literature phd usa

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Ph.d. in literature.

Our PhD students are involved in a range of interdisciplinary and public initiatives. For example, some affiliate with interdisciplinary  Designated Emphases ; others have received grants to create  podcasts , convene interdisciplinary  working groups , or organize and annual graduate student conferences . Each year one student participates in a year-long exchange program with the  Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies  in Mainz, Germany; some have worked as Graduate Assistants and researchers for research centers such as the  Medieval and Early Modern Studies Program , the experimental media  Modlab , and the university’s  Datalab .

Students graduate with the qualitative and quantitative skills necessary for professional research and teaching in English, as well as extensive pedagogical training and a range of teaching experience that includes writing and composition, as well as designing and teaching Introduction to Literature courses. Our Alumni Directory  includes titles of recent dissertations, as well as information about the diverse careers for which the PhD has helped prepare our graduates. There is an option to complete an MA in literature , but it is not a stand-alone program.

Questions? Contact: [email protected]  

Admissions / Online Application

Degree requirements for the Ph.D. program   (links to more details) include 50 units of coursework with at least 44 units taken for a letter grade, proficiency in one foreign language proficiency before degree conferral, preliminary and qualifying examinations, and a dissertation. In addition, there are also opportunities for students to pursue a Designated Emphasis and gain teaching experience.

Coursework Requirements

2 Core Courses (8 units)

• English 200: Introduction to Graduate Studies (taken as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory)
• One survey course in literary theory (Critical Theory 200A or 200C taken for a grade).

1 Workshop (2 units)

• English 288: Prospectus Workshop (taken as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory); students may petition to complete this course independently with a Prospectus Adviser.

10 Graduate-level Seminars (40 units)

• All courses must be taken for a grade.
• Five courses must satisfy the breadth requirement (see below).
• Five courses will be comprised of electives (see below).
• Students may count one undergraduate 100-level course as one of their ten required courses.
• Aside from ENL 200, no course graded Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory may count as one of the twelve required seminars. Independent and group studies may not be taken for a grade.

13 Total Graduate Courses (50 units; 44 units taken for a grade)  Additionally, students who enter the Ph.D. program without a MA degree can earn one en route to the Ph.D. degree.

The English Ph.D. requires a reading knowledge of one foreign language before completing the degree; it is not an admissions requirement. This could be satisfied through previous or current coursework or an exam. Any of the following demonstrates proficiency:

Completion within the past eight years of 3 semester-length, or 4 quarter-length courses in a foreign language at the undergraduate level. Students must earn a passing grade, but courses may be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis.

Students may take the Placement Test offered by the UC Davis Language Center , testing out of the language at the intermediate level.

A Pass in the language exam offered in the English Department at the beginning of Fall or Spring quarter each year.

The breadth requirements must be fulfilled by coursework in the Department of English or coursework taught by English Department faculty.  Five courses (of the total 40 units above) will satisfy this requirement. Students must complete two Earlier Period courses, and two Later Period courses, and one Focus course. 

Earlier Period Courses Pre-1800; or Pre-1865 if the course focus is on American literature

Later Period Courses post-1800; or post-1865 if the course focus is on American literature

Focus Course Interdisciplinary, Identity, Genre, Other National, Method, Theory

Faculty and/or the Graduate Advisor may choose to designate a course as fulfilling more than one category, but students may use the course to fulfill only one requirement. For instance, a student could use a course on women in Early Modern literature to satisfy the Earlier Period requirement, or the Focus (Identity) requirement, but not both. A student could use a course on Cold War Drama to satisfy the Later Period requirement or the Focus (Genre) requirement, but not both.

The electives requirement can be fulfilled by actual offered seminars inside or outside the English Department.  Five elective courses will satisfy degree requirements. UWP 390 is acceptable as one of the electives. Also, be aware 299s are ungraded but still count towards overall units. With the approval of the Graduate Adviser, students may also enroll in a graduate class at another University of California campus through the Intercampus Exchange Program .

Students who enter the Ph.D. program with MA coursework from another institution may petition the Graduate Adviser for a Course Waiver up to three of the twelve required seminars; each approved petition will reduce the number of required courses by one. Students may not reduce their coursework to fewer than nine seminars.

Students holding an MA may also petition the Graduate Adviser for course relief for up to five of the breadth requirements; each approved petition allows the student to substitute elective courses. ENL 200 may not be waived or relieved.

For each waiver or relief request, students must submit to the English Graduate Office a Course Waiver or Relief Request form (available in the office) along with the syllabus from the course and the student's seminar paper.

Graduate students may participate in a Designated Emphasis (DE) , a specialization that might include a new method of inquiry or an important field of application which is related to two or more existing Ph.D. programs. The DE is awarded in conjunction with the Ph.D. degree and is signified by a transcript notation; for example, “Ph.D. in Literature with a Designated Emphasis in Native American Studies.”  More information .

In the Spring Quarter of the second year or Fall Quarter of the third year of graduate study, students take a Preliminary Examination in two historical fields and one focus field. Three faculty members conduct the oral examination, each representing one of the fields. Prior to taking the Preliminary Examination, students must have completed the following:

Introduction to Graduate Studies (ENL200)

Survey of Literary Theory (CRI200A or CRI200C)

Four of five Breadth Requirements

Four of five Elective Requirements

Additionally, students select one focus field. A student may devise her/his own focus list in collaboration with two faculty members or, as is more common, choose one from among the following:

Black Studies

Critical Theory

Disability Studies

Ecocriticism and Environmental Humanities

Film Studies

Media Technologies

Performance Studies

Postcolonial Theory

Psychoanalysis

Queer Feminisms

Queer Theories

Race and Ethnicity Studies

Science and Literature

Science Fiction

English 299 (Independent Study) is ordinarily used the quarters before the Preliminary Examination to prepare for the oral  examination and is graded Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory. Students may register for ENL 299 under the Graduate Advisor or a faculty member in the field of their exam for the quarter(s) they intend to study.

In the event that the student does not pass the exam, the exam chair will report the decision to the Graduate Adviser, who will work with the committee to decide whether the student should be given a chance to retake the exam (no less than six months later) or whether the student should be dismissed from the program. The Graduate Adviser will report this final decision to the student within 72 hours of the exam’s conclusion.

Any remaining requirements after taking the Preliminary Examination must be completed before scheduling the Qualifying Examination.

Students will select two historical fields from among the following list.   Students who would like to do non-consecutive historical fields need to get prior approval from the Graduate Adviser.  These lists and additional helpful documents can be accessed via our box folder "Preliminary Exam" in the English Graduate Program file.

The Qualifying Examination  happens as early as the spring of the third year and should be taken no later than the spring of the fourth year . The reading list for this exam, which is conducted orally, is constructed by the student in consultation with his or her three-person dissertation committee. When making their lists, students may consult the standard lists for preliminary exams available on the department's Box site. If the student has elected a designated emphasis (DE), materials from that field should also be incorporated into the Qualifying Exam reading list.

Graduate Studies requires the Qualifying Examination Application (GS319) to be submitted at least 30 days prior the the scheduled exam date.

Qualifying Examination Committee  The student, in consultation with their Prospectus Adviser and, if needed, the Graduate Adviser, nominates  four   faculty to serve on the Qualifying Examination Committee: 

• The three proposed Dissertation Committee members 
• One member must be from outside the English graduate program (this may be a member of the Dissertation Committee). 

The QE Committee is responsible for administering the exam. Neither the “Prospectus Adviser” nor the Dissertation Director (in many, though not all, cases these will be same) may be the chair of the QE Committee. Students with a designated emphasis (DE) must include one faculty member affiliated with the DE on both their qualifying and dissertation committee. DE paperwork must be approved before the QE application is submitted. The exam will focus on the Prospectus and the Qualifying Exam reading list. The bibliography of the prospectus will normally overlap substantially with the Qualifying Exam reading list.

The Qualifying Exam Report (GS343) must be submitted withing 72 hours of the exam. Upon successful completion, students receive the Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Plan B (GS321) .

If you are disabled, you are entitled to accommodations for all requirements of the program you’re enrolled in, a process formally handled by the Student Disability Center . We recommend starting the process of coordinating with the SDC early in your graduate school journey, as it can take time for the Center to process information.  We must work with the SDC to implement your accommodations for your exams.  Please indicate your need for accommodations to us as soon as possible, so we can include the Center in our exam scheduling process.  Please notify us by the fourth week of the quarter in which you intend to sit the exam.

