English, PhD

The Doctoral Program in English at the University of Kentucky is designed to train students for the professoriate as both superb teachers and first-rate scholars through seminar work, qualifying exams in specific periods and subfields of literary study, and a long-form, original research project (the dissertation). The doctoral program is designed to lead to the PhD in five years of study beyond the MA degree. With a diverse range of graduate seminars and an active research faculty, the PhD program prepares students for a successful professional career in academia. Students can specialize in the fields of British, American, or Anglophone Students will gain a broad expertise that will prepare them for researching and writing the dissertation. We are committed to the professional training of our students, and they have been successful in gaining academic employment. With rare exceptions, all enrolled doctoral students are funded through TAships.

The department offers a wide variety of specializations not only in traditional literary history but also in film studies, cultural studies, African-American Studies, and Postcolonial Theory. The Department of English consists of 41 full-time faculty members who offer a range of courses in British, American, African-American, and Women’s Literature, Creative Writing, Film, and Literary Theory.  The graduate program relies on a nationally recognized faculty, a strongly supportive University of Kentucky Research Foundation, an active university press, and a research library of 1.2 million volumes.

Admission Requirements

Students eligible for the PhD program must have:

A UGPA of at least 3.25 and a GGPA of at least 3.0. Unofficial transcripts from all attended institutions are required. If the student is admitted and accepts, the graduate school will require all official transcripts. University of Kentucky graduates should note their degrees on the application but are not required to submit transcripts. 
Three letters of recommendation, preferably from faculty familiar with the student’s strengths and interests.

A statement of purpose of no more than two pages that outlines what research interests the student expects to pursue for the PhD.
A writing sample of approximately 20 pages that demonstrates the student’s ability to carry out original research and make cogent arguments.
A CV or resume.
As of fall 2021, neither the general GRE nor the subject test in English is a required component of a student’s application.

Degree Requirements

Students are responsible for taking 36 residency hours prior to the qualifying exam, including 24 regular course hours (graduate seminars at the 600 and 700 level). Students on TAships (which includes virtually all PhD students) will enroll in various teaching practicums in order to teach for the department. All pre-qualifying residency hours should be completed in the first two years of the program. For a sampling of recent and current graduate seminars, please see here: https://english.as.uky.edu/english-graduate-courses
By the third semester of the program, students should have assembled a doctoral committee consisting of three faculty members in the English department and one outside member from a discipline adjacent or relevant to the student’s proposed research program. At least three members of the committee must be tenured faculty.
In year three, students take a qualifying examination that consists of two parts: a 2-hour oral examination in a major and minor field (in the fall) and a dissertation prospectus defense (in the spring). In the fall, qualifying students enroll in ENG 700 , an examination preparation and professionalization course. Once students have successfully completed the qualifying examination and prospectus defense, they move into the dissertation phase of the program.
Students are expected to complete their dissertations in years 4 and 5. Once the dissertation is finished and the committee has decided the student is ready, the student will complete a dissertation defense. After a successful defense, the student will turn in the dissertation to the Graduate School and receive their doctoral degree.

Students may take up to six credit-hours of courses at the graduate level outside of the English Department. They can also apply for a wide variety of graduate certificates, which typically require 9 to 15 hours of coursework. These certificates range from Gender and Women’s Studies to Social Theory to Preparing Future Faculty. For a list of the available certificates, see here: https://gradschool.uky.edu/graduate-certificates
For a fuller sense of what the English department doctoral program’s requirements and expectations are, including sample timelines to degree, see here: https://english.as.uky.edu/doctoral-program