English, Ph.D.

Department website: https://english.wvu.edu/

Doctor of Philosophy 

• Credit Hours: Students are required to complete a minimum of 72 graduate credit hours in English at the 500 level or above. A student entering the Ph.D. program with an M.A. degree already in hand may request that up to 30 hours of coursework be applied toward the doctoral coursework. The final decision is at the discretion of the program director.
• Grade Point Average: Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75. Students must also earn a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a minimum grade of B- in all courses applied to the degree.  

Curriculum Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CORE COURSES:		12
ENGL 609	College Composition Pedagogy *
ENGL 680	Introduction to Literary Research **
ENGL 682	Recent Literary Criticism **
ENGL 782	Current Directions in Literary Study ***
SEMINARS:		12
Select from the following:
ENGL 701	Seminar in Rhetoric
ENGL 741	Seminar in American Studies
ENGL 764	Seminar in Renaissance Studies, 1550-1660
ENGL 766	Seminar in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Studies
ENGL 768	Seminar in British Romanticism
ENGL 771	Seminar in Twentieth-Century British Studies
ENGL 782	Current Directions in Literary Study
ELECTIVES:		30
Any ENGL course at the 500 level or above not used for Core or Seminar requirements ****
TEACHING PRACTICUM:		6
ENGL 790	Teaching Practicum
DISSERTATION:		12
ENGL 798	Thesis or Dissertation
Total Hours		72

*

ENGL 609 should be taken in the student's first semester of teaching. At the discretion of the program director, a student who has completed the equivalent of ENGL 609 elsewhere may substitute a different 3-credit ENGL course at the 500 level or above.

**

At the discretion of the program director, a student who has completed the equivalent of ENGL 680 and/or ENGL 682 elsewhere may substitute different 3-credit ENGL courses at the 500 level or above. 

***

ENGL 782 is a required core course, but it may be repeated in a subsequent semester toward the seminar requirement. 

****

Excluding ENGL 790

Major Learning Outcomes

English

Upon completion of the PhD program, graduates will be able to:

1. Conceptualize the cultural, linguistic, and literary texts of the English-speaking world as categories of study
2. Converse in the critical and professional discourses of literary and cultural study
3. Conduct research on literature and culture at the level of professional competency
4. Write a substantial (book-length) analysis of a literary or cultural topic
5. Teach courses in the study of language and culture at the post-secondary level