The dissertation must be an original work of scholarship and/or interpretation. It may be critical, bibliographical, historical, or biographical in its subject. Students work with a dissertation director and consult with two official readers as well as with other faculty knowledgeable about the project. A dditional details . 

Secondary Menu

• Ph.D. Degree

The Graduate Program in Literature is a doctoral program, which means that all students enrolled prepare for the Ph.D. degree. The program does not grant M.A. degrees along the way. The typical time to completion for the doctoral program is 6 full years.

Requirements for the Ph.D.

• 12 Seminars
• 7 Literature Program courses
• At least 5 courses in a teaching field of your choice
• Foreign language proficiency in two languages
• Preliminary Exam
• Chapter Workshop
• Dissertation Defense
• Teaching Assistantship
• Responsible Conduct of Research Training

Additional Course Guidelines

Undergraduate-level Courses - There are no restrictions on the number of undergraduate courses a student may take outside the Literature Program during their graduate career. The approval of the DGS must be sought in such cases, and in any case Graduate School Regulations do not allow courses below the 500 level to count toward the fulfillment of coursework requirements or to be included in a student's GPA calculation.  In general undergraduate courses tend to be limited to relevant language courses.

Independent Studies - Students can take up to three independent studies over the course of their careers. Students have to complete the “Independent Study Notification Form” every time they take an independent study and it must be signed by the DGS. Supplies of these forms are kept in the DGS Assistant’s office.

Inter-institutional Courses - The Registrar requires students to follow a special procedure when they register for courses at other Triangle universities (UNC, NCCU, NCSU). Forms and information are available at the Registrar's Office. You’ll need approval from Lit’s DGS & the professor of the course.

Typical Degree Timeline

What follows is a very general timeline that graduate students in the Program may use as a rough orientation for their six-year course of study. It is not meant to replace the guidance that you should actively seek , for your own specific circumstances and research field(s), from your mentors and advisors.

During the first year, you will familiarize yourself with the department, the university, and the profession at large. The many colloquia and conferences offered at Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, NC Central and NC State, present great opportunities for you to get to know your peers, professors, national and international scholars.

During the second year, you can start presenting your work at conferences in your field(s). You should by now identify your main advisor(s), and begin TAing so as to familiarize yourself with teaching duties. You may also begin to plan for a Certificate in College Teaching.

During the third year, you will complete your preliminary exams and start to work towards your dissertation. Make sure to complete, by the end of this academic year, all the required coursework, including any language requirement related to your specific field. To be competitive in a specific field, you may well need more than one language besides English: please consult with your advisors about this matter.

During the fourth year, your focus will be to complete, if not an entire first draft, at least a good part of your dissertation. This is also a good moment to make your work known in the profession by publishing a part of your dissertation and by presenting some of the other parts at professional conferences. Finally, you should attend the dissertation formatting training sessions offered by the Graduate School (either during the fall or the spring): this is very important, to avoid any last-minute surprises that could jeopardize your entire time-plan for the PhD.

If possible, you should try to finish your dissertation during your fifth year at Duke. You should also keep a presence at professional conferences, and you may also want to consider the possibility of public humanities publications. Finally, this is the year to start applying for jobs.

You should be ready to defend by the end of this year.

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PhD Program in English Language and Literature

The department enrolls an average of ten PhD students each year. Our small size allows us to offer a generous financial support package. We also offer a large and diverse graduate faculty with competence in a wide range of literary, theoretical and cultural fields. Each student chooses a special committee that works closely along side the student to design a course of study within the very broad framework established by the department. The program is extremely flexible in regard to course selection, the design of examinations and the election of minor subjects of concentration outside the department. English PhD students pursuing interdisciplinary research may include on their special committees faculty members from related fields such as comparative literature, medieval studies, Romance studies, German studies, history, classics, women’s studies, linguistics, theatre and performing arts, government, philosophy, and film and video studies.

The PhD candidate is normally expected to complete six or seven one-semester courses for credit in the first year of residence and a total of six or seven more in the second and third years. The program of any doctoral candidate’s formal and informal study, whatever his or her particular interests, should be comprehensive enough to ensure familiarity with:

• The authors and works that have been the most influential in determining the course of English, American, and related literatures
• The theory and criticism of literature, and the relations between literature and other disciplines
• Concerns and tools of literary and cultural history such as textual criticism, study of genre, source, and influence as well as wider issues of cultural production and historical and social contexts that bear on literature

Areas in which students may have major or minor concentrations include African-American literature, American literature to 1865, American literature after 1865, American studies (a joint program with the field of history), colonial and postcolonial literatures, cultural studies, dramatic literature, English poetry, the English Renaissance to 1660, lesbian, bisexual and gay literary studies, literary criticism and theory, the nineteenth century, Old and Middle English, prose fiction, the Restoration and the eighteenth century, the twentieth century, and women's literature.

By the time a doctoral candidate enters the fourth semester of graduate study, the special committee must decide whether he or she is qualified to proceed toward the PhD. Students are required to pass their Advancement to Candidacy Examination before their fourth year of study, prior to the dissertation.

PhD Program specifics can be viewed here: PhD Timeline PhD Procedural Guide

Special Committee

Every graduate student selects a special committee of faculty advisors who work intensively with the student in selecting courses and preparing and revising the dissertation. The committee is comprised of at least three Cornell faculty members: a chair, and typically two minor members usually from the English department, but very often representing an interdisciplinary field. The university system of special committees allows students to design their own courses of study within a broad framework established by the department, and it encourages a close working relationship between professors and students, promoting freedom and flexibility in the pursuit of the graduate degree. The special committee for each student guides and supervises all academic work and assesses progress in a series of meetings with the students.

At Cornell, teaching is considered an integral part of training in academia. The field requires a carefully supervised teaching experience of at least one year for every doctoral candidate as part of the program requirements. The Department of English, in conjunction with the  John S. Knight Institute for Writing  in the Disciplines, offers excellent training for beginning teachers and varied and interesting teaching in the university-wide First-Year Writing Program. The courses are writing-intensive and may fall under such general rubrics as “Portraits of the Self,” “American Literature and Culture,” “Shakespeare,” and “Cultural Studies,” among others. A graduate student may also serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate lecture course taught by a member of the Department of English faculty.

Language Requirements

Each student and special committee will decide what work in foreign language is most appropriate for a student’s graduate program and scholarly interests. Some students’ doctoral programs require extensive knowledge of a single foreign language and literature; others require reading ability in two or more foreign languages. A student may be asked to demonstrate competence in foreign languages by presenting the undergraduate record, taking additional courses in foreign languages and literature, or translating and discussing documents related to the student’s work. Students are also normally expected to provide evidence of having studied the English language through courses in Old English, the history of the English language, grammatical analysis or the application of linguistic study to metrics or to literary criticism. Several departments at Cornell offer pertinent courses in such subjects as descriptive linguistics, psycholinguistics and the philosophy of language.

All PhD degree candidates are guaranteed five years of funding (including a stipend , a full tuition fellowship and student health insurance):

• A first-year non-teaching fellowship
• Two years of teaching assistantships
• A fourth-year non-teaching fellowship for the dissertation writing year
• A fifth-year teaching assistantship
• Summer support for four years, including a first-year summer teaching assistantship, linked to a teachers’ training program at the Knight Institute. Summer residency in Ithaca is required.

Students have also successfully competed for Buttrick-Crippen Fellowship, Society for the Humanities Fellowships, American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), Shin Yong-Jin Graduate Fellowships, Provost’s Diversity Fellowships, fellowships in recognition of excellence in teaching, and grants from the Graduate School to help with the cost of travel to scholarly conferences and research collections.

Admission & Application Procedures

The application for Fall 2024 admission will open on September 15, 2023 and close at 11:59pm EST on December 1, 2023.

