English (Literature Emphasis), Ph.D.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• demonstrate broad knowledge of several of the historical fields in, literary genres of, and major critical approaches to British, American, and World Literatures in English; writing studies issues and methodologies; or linguistics issues and methodologies.
• demonstrate specialized competence in the primary and secondary literature of an appropriate specialized sub-field of literature or writing or language.
• apply their degree program of study through the development of conference presentations, journal articles, statements of teaching philosophy, syllabi, and other professional documents. 

Contact Information

James Mardock, Graduate Program Director
jmardock@unr.edu
(775) 682-6372

Departmental Website: https://www.unr.edu/english
English Department Graduate Handbook

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the Ph.D. program in Literature must hold either

• an M.A. in English or a closely related field with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and an undergraduate degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, or
• a B.A. in English or a closely related field with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major and a record of excellence at the undergraduate level, as demonstrated by a high GPA and very strong letters of recommendation.

Applicants without a degree in English should talk with the Director of Graduate Studies before applying to determine whether their preparation is comparable to that expected. 

I. General Requirements

Students design their programs of study following departmental guidelines in consultation with their advisory committees, complete comprehensive examinations in their fields of specialization, and pursue original research resulting in a dissertation of publishable quality. Proficiency in one foreign language (the equivalent of four semesters of college-level coursework), or a three-course rotation in linguistics and language studies is required. Students in the program are strongly encouraged to participate in professional activities, including academic conferences.

1. Time Limit. All requirements must be satisfied during the eight calendar years immediately preceding the granting of the degree.
2. Total Credits. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must complete a minimum of 73 graduate credits, including at least 48 credits in course work and 24 dissertation credits beyond the baccalaureate degree. Every doctoral student is required to take 2 consecutive semesters of 6 credits each to fullfill the in residence requirement. No more than 4 credits of ENG 736 and 3 credits of ENG 791(Independent Study) may be counted toward the degree. Except in the case of required internships, independent study and internship  credits may not be used to fulfill course requirements but may be counted for total number of credits for degrees.
3. Foreign Language Requirement. Students may meet the foreign language requirement in one of two ways: 1) competence in one foreign language; or 2) course work in linguistics and the nature of language. The choice of languages or linguistics course work is left to the student in consultation with his or her advisory committee; preference should go to those languages that would prove most useful to the student over a lifetime of reading and research. Competence in a language is defined as completion of the equivalent of four semesters of college level work in the language with a grade of C or better in the final semester, or as completion of the second semester of a sophomore reading course with a grade of B or better. The requirement is considered satisfied when a college transcript shows such a grade in the appropriate final course (whether the earlier courses are shown or not), or when the student has passed at the appropriate level a test administered by the World Languages and Literatures Department. As an alternative to the foreign language, the student’s advisory committee may allow her or him to substitute a three-semester sequence of specified graduate courses in linguistics, language, and language-related topics from other disciplines, such as psychology or anthropology.​​​​​​​

II. Course Requirements

• 48 units of coursework, of which up to 24 units from an M.A. may be approved to count towards the degree. No fewer than 18 coursework credits must be at the 700-level.
• One unit of ENG 795: Comprehensive Examination
• 24 units of ENG 799: Dissertation

III. Comprehensive Examination

Each student in the Literature emphasis will take comprehensive exams in three areas: period, genre, and (theoretical) method. The format for taking the exam is determined by the student and his or her advisory committee. Exams, which are open book, are offered in the following format: the student will write the exams in three areas and will not take longer than a month to complete them. The student will have eight hours to complete each exam. The student should plan to spend about four hours writing a response for each exam and about four hours planning, freewriting, outlining, revising, polishing, proofreading for each exam. The exam should be no longer than 20 pages. Committee members should keep these time constraints in mind when drafting questions. At the conclusion of the exam period, the student will email the chair the completed exam in .docx or PDF format.

• Period: Periods may be selected from the following list: Old English, Middle English, Renaissance to 1600 (including all of Shakespeare), 17th-century British (including all of Shakespeare), 18th-century British, 19th-century British, 20th-century British, 20th- and 21st-century global Anglophone, American to 1890, American since 1890, or a field of linguistics or philology to be defined by the student and his or her advisory committee. Students will be expected to be familiar with the literature, the literary history and the intellectual history of the chosen period.
• Genre: Genres may be selected from the following list: poetry, drama, fiction, intellectual prose, or a field of linguistics or philology to be defined by the student and his or her advisory committee. Students will be expected to know the major theories pertaining to their chosen genre and the literature within their genre in the historical periods immediately preceding and immediately following their period of specialization.
• Theory/Method:Theories and methods refer to a body of ideas and intellectual traditions that help reveal new perspectives about a literary texts.  Some examples of theory/method include Feminism, Marxism, Critical Race Theory, Postcolonial Theory, Poststructuralism, Queer Theory, and Cultural Studies.  Students will be expected to know the major authors and texts of a given theoretical tradition, and be able to apply theories to literary texts.

The written comprehensive examinations will be followed by an oral examination. The student must register for ENG 795, Comprehensive Examination (1 unit), the semester he or she will be completing the oral exam.

• ENG 795 - Comprehensive Examination (1 unit)

IV. Dissertation Defense (Final Oral Examination)

After the dissertation has been accepted by the candidate’s advisory committee, the committee will conduct an oral examination dealing with the dissertation and related topics. The defense will be approximately two hours in length. 24 units of ENG 799: Dissertation are required

• ENG 799 - Dissertation (1 to 24 units)

V. Total Units (73 units)