PhD English at University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Programme overview

The PhD in English combines breadth across the field with advanced work in a specialty, in three concentrations: Literature, Criticism, and Textual Studies; Rhetoric, Writing and Linguistics; and Creative Writing (creative dissertation culminating in a book-length manuscript). It is offered on the Knoxville campus.

Faculty: College of Arts and Sciences | Department: English | Duration: 78 graduate credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree or 54 beyond the master's (normally 8 to 10 full semesters) | Study mode: full-time | Location: Knoxville, TN, United States

What you will study

Coursework includes at least 21 credit hours at 600-level and a composition pedagogy course (Composition Pedagogy), with concentration-specific requirements; the Creative Writing track adds fiction, poetry and special topics writing courses and a creative writing seminar. All students complete a foreign-language proficiency requirement.

Career pathways

Many PhD graduates have gone on to tenure-track positions at research universities, comprehensive universities and liberal arts colleges, and to postdoctoral fellowships and visiting appointments.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

The department does not accept students in non-degree or provisional status.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

International graduate applicants on F and J visas: Fall online submission April 15 and file completion May 15; Spring June 15 and October 1; Summer October 15 and February 15. Departmental deadlines may be earlier.

Apply through the official page: https://gradschool.utk.edu/

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