Our application process reflects the field’s commitment to considering the whole person and their potential to contribute to our scholarly community.  Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of academic preparation (e.g., performance in relevant courses, completion of substantive, independent research project). An applicant’s critical and creative potential will be considered: applicants should demonstrate interest in extensive research and writing and include a writing sample that reveals a capacity to argue persuasively, demonstrate the ability to synthesize a broad range of materials, as well as offer fresh insights into a problem or text. The committee will also consider whether an applicant demonstrates a commitment to inclusion, equity, and diversity and offers a substantive explanation for why study at Cornell is especially compelling (e.g., a discussion of faculty research and foci). Admissions committees will consider the entire application carefully, including statements and critical writing, as well as transcripts, letters of recommendation, and a resume/cv (if provided). Please view the requirements and procedures listed below, if you are interested in being considered for our PhD in English Language and Literature program.

Eligibility: Applicants must currently have, or expect to have, at least a BA or BS (or the equivalent) in any field before matriculation. International students, please verify degree equivalency here . Applicants are not required to meet a specified GPA minimum.

To Apply: All applications and supplemental materials must be submitted online through the Graduate School application system . While completing your application, you may save and edit your data. Once you click submit, your application will be closed for changes. Please proofread your materials carefully. Once you pay and click submit, you will not be able to make any changes or revisions.

Deadline: December 1st, 11:59pm EST.  This deadline is firm. No applications, additional materials, or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

PhD Program Application Requirements Checklist

• Academic Statement of Purpose Please describe (within 1000 words) in detail the substantive research questions you are interested in pursuing during your graduate studies and why they are significant. Additionally, make sure to include information about any training or research experience that you believe has prepared you for our program. You should also identify specific faculty members whose research interests align with your own specific questions.  Note that the identification of faculty is important; you would be well advised to read selected faculty’s recent scholarship so that you can explain why you wish to study with them. Do not rely on the courses they teach.  Please refrain from contacting individual faculty prior to receiving an offer of admission.
• Personal Statement Please describe (within 1000 words) how your personal background and experiences influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree and the research you wish to conduct.  Explain, for example the meaning and purpose of the PhD in the context of your personal history and future aspirations.  Please note that we will pay additional attention to candidates who identify substantial reasons to obtain a PhD beyond the pursuit of an academic position. Additionally, provide insight into your potential to contribute to a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn (productively and positively) together.
• Critical Writing Sample Your academic writing sample must be between 3,000 and 7,500 words (12-30 pages), typed and double-spaced. We accept excerpts from longer works, or a combination of shorter works.
• Three Letters of Recommendation We require 3 letters of recommendation.  At the time of application, you will be allowed to enter up to 4 recommenders in the system.  Your application will be considered “Complete” when we have received at least 3 letters of recommendation.   Letters of recommendation are due December 1 . Please select three people who best know you and your work. Submitting additional letters will not enhance your application. In the recommendation section of the application, you must include the email address of each recommender. After you save the information (and before you pay/submit), the application system will automatically generate a recommendation request email to your recommender with instructions for submitting the letter electronically. If your letters are stored with a credential service such as Interfolio, please use their Online Application Delivery feature and input the email address assigned to your stored document, rather than that of your recommender’s. The electronic files will be attached to your application when they are received and will not require the letter of recommendation cover page.
• Transcripts Scan transcripts from each institution you have attended, or are currently attending, and upload into the academic information section of the application. Be sure to remove your social security number from all documents prior to scanning. Please do not send paper copies of your transcripts. If you are subsequently admitted and accept, the Graduate School will require an official paper transcript from your degree-awarding institution prior to matriculation.
• English Language Proficiency Requirement All applicants must provide proof of English language proficiency. For more information, please view the  Graduate School’s English Language Requirement .
• GRE General Test and GRE Subject Test are NO LONGER REQUIRED, effective starting with the 2019 application In March 2019, the faculty of English voted overwhelmingly to eliminate all GRE requirements (both general and subject test) for application to the PhD program in English. GRE scores are not good predictors of success or failure in a PhD program in English, and the uncertain predictive value of the GRE exam is far outweighed by the toll it takes on student diversity. For many applicants the cost of preparing for and taking the exam is prohibitively expensive, and the exam is not globally accessible. Requiring the exam narrows our applicant pool at precisely the moment we should be creating bigger pipelines into higher education. We need the strength of a diverse community in order to pursue the English Department’s larger mission: to direct the force of language toward large and small acts of learning, alliance, imagination, and justice.

General Information for All Applicants

Application Fee: Visit the Graduate School for information regarding application fees, payment options, and fee waivers .

Document Identification: Please do not put your social security number on any documents.

Status Inquiries:  Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email. You will also be able to check the completion status of your application in your account. If vital sections of your application are missing, we will notify you via email after the Dec. 1 deadline and allow you ample time to provide the missing materials. Please do not inquire about the status of your application.

Credential/Application Assessments:  The Admission Review Committee members are unable to review application materials or applicant credentials prior to official application submission. Once the committee has reviewed applications and made admissions decisions, they will not discuss the results or make any recommendations for improving the strength of an applicant’s credentials. Applicants looking for feedback are advised to consult with their undergraduate advisor or someone else who knows them and their work.

Review Process:  Application review begins after the submission deadline. Notification of admissions decisions will be made by email by the end of February.

Connecting with Faculty and/or Students: Unfortunately, due to the volume of inquiries we receive, faculty and current students are not available to correspond with potential applicants prior to an offer of admission. Applicants who are offered admission will have the opportunity to meet faculty and students to have their questions answered prior to accepting. Staff and faculty are also not able to pre-assess potential applicant’s work outside of the formal application process. Please email [email protected] instead, if you have questions.

Visiting: The department does not offer pre-admission visits or interviews. Admitted applicants will be invited to visit the department, attend graduate seminars and meet with faculty and students before making the decision to enroll.

Transfer Credits:  Students matriculating with an MA degree may, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies, receive credit for up to two courses once they begin our program.

For Further Information

Contact [email protected]

English (Literature), PHD

On this page:.

At a Glance: program details

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD English (Literature)

The PhD program in English with a concentration in literature trains students in various methodologies, pedagogies and areas of inquiry that constitute literary and cultural studies.

With a diverse and distinguished faculty, the program offers opportunities for specialization in traditional areas of literary criticism, cultural analysis and theory, as well as various fields of interdisciplinary study.

A doctorate in literature equips students with a range of highly sought-after skills and competencies: research and analysis of complex material, communication in written and oral modes, collaboration, independence and self-motivation, creativity and adaptability.

The PhD in English (literature) at ASU is a premier graduate program in the U.S. with strong interdisciplinary ties and faculty links to research centers on campus and in the state, including the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, the Institute for Humanities Research, and the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. With these resources and a strong mentorship program at their fingertips, our graduates are prepared for a wide array of professional opportunities including careers in college teaching, research, writing, editing, higher education, and humanities-related organizations.

Lee Bebout ,  Director  

Sheila Luna , Program Manager

Faculty in Literature

Doctoral Examinations

Doctoral Procedures and Timeline

Teaching Assistantships

Degree Requirements

84 credit hours, a foreign language exam, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

A student with an appropriate master's degree must complete a minimum of 54 credit hours of approved graduate work, which includes 12 credit hours of dissertation, provided the student's master's degree is accepted by the supervisory committee and the academic unit. Research hours may be used toward coursework in consultation with the advisor.

A student without an appropriate master's degree must complete 84 credit hours of work at ASU. At the advisor's discretion, students may include up to 12 credit hours of appropriate, graduate-level coursework undertaken at another university and not previously counted toward any other degree.

Specifically required are six credit hours in theory courses and ENG 501 Approaches to Research. Students must complete eight graduate courses in any of the following categories:

• cultural studies
• ethnic studies
• gender studies
• history and structure of the English language
• literature 1500--1660
• literature 1660--1900
• literature since 1900
• literature to 1500
• postcolonial or anglophone literatures

Students must take at least five graduate seminars at the 600 level en route to the doctorate, at least three of which must be taken in the doctoral program. Up to 12 credit hours taken outside the department may be counted toward the degree. Students should consult with their supervisory committees when choosing electives.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official transcripts
• statement of purpose
• resume or curriculum vitae
• three letters of recommendation
• academic writing sample relevant to the field
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English and has not graduated from an institution of higher learning in the United States must provide proof of English proficiency, regardless of current residency. Applicants can find more information about English proficiency requirements on the school website . Please note that official scores must be sent to ASU in order for the application to be processed.

The well-considered, one- to two-page, single-spaced statement of purpose should explain the applicant's scholarly background and training, career goals, proposed research specialization, any secondary field of interest and why the applicant wishes to pursue a PhD in English (Literature) at Arizona State University. Applicants applying for funding must also submit a statement of teaching philosophy.

