bibliography, critical problems, and probable solutions. Topics vary with the professor assigned to the course. May be taken for multiple credit up to 9 hours.
ENGL 7901 - Directed Reading and Research
3credit hours
Prerequisite: Permission of the director of graduate studies. Individually supervised reading and research in an area of English. Students may apply no more than two directed reading courses toward their degree requirements.
American Literature
ENGL 7221 - African American Literature
3credit hours
An in-depth study of the African American literary tradition with emphasis on significant authors, genres, texts, and contexts.
ENGL 7225 - Studies in Southern Literature
3credit hours
Themes, theories, movements, and types of literature produced in the American South with particular emphasis on selected authors and texts.
ENGL 7201 - Studies in American Literature to 1800
3credit hours
Surveys literature associated with the discovery and colonization of America from the first recorded European encounters with the New World until just after the founding of the United States. The readings represent a rich variety of genres (reports, letters, poetry, histories, journals/diaries, autobiographies, sermons, novels, slave/captivity narratives, trickster tales, drama, etc.) in accordance with the broad definition of literature characteristic of the period.
ENGL 7205 - Studies in American Literature: 1800-1860
3credit hours
Surveys literature associated with the Romantic period in American literary history, from the beginning of the nineteenth century through the 1860's. Writing across a variety of genres including essays, short stories, poetry, novels, and slave narratives. Authors of this era answered the calls that had been made since the nation was founded for an artistically sophisticated and distinctive national literature.
ENGL 7211 - Studies in American Literature: 1860-1910
3credit hours
Covers the development of American literature from roughly the Civil War to World War I, including the rise of realism, naturalism, regionalism, and local color. Considers historical and cultural contexts.
ENGL 7215 - Studies in American Literature: 1910-1950
3credit hours
Covers the rise of American modernism, including experiments in fiction, drama, and verse; considers the phenomenon of expatriation, the radical visions of the depression decade, and the literary experience of the two world wars.
ENGL 7401 - Studies in Contemporary Literature
3credit hours
Intellectual backgrounds of contemporary literature; significant developments in fiction, nonfictional prose, poetry, and drama.
Other courses when appropriate:
ENGL 7231 - Major American Writers
3credit hours
An in-depth study of one, two, or three American writers. Course varies according to interests of instructor and students. May be taken for multiple credit up to 6 hours.
ENGL 7415 - Special Topics in Women's Literature
3credit hours
Study of selected women authors with a focus on the way women's voices contribute to literary discourse. Subject will vary with instructor. May be taken for multiple credit up to 9 hours.
ENGL 7601 - Studies in the Novel
3credit hours
The novel as a literary genre may be approached from a variety of perspectives, including generic, historical, theoretical, or single-author approaches. Course varies according to interests of instructor and students.
ENGL 7611 - Special Topics in Language and Literature
3credit hours
A specialized field of literary or linguistic inquiry, its bibliography, critical problems, and probable solutions. Topics vary with the professor assigned to the course. May be taken for multiple credit up to 9 hours.
ENGL 7901 - Directed Reading and Research
3credit hours
Prerequisite: Permission of the director of graduate studies. Individually supervised reading and research in an area of English. Students may apply no more than two directed reading courses toward their degree requirements.
Electives (33 hours; minimum of 24 hours in English)
The cognate option in the Ph.D. degree plan allows doctoral students to take graduate-level courses (6000 and 7000 level) in other disciplines related to their areas of concentration or professional goals that would apply as electives toward the degree in English. The cognate option is limited to a minimum of six (6) hours and a maximum of nine (9) hours, and requires a minimum of 24 hours in English. Courses taken in other departments beyond the nine hours for the cognate may not apply toward the Ph.D. in English, even as elective hours. Likewise courses taken outside the department by students who have not declared a cognate or received permission of the graduate advisor or program director will not count as credits toward the degree.
NOTE: ENGL 7909 recommended.
Dissertation (12-23 hours)
ENGL 7640 - Dissertation Research
1 to 6credit hours
Selection of a research problem, review of pertinent literature, collection and analysis of data, and composition of dissertation. Once enrolled, student should register for at least one credit hour of doctoral research each semester until completion. S/U grading.
Graduate Assistant Requirements
Graduate teaching assistants are required to take ENGL 7821 in their first year of the program.
Program Notes
Candidate must file an approved Advisory Committee form listing the members of the candidate's doctoral committee with the Graduate Office and College of Graduate Studies upon successful completion of the written preliminary examination.
