PhD in English
A supportive, challenging, and community-oriented English PhD program.
With a distinguished faculty of scholars and writers, creative, ambitious students, the resources of the Five Colleges, and a commitment to job placement and professionalization, the English doctoral program draws outstanding students from across the world. We place a high value on diversity and creating an environment in which all colleagues are supported and treated with respect.
Our faculty is committed to research and teaching, and we have a long-standing tradition of commitment to public service and outreach. We provide community-based internships for our graduate students and founded such programs as the Western Massachusetts Writing Project, which offers youth programs and professional development for area teachers.
English graduate courses encourage interdisciplinary approaches informed by cultural studies and contemporary critical theory. PhD students can choose focused areas of study in American studies, composition and rhetoric, and early modern and Renaissance studies. In addition to these concentrations, our areas of strength include African American literature; colonial, postcolonial, and transnational studies; Native American studies; and popular culture.