Courses and Electives

Approaches to Research (3 credits / one class) :  Students must take the core class ENG 501 Approaches to Research.

Theory (6 credits / two courses): Appropriate courses for filling this requirement must be in the area of the history of criticism, literary theory, rhetorical theory, linguistic theory or cultural theory. Examples of courses which meet this requirement, if the specific topic is appropriate, include the following: ENG 502, 503, 504, 550, 551, 552, 554, 556, 602, 604, 651, LIN 510, 516, 517; however, an equivalent or more advanced course in linguistic, rhetorical or literary theory would also be acceptable.

Additional Required Courses (24 credits / 8 classes): Students must complete eight graduate courses in any of the following categories: cultural studies, ethnic studies, gender studies, genre, history and structure of the English language, literature to 1500, literature 1500-1660, literature 1660-1900, literature since 1900, postcolonial or anglophone literatures.

A minimum of five courses counted toward the PhD, which may include those listed above, must be taken at the 600-level (three of which must be taken in the doctoral program at ASU). Students wishing to take courses outside of the department may count up to 12 credit hours toward the degree. These courses may also fulfill some of the above degree requirements. Students should consult with an advisor or their committee chair when choosing electives.

Other Requirements

Language Requirement : PhD students must demonstrate evidence of a competent knowledge of a natural language other than modern English, to be selected by the student, subject to the approval of the chair of the dissertation committee. The language requirement must be completed before the student is eligible to take the doctoral exams. This requirement may be met by

• Earning a “B” (3.00) or higher in a 400- or 500-level course in an appropriate (approved) language.
• Demonstrating comparable proficiency by taking a language examination, administered by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student’s supervisory committee.
• Demonstrating native-speaker proficiency, as determined by the School of International Letters and Cultures, in a language approved by the student’s supervisory committee.
• Earning a “B” (3.00) or higher in both ENG 530 Old English and ENG 531 Old English Literature or their equivalent.
• Holding a bachelor’s degree in an approved foreign language.
• Having fulfilled a foreign language requirement towards a previously awarded master’s degree that has been completed within five years of the semester for which the student has been admitted to the doctoral program. This foreign language must be in a language approved by the student’s doctoral supervisory committee.
• For languages which the School of International Letters and Cultures does not offer or does not offer above the 200 level, two years (4 semesters) of successfully completed college level coursework at least at the 100 and 200 level with a C or better would fulfill the requirement. The coursework must have been successfully completed no more than six years prior to admission to the degree program.

PhD Examinations :  Essay, oral exam, colloquy on the dissertation prospectus.

Dissertation : Students must take 12 credit hours of ENG 799.

Miscellaneous : Students may take research (ENG 792) for the purpose of working independently in preparation for the doctoral examination. This is an alternative to be elected by the student at the discretion and with the approval of the advisor and supervisory committee and can count towards course work. Satisfactory completion of ENG 792 is indicated by the grade of "Y." Individual interim segments of ENG 792 will be graded "Z" (course in progress), and changed to "Y" (successful completion) after the dissertation defense. No conventional letter grades are awarded for ENG 792 or 799.

The Graduate College also requires that students be enrolled every semester, excluding summer sessions, until they have completed all requirements for the degree. Continuous enrollment may be satisfied by registration for one hour of ENG 799, or, in cases where dissertation or other credit hours are not needed, Continuous Registration (ENG 595 or 795). If students wish to interrupt their programs of study for one or more semesters, they may apply for a leave of absence, not to exceed one year. Failure to enroll or obtain leave status for the semesters in which they are not enrolled will result in dismissal from the program.

Doctoral Supervisory Committee

The doctoral supervisory committee consists of a minimum of three members from the  graduate faculty  selected at the time the student files a program of study. In consultation with the director of the Ph.D. program, the student will select the committee chair, who also serves as the student's advisor. Once a graduate faculty member has agreed to serve as the student's chair, the student and chair will then consult before recommending two other members to the director of the doctoral program. Ideally another member of the supervisory committee in addition to the chair should be in the area of specialization. It is the responsibility of each student to form a supervisory committee very early in the program so that the chair and members of the committee may be involved in shaping the course of study, for example, in determining such matters as the choice of foreign language(s) and in specifying courses that will be required for the student's particular area of concentration.

Important Notice to Current International Students

In order for international students to maintain good standing for their VISAs, they must take a minimum of 9 credit hours per semester (i.e., 3 classes), 6 credits (2 classes) should be face-to-face classes.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, learning outcomes.

• Identify and evaluate various disciplinary arguments, trends, traditions and debates within the knowledge community of literary and cultural studies scholars.
• Demonstrate the ability to produce written work of publishable quality.
• Demonstrate research skills necessary to bring a project of literary or cultural analysis to fruition, including the ability to evaluate disciplinary debates and developments; and the ability to produce research on historical and cultural meanings of texts and related cultural productions.

Career Opportunities

Graduates are prepared for careers in higher education and other fields that value this expertise. Sectors employing high numbers of arts and humanities graduates include information and communication, financial and insurance, public administration and defense, arts and entertainment, and education.

Career examples include:

• art director
• criminal investigator or special agent
• intelligence analyst
• market research analyst
• museum curator, educator or exhibit designer
• political analyst
• public relations specialist or manager
• technical writer

Global Opportunities

Global experience.

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-3168

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

• Graduate Admissions
• PhD application

The Doctoral Program in English Literature

Applying to the doctoral program.

Look for Program Code E25PH when searching for the PhD program in the online application system

Application information FOR

Matriculation in fall 2025, application deadline: tba, all application materials are due by 11:59 pm (cst) on the day of the deadline.

When reviewing applications, we look for evidence of keen intellectual ability, skill in literary analysis, scholarly potential, and a strong sense of academic purpose. We do not emphasize any single factor, but pay close attention to written work and to applicants' competency in one or more foreign languages. We typically expect to receive between 200 and 300 applications for admission to the doctoral program, with a target class size of between 6 and 8 students.

Notification of the admissions committee's decisions will most likely occur in early February. Once our offers of admissions have been made, we will invite those prospective students to campus for a Visiting Weekend around the beginning of March. This is a chance for you to meet with faculty and current graduate students, discuss future projects, and hear about current doctoral work, tour the department and the campus, sit in on graduate seminars, and to look at some of the many advantages that Evanston and Chicago have to offer.

All supplemental application materials must be submitted through The Graduate School's application system. Please do  not  send, or have sent, paper copies of any documents. If you or your recommenders are having difficulty submitting any component of the application online, and the application system's online help is unable to resolve your problem, please contact the  Graduate Program Coordinator .  Never have any application materials sent directly to The Graduate School or their Office of Admission.

In all cases , our department's specifics regarding supplemental application materials supersede those listed on The Graduate School's website, as well as any listed in the application itself.  

Supplemental Application Materials

The English Department requires that the following documents be submitted as part of the online application for the PhD program (program code E25PH).  

• We cannot accept printouts of unofficial grade reports,
• Transcripts for non-degree courses are  not  needed,
• Transfer credits and courses taken as part of a study-abroad program will usually be included in your degree-awarding institution's transcript. There's no need to submit separate transcripts from those other institutions;
• Two letters of recommendation , though we strongly advise you to ask for three;
• An academic statement (1000 word max) answering the following questions: what are your academic interests, why do you wish to pursue graduate studies in our department, how has your academic and professional background prepared you for graduate study, and how will our program help you achieve your intellectual and professional goals? Please include mention of any research, training, or educational experiences you have that would be relevant to our program;
• A personal statement (500 word max)  addressing how , as a student in our graduate program, you could contribute to an intellectual community that prioritizes equity, inclusion, belonging, and cultural humility.  Your answer may draw upon past or present experiences, whether in academic work, extracurricular or community activities, or everyday life;
• It is not required, but feel free to submit an additional statement (250 word max) addressing concerns you may have with your application. If you feel that your academic credentials do not demonstrate your true capabilities, or if there are gaps in your academic career that you think it would  like to explain, this is the section in which to share that information;
• Please do not submit creative writing samples of any kind;
• Standard margins, Times New Roman 12 pt, double spaced;
• You may submit more than one sample, so long as the total page count does not exceed 25
• To be considered official, the exam must have been taken no more than two years prior to the intended September of entry ,
• Because of the level of English fluency required of students in our program, we will only consider applications with a TOEFL score of at least 100, or IELTS score of at least 7,
• Rules governing exemptions from this requirement can be found in our  FAQ ;
• Additional details from Northwestern's Graduate School about the application (including further details on the TOEFL/IELTS requirement, transcript submission, application fees, etc...) can be found on The Graduate School's website .

