English, PhD

Location(s): Main Campus

The graduate program offers the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in English. For the program, candidates specify a literature or creative writing focus at the time of application. The PhD program encourages students to pursue specialized interests in their chosen field of scholarly interest before writing a dissertation. After admission and while completing their eight graduate courses, candidates develop specializations in two distinct fields of scholarly interest in preparation for field examinations in specific areas of expertise, leading to the dissertation.

Admission Requirements

Students entering the PhD program in English are expected to have an MA in English literature. This does not preclude the admission of students whose education has been in other fields, but the department does expect that a student will have had substantial coursework in literature at the graduate level to be considered for the PhD program. Students with an MFA degree who do not have this amount of literature coursework will be expected to get the MA in English before applying to the PhD program.

The English graduate admissions committee admits qualified students to the PhD program based on their total records, including the personal statement, transcripts, recommendations and a sample of their critical writing (10 to 20 pages). Scores from the GRE general test are accepted, but not required.

Applicants to the creative writing option for the dissertation should so indicate on the front page of the application and should submit a portfolio of their creative work (not more than 25 pages of prose or verse) in addition to the critical writing sample.

The application deadline for fall admission to the PhD program is Jan. 27; only students applying for fall admission will be considered for financial aid. The application deadline for spring admission to the PhD program is Nov. 15. Late applications for students who do not seek financial aid may be considered. All applicants for the PhD should go to the Graduate Admissions webpage in order to enter an online application.

Program Requirements

Course Requirements

The English PhD Program consists of a minimum of 8 total courses. Students must follow these guidelines while completing their required coursework:

Students must select two areas of special interest, such as:
- ENG 560A Literature and the Planet
- ENG 517D Queer + Trans in MDVL Lit
- ENG 562B Transnationalism & Film
- ENG 568B New Media & Native American Studies
No more than four Creative Writing Workshops, such as:
- ENG 540/640 Poetry Workshops
- ENG 541/641 Fiction Workshops
- ENG 543C Creative Writing Non-Fiction Workshop

Additional Notes for Course Requirements

No more than two appropriate courses from other Departments may be taken.
Approval from the Director of Graduate Studies is required in order to take more than two independent study courses.
Up to three graded courses, including independent study courses, may be from the same faculty member.
All entering students take a one-credit proseminar course in their initial two semesters with the Director of Graduate Studies, who serves as the PhD student’s initial advisor.
Funded PhD students are required to take a designated pedagogy course in the spring semester of their first year (ENG 589 Teaching College English).
Beyond the 8-course minimum, no limitations apply

Beyond the minimum 8 course requirements listed above, students are also required to complete 12 credits of Proseminar, Research, or Dissertation work. Students must work with their advisor on how to complete this requirement.

Foreign Language or Equivalent Research Requirements

All PhD candidates must demonstrate, during the time of their program, a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language at a level of competence sufficient for the understanding of scholarly and critical materials, or equivalent research skills. The student’s advisor must approve the pathway to complete this requirement. Students with a native language other than English are exempt from this requirement. For all other students, such competence in a foreign language may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways:

Evidence of the student having passed a certified translation exam in a graduate program at an accredited institution similar to Binghamton University.
Presenting transcript evidence of at least three years (six semesters) of college-level study of a single foreign language (fourth- and fifth-year high school study in the same language count as two semesters each) with a grade average of B or better, completed no more than five years before admission to the PhD program at Binghamton University.
Successful completion of a graduate course at Binghamton University or a comparable institution in a foreign language or of a graduate course in comparative literature in which a significant portion of the work is done in a foreign language.
Successful completion of a graduate proficiency workshop and examination.
Successful completion of a translation examination.

Students may demonstrate equivalent research skills in digital humanities in the following way:

Successful completion, with a grade of B or higher, of a graduate course approved by the Graduate Director that combines two of the following: digital humanities theory, data analytics, and analysis of digital media for the humanities (such as text analysis, digital storytelling, digital public humanities, digital rhetoric).

Field Examination Requirement

Students normally start taking their exams in their fields of study after completing two semesters of coursework; they are expected to complete their examinations by the end of the fifth semester. While areas acceptable as fields of study are not predefined, they must be approved by the graduate director.

Students are expected to complete two written examinations and an oral examination, which will demarcate their fields of study. The oral exam reading list is an aggregate of the two earlier exam lists. Each student works with a faculty member to define each of the two written field exams and draw up a reading list of at least 35 texts for each exam. For the oral exam, the student should choose a third faculty member to join the other two principal faculty members and circulate to the committee a five-page dissertation proposal in advance of the exam. The oral exam should be scheduled within 12 weeks of the second written field exam.

Students are expected to coordinate their field exams so that the time spent preparing for their examinations will provide a foundation for their dissertations, as well as preparation for their professional identities.

Detailed guidelines for PhD students working on field exams are available in the English Department Graduate Office and on the department website.

Dissertation Requirement

In the course of doctoral study, the student establishes a dissertation committee consisting of a director and two readers. The dissertation is a substantial study of some significant topic in the area of the student’s professional interest or a creative writing dissertation for those students who are admitted to the creative writing dissertation option.

Dissertations are substantive, book-length manuscripts developed in concert with a faculty advisor. Students will be able to speak analytically about their dissertation during their defense. Students pursuing a research dissertation must submit the prospectus to their committee within five weeks of completing the oral examination; students pursuing a creative dissertation must submit a sample of creative work equivalent to a prospectus to their committee within five weeks of completing the oral examination. The prospectus or the sample of creative work in progress will be shared with all members of the dissertation committee, including an outside examiner approved by the Graduate School. The student’s dissertation director must formally approve, and submit to the graduate director, the written prospectus of the dissertation, or for those submitting a creative dissertation, a sample of work in progress at least one semester prior to completing the dissertation. On completion of all other requirements, the student submits a finished dissertation for approval and defends the dissertation in an oral examination. The submitted dissertation must conform to the Graduate School requirements for a dissertation, as outlined in the Graduate School Manual.

After successful completion, defense and submission of the dissertation, the student is awarded the PhD in English.

Additional Information About the Program

Students must maintain at least a B+ average to remain in the program; more than one C grade normally requires dismissal. Students not in residence must register each semester to remain in good standing.

For more information on the English PhD program, please refer to the English, General Literature, and Rhetoric website for more information. To apply to the English PhD program, please visit the University Admissions website.