English Language and Literature (PhD) at Cornell University

Programme overview

The doctoral program in English language and literature enrolls about 10 new students each year in the Ph.D. program. Our small size allows us to offer a generous financial support package, details of which are outlined on our department website.

What you will study

Concentrations: African American literature, American literature after 1865, American literature to 1865, American studies, Colonial and postcolonial literatures, Cultural studies, Dramatic literature, English poetry, Lesbian, bisexual, and gay literary studies, Literary criticism and theory, Old and Middle English, Prose fiction, The English Renaissance to 1660, The nineteenth

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

The application must be submitted online. Detailed requirement summaries for applicants are available for download from the graduate pages of the English department website .; All Graduate School requirements; Application and fee; Academic statement of purpose; Personal statement; Critical writing sample; Three letters of recommendation; Transcripts; English Language Proficiency Requirement; Note: GRE test scores are no longer required for application to this program. Application deadline: Fall, December 1; no spring admission

USD 20,800 a year (2026-27). Doctoral tuition per year ($10,400 per semester); the source states $20,800 applies to Ph.D., D.M.A. and J.S.D. programs in endowed and contract colleges; tuition only. Source

Graduate School applications are submitted online through the Graduate School application; the application fee is $105. Each graduate field sets its own deadlines, and many fall between early December and mid-January.

Apply through the official page: https://gradschool.cornell.edu/admissions/application-steps/apply-now/

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