Comparative Literature

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Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature is one of the most dynamic and diverse in the country. Its impressive faculty has included such scholars as Harry Levine, Claudio Guillén, and Barbara Johnson. You will study literatures from a wide range of historical periods and cultures while learning to conduct cutting-edge research through an exhilarating scope of methods and approaches.

Your dissertation research is well supported by Harvard’s unparalleled library system, the largest university collection in the world, comprising 70 libraries with combined holdings of over 16 million items.

Recent student dissertations include “Imagined Mothers: The Construction of Italy, Ancient Greece, and Anglo-American Hegemony,” “The Untimely Avant-Garde: Literature, Politics and Transculturation in the Sinosphere (1909-2020),” and “Artificial Humanities: A Literary Perspective on Creating and Enhancing Humans from Pygmalion to Cyborgs.”

In addition to securing faculty positions at academic institutions such as Princeton University, Emory University, and Tufts University, graduates have gone on to careers in contiguous fields including the visual arts, music, anthropology, philosophy, and medicine.  Others have chosen alternative careers in film production, administration, journalism, and law.

 Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Comparative Literature and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Comparative Literature .

Writing Sample

The writing sample is supposed to demonstrate your ability to engage in literary criticism and/or theory. It can be a paper written for a course or a section of a senior thesis or essay. It is usually between 10 and 20 pages. Do not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt; you should edit the sample so that it is not more than 20 pages. Writing samples should be in English, although candidates are permitted to submit an additional writing sample written in a different language.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose should give the admissions committee a clear sense of your individual interests and strengths. Applicants are not required to indicate a precise field of specialization, but it is helpful to tell us about your aspirations and how the Department of Comparative Literature might help in attaining these goals. The statement of purpose should be one to four pages in length.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Not Accepted

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Comparative Literature

See list of Comparative Literature faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

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Doctor of Philosophy in Literature

Program description.

The graduate program in literature brings together scholars, creative writers and translators who share a commitment to transnational and interdisciplinary approaches to literary study and practice. The PhD in literature provides students with a flexible context in which to pursue research across a wide range of literary traditions, critical approaches and theoretical debates. In addition to coursework in literary studies, students have the opportunity to participate in creative writing and/or literary translation workshops as well as seminars in other disciplines, such as film studies, the history of ideas, philosophy and the visual and performing arts.

Students pursuing the PhD in literature may, if their coursework supports it, submit a translation or creative writing project as part of their dissertation.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program seek positions such as: teacher/educator, writer, editor, publisher, translator and critic. Career settings may include higher education, nonprofits, cultural and historical organizations, publishing houses, government agencies, international development organizations, museums and archives, business/corporate entities and independent consulting.

Marketable Skills

Review the marketable skills for this academic program.

Application Requirements

Visit the  Apply Now  webpage to begin the application process.  

Applicants to the Doctoral degree program should have:  

• A baccalaureate degree (BA or MA) or its equivalent from an accredited institution of higher education, normally in an arts and humanities field.  
• Letters of Recommendation: Applicants must submit 3 letters of recommendation from faculty, or other individuals, able to judge the candidate’s potential for success in the program.  
• Admissions Essay: Applicants must submit a 650-word narrative essay, which should be reflective rather than factual. The essay should address the applicant’s academic interests and goals and indicate how the program would enable such pursuits.  
• A writing sample: Submit an academic writing sample (e.g., a seminar paper or a critical essay). 
• International applicants must submit a TOEFL score of at least 80 on the internet-based test.  Scores must be less than two years old. See the  Graduate Catalog  for additional information regarding English proficiency requirements for international applicants.  
• Each application is considered holistically on its individual merits. You must submit all supporting documents before the Graduate Admissions Committee can review your application. 
• The Graduate Record Examination is not required. 

Deadline:  The application deadline is January 15. All applications completed by the deadline will be reviewed for admission. Applications submitted or completed after January 15 may be reviewed for admission only if spaces remain within the upcoming cohort and will be reviewed in order by the date the application file became complete.

Contact Information

Literature Graduate Programs Email: [email protected]

Dr. Charles Hatfield Associate Professor and Program Head Phone: 972-883-2780 Email: [email protected]

Graduate Advising Kelly Erb Phone: 972-883-6167 Email: [email protected]

Graduate Admissions Phone: 972-883-6176 Email: [email protected] Request Bass School Graduate Program Information

Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology The University of Texas at Dallas, JO31 800 W. Campbell Road Richardson, TX 75080-3021

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Ph.D. in Literature

General info.

• Faculty working with students: 16
• Students: 26
• Students receiving Financial Aid: 93%
• Part time study available: No
• Application terms: Fall
• Application deadline: November 30

Roberto Dainotto Director of Graduate Studies Program in Literature Duke University Box 90670 Durham, NC  27708-0670

Email: [email protected]

Website:  http://literature.duke.edu/

Program Description

The Graduate Program in Literature (GPL) endeavors to train future scholars in theory and global culture. Originally conceived as a critical expansion of "comparative literature" beyond its founding Eurocentrism and its (near) exclusive focus on literature and language, the GPL hosts a robust range of scholarship and teaching in a variety of areas, ranging from feminist and gender studies to political theory and Marxism, from psychoanalysis to cognitive studies and neuroscience, from philosophy of language and experimental literature to media studies in the digital age, and from global cinema and film theory to visual culture and postcolonial studies. The program defines itself through its diverse investment in theory and is dedicated to understanding literary and cultural history as a complex and evolving exchange between the past and the (future-oriented) present.

The immense geopolitical changes of the last decades have challenged the logic of the traditional disciplines, altered the status of the arts, and interrogated classical aesthetic values. With its broad and open-ended embrace of global cultural objects and processes, the GPL seeks to theorize the cultural upheaval of recent times in all of its contemporary richness.  By questioning the traditional conception of literature as a privileged cultural domain, and of the literary text as an isolatable aesthetic object, the GPL adopts a "post-textualist" approach to culture - including literature - that engages the profusion of diverse modes of production across received boundaries. We encourage our students to explore the connections between theory and innovations in other disciplines - anthropology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, art history, film and media, gender and sexuality studies, religious studies, the history and philosophy of science and technology, law - that share an investment in narrativity, structure, communication, and interpretation.

• Literature: PhD Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
• Literature: PhD Completion Rate Statistics
• Literature: PhD Time to Degree Statistics
• Literature: PhD Career Outcomes Statistics

Application Information

Application Terms Available:  Fall

Application Deadline:  November 30

Graduate School Application Requirements See the Application Instructions page for important details about each Graduate School requirement.

• Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts required with application submission; official transcripts required upon admission
• Letters of Recommendation: 3 Required
• Statement of Purpose: Required
• Résumé: Required
• GRE Scores: GRE General (Optional)
• English Language Exam: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test required* for applicants whose first language is not English *test waiver may apply for some applicants
• GPA: Undergraduate GPA calculated on 4.0 scale required

Department-Specific Application Requirements (submitted through online application)

Writing Sample The submission of a writing sample (limited to 15-25 pages) is required.  It should be an essay (nonfiction), preferably a critical or scholarly essay submitted as an academic requirement in a course related to literary/critical theory broadly understood.  The writing sample should be uploaded in the Departmental Requirements section of the application.

We strongly encourage you to review additional department-specific application guidance from the program to which you are applying: Departmental Application Guidance

List of Graduate School Programs and Degrees

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Ph.D. Overview

2023 virtual open house.

Wednesday, Sept. 6th, 2023

If you couldn't make it to our open house, you are welcome to review the presentation slides.  Much of the information exists on our website as well, but you might prefer the slide format.

Presentation Slides

The PhD in Literature at UCSD is a unique program that defies traditional disciplinary boundaries. We are committed to multilingual, interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching in literary/cultural studies, and the PhD in Literature brings together a community of scholars and teachers who challenge and cross borders of all kinds: borders between nations, between languages, and between traditional disciplines.

