PhD English at University of Pittsburgh

Programme overview

A five-year doctoral programme organized around critical and cultural studies, with concentrations in literature, film and composition. It encourages work across disciplinary boundaries in cultural history, knowledge formation, media studies and critical pedagogy.

Faculty: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences | Department: English | Duration: 5 years | Intake: Fall | Location: Pittsburgh, PA, United States

What you will study

Doctoral study in one of three concentrations (Composition and Rhetoric, Film and Media Studies, or Literature), with Literature focal areas in Children's Literature and Childhood Studies, Genealogies of Modernity, Media and Material Practices, and Race, Poetics and Empire.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

The PhD moved to alternate-year admissions; the next cycle opens September 2027. Required: online application via GradCAS, unofficial transcripts, 2-4 page statement of purpose, three letters of recommendation, critical writing sample of about 20-25 pages, $75 fee. Dietrich School requires a 3.0 undergraduate GPA (2.76-2.99 only provisional admission). GRE not required or reviewed. International applicants: TOEFL 90 (22 per section), IELTS 7.0 (6.5 per section) or Duolingo 120 unless exempt. All PhD applicants are considered for departmental funding.

Domestic applicants: USD 27,412 a year (2026-27). Pennsylvania-resident graduate tuition, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, full-time two terms (fall and spring). Tuition only; mandatory fees and other expenses excluded. Source

International applicants: USD 49,272 a year (2026-27). Out-of-state (non-PA resident) graduate tuition, Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, full-time two terms (fall and spring). Tuition only; mandatory fees and other expenses excluded. Source

Intake: Fall

Duration: 5 years

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