The organization of the Department of Literature is unusual in that it is neither a department of English nor a department of Comparative Literature as either is traditionally construed. Rather, from its beginning, the Literature Department at UCSD has aimed to be a department of world literatures and cultures, committed to multilingual approaches to literary history, cultural studies, and critical theory. This commitment includes the ambitious project of teaching and conducting research in Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Latin, Russian, and Spanish, as well as the study and practice of writing.

The PhD program in Literature has a long history of training transnational, comparative, unconventional, and theoretically-oriented scholars and teachers with an investment in social justice and educational access. We are proud of our alumni who have gone on to put their training to work in a wide variety of humanities careers, including as faculty members at community colleges, liberal-arts colleges, and research universities; as experts in social/educational policy and administration; and as artists, writers, and editors. As befits a multilingual and global program, our PhD alumni work in many countries around the world, including India, Egypt, Taiwan, South Korea, Austria, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Vietnam.

Doctoral Programs Ranked Highly

Prerequisites for ph.d. program.

• Minimum 3.0 GPA
• TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE Academic score (for international applicants)
• Working knowledge of a second language and its literature
• 25 page writing sample (minimum) - multiple samples totaling at least 25 pages acceptable
• 3 letters of recommendation (minimum)
• Guidelines for Applying
• Application FAQ - Page 1
• Application FAQ - Page 2
• Application FAQ - Page 3
• Sections & Areas of Concentration

Comparative Literature (Ph.D.)

Our graduate program is recognized as one of the leading Comparative Literature programs in the country. The Department is a vibrant place for the research and study of literatures and cultures in an interdisciplinary framework, from transnational and cross‐cultural perspectives. Our faculty and graduate students develop new historical and theoretical frameworks, and rethink those we have inherited, opening new perspectives on social and cultural forms and relations.

Comparative Literature provides students with tools for engaging, analyzing, and interpreting texts; and for writing, editing, translating, and thinking across disciplinary and national boundaries. Our graduates take up various literary traditions, historical periods and genres, modalities, forms, and contexts, from, for example, Latin American concrete poetry, to discourses of political and race theory, to Yiddish experimental fiction. The Department offers rigorous training in numerous areas that highlight the expertise of our internationally recognized faculty, including Classics, East Asian Literatures and Arts, English, French, German, Italian, Hebrew Studies, Hispanophone Literatures, and Slavic Literatures and Cultures, as well as Critical Theory, Early Modern and Renaissance Studies, Film and Media, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Performance Studies, Comparative Poetry and Poetics, and Postcolonial Theory.

Learn more.

• Graduate Programs topic page
• Ph.D. Programs topic page

Comparative Literature Graduate Program

The Ph.D. program in Comparative Literature is committed to providing students the resources and training needed to successfully complete a challenging and rewarding intellectual project. By "resources" we mean not only formal classes, libraries, and financial support in various forms, but also an open community of scholars and learners, both within Comparative Literature and the broader Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL), and also across a rich array of other departments, schools, and interdisciplinary programs, and tapping into our vibrant Stanford Humanities Center and its global online platform, ARCADE. The size of our graduate student community is small, which facilitates interpersonal dialogue and conversation. 

By "training" we mean formal classes on pedagogy, a regular and year-long colloquium where students present and discuss each others' work, close work with mentors and advisors, and workshops on topics suggested by both faculty and students. Finally, by "success" we mean not only satisfying departmental and university requirements, but more importantly achieving a sense of personal fulfillment at completing an original and creative exploration of a question of importance to the student.

Comparative Literature at Stanford believes in the importance of linguistic skills in at least three languages, deep historical thinking, and an understanding of the main currents of literary criticism and theory, past and present, and with an eye on emergent knowledge that may embrace fields outside of traditional literary studies. Our faculty includes specialists in Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, English, Hebrew, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and covering broad historical periods. We have a particularly well-established program in Philosophy and Literature, and welcome interdisciplinary projects that involve areas such as film studies, gender studies, studies in race and ethnicity, environmental studies, human rights, and other topics.

At base, the Ph.D. program is designed for students whose linguistic background, breadth of interest in literature, and curiosity about the problems of literary scholarship and theory (including the relation of literature to other disciplines) make this program more appropriate to their needs than the Ph.D. in one of the individual literatures. Students take courses in at least three literatures (one may be that of the native language), to be studied in the original. The program is designed to encourage familiarity with the major approaches to literary study prevailing today.

Before starting graduate work at Stanford, students should have completed an undergraduate program with a strong background in one literature and some work in a second literature studied in the original language. Since the program demands an advanced knowledge of two non-native languages and a reading knowledge of a third non-native language, students should at the time of application have an advanced enough knowledge of one of the three to take graduate-level courses in that language when they enter the program. They should be making enough progress in the study of a second language to enable them to take graduate courses in that language not later than the beginning of the second year, and earlier if possible. Language courses at the 100- or 200- level may be taken with approval from the Director of the department. Applicants are expected to take an intensive course in the third language before entrance.

The Ph.D. minor is designed for students working toward the Ph.D. in the various national literature departments. Students working toward the Ph.D. in English are directed to the program in English and Comparative Literature described among the Department of English offerings.

For more detailed information on our program, please see the corresponding pages in the Stanford Bulletin :

• Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature
• Doctor of Philosophy Minor in Comparative Literature

Graduate Program Application Details

My experience in the Comparative Literature Ph.D. program was filled with intellectual exploration, learning new skills, and amazing mentorship in both research and teaching. Also, having had scholars from other departments to talk through my ideas and my professional plans, especially in ILAC and History, was instrumental for my success in pursuing the career I wanted.

Russell Berman Director of Comparative Literature Pigott Hall, Bldg 260, Rm 201 (650) 723-1069 berman [at] stanford.edu (berman[at]stanford[dot]edu)

John Giammalva In Memoriam, Student Services Manager Pigott Hall, Bldg 260, Rm 127 (650) 279-3630 dlclstudentservices [at] stanford.edu (dlclstudentservices[at]stanford[dot]edu)

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Comparative Literature, PhD

The Ph.D. Program in Comparative Literature covers the study of narrative, poetry, representation and cultural history.  The Program enables students to engage rigorously with critical theory.  We draw our faculty from many disciplines: the languages and literary histories of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, East Asia, and South Asia: history, art history, religion; anthropology; folklore; political science; Africana studies; Jewish studies; Gender and Sexuality studies; sociology; communications.

We provide a structured and challenging program in which graduate students can combine the careful study of a particular literary tradition with interests in other languages and disciplinary approaches. The broad interests that our students bring to their projects include the history of philosophy, film and media studies, technology and the history of science, and area studies. Students work in varied historical periods, from antiquity and the Middle Ages to the postmodern, and in diverse language fields. Proficiency in two languages is required for graduation (English excluded).

Comparative Literature at Penn has a dynamic intellectual community.  Our signature event is our public colloquium series, Theorizing, which is organized primarily by the graduate students.  Our students and faculty are active participants in the many interdisciplinary lecture and seminar series at Penn, including the Medieval-Renaissance Seminar, the History of Material Texts Seminar, the Wolf Humanities Center, the Latitudes Seminar, and several student reading groups.

For more information: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/Complit/graduate.htm

View the University’s Academic Rules for PhD Programs .

Sample Plan of Study

The total course units required for graduation is 14.

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2023 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

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PHD PROGRAM

in English and American Literature

The graduate program in English and American literature at Washington University in St. Louis is innovative, collegial, competitive, and generously funded, offering one of the top financial packages in the nation. All incoming students receive full tuition scholarships plus ample living stipends for six years. Our faculty includes Guggenheim Fellows, winners of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Curious as to what our faculty are working on? Check out our faculty's areas of expertise. A participant in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate, we exemplify an integrated community of scholars and writers, and are home to one of the top ten MFA programs in the U.S. 

Building on our many interests, we sponsor multiple reading groups , regular faculty and student colloquia, and an extensive lecture series. The Hurst Visiting Professorship brings multiple distinguished creative and critical voices to the department each year for public lectures and small workshops. Recent Hurst Professors have included Charles Altieri, Rita Copeland, Peter Coviello, Jed Esty, Rita Felski, Carla Kaplan, James Longenbach, Jerome McGann, Charles Taylor, Daniel Vitkus, and Michael Wood.

While our program is rooted in the materials of literary history, from medieval to contemporary, interdisciplinarity is more than aspirational.  Certificate programs  connect students to multiple departments and initiatives, building on the resources of the broader community. We believe that a strong intellectual community is fostered by concrete working relationships between professors and students and offer collaborative teaching opportunities with experienced faculty. After two years spent solely on coursework, research, and writing, students begin mentored teaching experiences in one course per term. Tailored to student interests, these experiences offer careful pedagogical attention in writing and literature courses, with the option of professional internships and training. At the end of the program, Ph.D. students spend a final year without teaching focused on finishing their dissertation and entering the job market.

Program Requirements

Courses & requirements.

Explore the timeline and requirements for the PhD in English and American Literature as well as the Combined PhD in English and Comparative Literature.

Admissions Information & FAQ

Interested in applying? Learn more about the admissions requirements, funding and fellowships, teaching and training, and other frequently asked questions.

Special Collections

Perhaps the most important resource for graduate students outside of the English Department is the University's  Special Collections Department , home to a first-rate archive of twentieth-century writers' manuscripts and other papers.  The Modern Literary Manuscripts Collection  focuses on the careers of 125 major literary figures including Samuel Beckett, Howard Nemerov, Stanley Elkin, William Gass, Mona Van Duyn, William Gaddis, and the world's most complete holding of writings by and about the American poet James Merrill. Taken as a whole, the collection consists of more than a quarter of a million manuscript items, correspondence, and ephemera, thousands of photographs, scores of unique audio-taped readings from the 1950s onward, and numerous videotaped readings. The Special Collections Department also coordinates occasional exhibitions of collected authors' papers, such as the 2000 exhibition  "James Merrill: Other Writings,"  which included essays and related Merrill scholarship from several English department graduate students.

Interdisciplinary Research

The department encourages interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary work in addition to the regular interdisciplinary course offerings. Various centers on campus, such as the Center for the Humanities , the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics , and the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Equity , bring together scholars from a wide range of backgrounds and interests with programs, lectures, seminars, and colloquia. Meanwhile, programs such as Early Modern Studies,  American Culture Studies  and  Women and Gender Studies  draw from across the university. Students regularly have professors on their dissertation committees from multiple departments. These opportunities are just a few of the many ways that our students cross paths with esteemed scholars and fellow graduate students from other disciplines.

In addition to its many interdisciplinary programs and centers, the university offers several graduate certificates aimed specifically at encouraging and enhancing interdisciplinary study. The certificates give students additional qualifications in a second area. Beyond Early Modern Studies, American Culture Studies, and Women and Gender Studies—all of which have their own certificate programs—we also offer graduate certificates in Film and Media Studies (Program in Film and Media Studies),  Translation Studies (Program in Comparative Literature), and  Data Science in the Humanities  (Humanities Digital Workshop). For more information, contact the programs involved directly or contact the Director Graduate Studies in English.

Recent Dissertations

Curious to explore what our research our recent alumni have completed? 

Explore PhD Dissertations

Careers & Outcomes

Learn more about our job placement and career outcomes for recent alumni.

Graduate Student Resources

Graduate Student Organizations

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Graduate Student Handbook

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Life in St. Louis

A culturally diverse and exciting city, St. Louis is one of the most affordable and livable major metropolitan centers in the United States. Perhaps the greatest surprise to visitors and newcomers is just how green are our neighborhoods. One rarely goes more than two or three city blocks without finding an attractive and welcoming park in which to stroll, run, bike, or rollerblade. In addition, with affordable housing, excellent restaurants, numerous sporting events, and varied cultural activities, St. Louis is one of the most pleasant American cities in which to live and to work.

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COMPARATIVE LITERARY STUDIES PROGRAM

The PhD program in Comparative Literary Studies (CLS) at Northwestern provides students with rigorous training in several literary traditions, critical theory, and the methodology of comparative literature. Our program offers an interdisciplinary approach to comparative literature and opportunities for students to study internationally; attend conferences and colloquia; teach; and work collaboratively with faculty and students.

All students admitted to our PhD program are also admitted into a home department . The purpose of placing students in a home department is twofold: the departments provide professional training and accreditation in widely recognized fields of scholarship; and they prepare comparative literature students for academic positions in these fields. If admitted, CLS students complete certain requirements of the home department.

Departments currently functioning as home departments for graduate students in the CLS program are:

• Asian Languages and Cultures
• English  (including interest in African American literature)
• French and Italian
• Slavic Languages and Literatures
• Spanish and Portuguese
• Middle East and North African Studies
• Radio Television and Film (RTVF)
• Rhetoric and Public Culture

To learn more about our PhD program, please visit the following pages:

• Requirements
• Interdisciplinary Cluster Initiative
• Course Offerings
• Meet our  Current students
• Meet our Faculty

Graduate Program

Our graduate program is recognized as one of the leading Comparative Literature programs in the country. The Department is a vibrant place for the research and study of literatures and cultures in an interdisciplinary framework, from transnational and cross‐cultural perspectives. Our faculty and graduate students develop new historical and theoretical frameworks, and rethink those we have inherited, opening new perspectives on social and cultural forms and relations.

Comparative Literature provides students with tools for engaging, analyzing, and interpreting texts; and for writing, editing, translating, and thinking across disciplinary and national boundaries. Our graduates take up various literary traditions, historical periods and genres, modalities, forms, and contexts, from, for example, Latin American concrete poetry, to discourses of political and race theory, to Yiddish experimental fiction. The Department offers rigorous training in numerous areas that highlight the expertise of our internationally recognized faculty, including Classics, East Asian Literatures and Arts, English, French, German, Italian, Hebrew Studies, Hispanophone Literatures, and Slavic Literatures and Cultures, as well as Critical Theory, Early Modern and Renaissance Studies, Film and Media, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Performance Studies, Comparative Poetry and Poetics, and Postcolonial Theory.

Graduate students in our program are able to pursue rigorous research in a variety of literary and cultural fields, undertake team‐based projects, participate in discussions about political, aesthetic, and social issues, and develop a nuanced cross‐cultural understanding of historical and social processes. Many graduate students present and publish scholarly writings in the most prestigious venues, as well as producing translations, literary writings, or works of theater. (Recent graduates have twice won the PEN Center's Translation Prize since 2016.) All our students work closely with leading scholars in their fields in small seminars that coordinate individual and collective work. Students also participate in the Designated Emphasis Programs on campus, including Critical Theory, New Media Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Jewish Studies, Medieval Studies, and Renaissance and Early Modern Studies. Students have opportunities to design and team teach courses on topics of interest to them. Comparative Literature students form a well‐integrated community, and also have access to the resources of the entire Berkeley campus, including departments, programs, and faculty; in fact, our program requires that students take seminars in other departments for interdisciplinary training. Our department has one of the most successful placement records of any program in the U.S. or internationally. Our doctoral graduates have become prominent Comparative Literature and national literature faculty across the country and internationally.

• Resources for Prospective Graduate Students
• Program Requirements
• How to Apply
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MA/PhD in English Language and Literature

Program Overview

Our MA/PhD in English Language and Literature is an integrated program that allows students to earn an MA on the way to the PhD. We do not admit students for a terminal MA degree. The program receives over 250 applications of admission each year and typically enrolls an entering class of 10-14 students, all of whom receive funding.   

The MA/PhD program offers two tracks: one in Literature and Culture, the other in Language and Rhetoric. Within each track, students will develop individualized programs of study in close consultation with faculty mentors. Intellectually, there is substantial connection between work in these areas of the department: faculty teaching in the Language and Rhetoric track are certainly thinking about matters of culture, just as faculty teaching in Literature and Culture clearly attend to the nature and politics of language. Students in either track can and do take courses in the other.

However, these two tracks offer distinct forms of professional training and accreditation: students in the Literature and Culture track are trained to conduct research and to teach in literary and cultural studies (e.g., in fields such as Victorian literature, ecocritism, or contemporary speculative fiction). Students in the Language and Rhetoric track are trained to conduct research and to teach in areas broadly related to language-in-use (e.g., in fields such as composition studies, rhetoric, history of English, applied linguistics, literacy, and writing pedagogy). Their research might study practices in the composition classroom or might address topics in discourse analysis, language policy, and translingualism. On completion of the PhD, Literature and Culture students are qualified to apply for jobs teaching in their area of literary or cultural study; students in Language and Rhetoric are qualified to apply for jobs in rhetoric and composition studies, applied linguistics, or writing program administration. When applying to the program, applicants must choose between these two tracks and may not apply to both simultaneously.

Department faculty work across a range of historical periods (Medieval, Early Modern, 19 th , 20 th , and 21 st centuries) and methodological frameworks with a focus on the study of discourse, literacy, textuality, genre (including speculative fiction and SF), gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, postcoloniality, indigeneity, disability, environment, media, and public culture. For a fuller snapshot of the work we do, please consult our faculty profiles . 

Application Information

Application materials are due December 1. (If December 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the deadline is the following Monday.)  Offers of admission are usually made by mid-March.  

• How to Apply
• Application Checklist

For frequently asked questions, please see our  MA/PhD FAQ  page. 

Funding Opportunities

We offer a funding package to all admitted MA/PhD students. The funding package includes a tuition waiver, health insurance, and a monthly stipend during the academic year through an Academic Student Employee position. In general, duties include teaching one English class, assisting in a large lecture and leading quiz sections, or assisting in program administration.

PhD students also have opportunities to compete for fellowships and scholarships offered through the Department of English.

• Check out our other Funding Opportunities

MA/PhD Degree Requirements

MA/PhD degree requirements can be found here: PhD Degree Requirements .

Students who enter our PhD program without a related master’s degree will be required to complete an MA in the first two years. More information can be found here:  MA/PhD Degree Requirements: Master's Degree .

Placement & Alumni

A recent survey of our graduates from 2008-2018 showed the following employment rates:

• 43% in tenure-track positions
• 43% in other academic positions (not tenure-track)
• 8% in professional careers

Dissertation abstracts from recent graduates can be found here: Graduate Research .

Check out our  PhD Alumni Spotlight page where recent alumni have shared their current job placements, highlights from their time at UW, and advice for current and prospective students. 

Contact an advisor

• We welcome questions and correspondence from prospective graduate students at  [email protected]
• Meet our Graduate Staff
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Ph.D. Program

The graduate program in Comparative Literature at Penn State offers a 5-year Ph.D.-only Program. Students must hold an M.A. in Comparative Literature or related field(s) (whether from Penn State or from other universities) to enter the 5-year PhD–only program.

Students entering the graduate program who hold an M.A. degree in Comparative Literature or a related field(s) may be selected to enter the 5-year Ph.D.-only admission track.

The total credits required for the 5-year program are 33. The program consists of course work, a candidacy examination, a demonstration of language proficiency, a comprehensive examination, and a dissertation—in that order.

Ph.D. course work is in addition to courses used to satisfy M.A. requirements. It includes

• 10 required credits in Comparative Literature  are required: CMLIT 501 (3 credits), 502 (3 credits), and 503 (3 credits); and CMLIT 602 (1 credit). (If these courses have been taken in the student’s master’s program, other Comparative Literature courses are substituted.)
• Additional credits to satisfy the requirements appropriate to the program (up to 33 for the five-year program, and 48 for the six-year program). Some courses should focus on the languages and literatures that will be the subject of the student’s dissertation, and his or her major professional field(s).

Students should organize their coursework around an identifiable unifying principle, such as a genre, period, or theme, or a specific, well-defined problem involving literature and another discipline, or literary theory and criticism.

Students in the 6-year pattern take the candidacy exam and the comprehensive exam; they also prepare an M.A. paper in accordance with the guidelines specified for the M.A. degree.  This paper requirement should be met by the fourth semester of the program. Students in the 5-year program do not do an M.A. paper.

To meet university requirements for an M.A., by the end of the first two years, 18 or more credits must be at 500 levels or above.  The usual expectation is that all, or nearly all, courses in the 5-year program will be at that level.

Doctoral work requires graduate-level study in three languages. One of these languages may be English. The choice of languages depends on the student’s intellectual development and program of study, and is made in consultation with the advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. Some students find that their areas of interest will require the acquisition of additional languages during their doctoral program. Graduates of our doctoral program have tended to concentrated on literatures in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. Work in the medieval literatures of some of these languages (for example, Old French) is also common.

The foreign language requirement can be fulfilled in three ways:

• A grade of B or better in an intermediate- or advanced-level foreign language or literature course at Penn State.
• Successful performance on an examination administered by a Comparative Literature department faculty (or faculty in other Liberal Arts departments) with competence in the language.
• A waiver granted by the Graduate Committee for bilingual students, native speakers, or students whose academic records otherwise demonstrate competence (e.g., an undergraduate major or minor).

Working with their advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies, students should in their first year establish a clear plan for fulfilling the foreign language requirement during their time of study.

During the second year of coursework, students prepare for the PhD candidacy exam, which consists of written and oral portions.  The purpose of the exam is to determine whether the student should continue to work toward the Ph.D., and if so, to plan the doctoral program. It must be taken early in the Ph.D. program, so this decision can be made before either the department or the student has made an extensive commitment. Working with the Director of Graduate Studies, students select an advisor and form faculty committees to administer the exam.

During the final year of coursework, students take a Comprehensive Exam in consultation with their doctoral committee, which prepares, conducts, and evaluates the exam.   The comprehensive exam has two parts. The first part is a written exam based on three reading lists in the student’s fields of study, followed by a discussion of the written exam with the doctoral committee. The second part consists of an oral exam based on the dissertation prospectus.

The first part of the exam measures the student’s mastery of his/her field(s) of study. It serves two purposes: first, to prepare the student as a prospective teacher in his/her field(s) of study; and secod, to develop the necessary historical, literary, theoretical, and critical knowledge and thinking skills that will help the student determine a dissertation topic and compose a dissertation prospectus. The second part of the exam is dedicated to discussing the dissertation prospectus.

The final oral examination (“defense”) concentrates on, but is not necessarily limited to, the dissertation’s subject. It is conducted by the candidate’s dissertation committee. A complete draft of the dissertation must be made available to the committee at least two weeks before the scheduled defense. Immediately following the defense, the doctoral committee meets to discuss the quality of the written and oral components of the dissertation, to make the decision of pass or fail, and to determine the revisions, if any, to be undertaken before they will approve the dissertation. Dissertations judged by the committee to be of superior quality are awarded departmental distinction. The student and the dissertation chairperson should plan a calendar of progress that will allow adequate time for the final draft to be read within the department and revised, if necessary, before it is due at the Graduate School. In some cases (for example, if a member of the committee is out of town), it may be necessary to allow more time.

Each student works with an individually appointed doctoral committee of faculty members. The composition of the committee, the nucleus of which is usually the same group of faculty that has administered the candidacy exam, is subject to the approval of the Graduate Director and to the regulations of the Graduate School, which officially appoints these individual committees for each doctoral student. At least four Penn State members are needed. The major field (CMLIT) must be represented by at least two members of the department. The committee also includes a faculty member whose field of interest is different from that of the candidate, and a faculty member whose home department is outside CMLIT (these may or may not be the same). The doctoral minor or dual-title degree program (if any) must have representation on the committee. A CMLIT faculty member must be chair or co-chair.

Comparative Literature offers dual-title PhD programs in  Comparative Literature and African Studies ,  Comparative Literature and Asian Studies ,  Comparative Literature and Visual Studies , and  Comparative Literature and Women’s Studies .

Dual-title degree programs give students a solid grounding in the fundamental methods and background of a single discipline, while allowing the student’s work to be extended through participation in an interdisciplinary program that connects students to faculty across the university, allow them to do creative, high-level scholarship, and make them compelling candidates on the academic job market. Students are admitted first to their primary department (Comparative Literature) and then to the second field. Students take coursework in both programs and have representatives of both programs on their committees.  They may also have teaching opportunities in both programs. 

To apply for a dual-title PhD, you need simply to indicate on your application that you wish to be considered for acceptance into a dual-title degree program.

A formal doctoral minor requires 15 credits of approved coursework. A representative of the minor (from a participating department other than the student’s home department) must be included on the student’s doctoral committee. Students interested in minors should notify the Graduate Director and their advisor, to discuss the feasibility of fitting in the minor, and then approach the department of the minor field in order to ascertain specific course requirements.

Doctoral Minor in Literary Theory, Criticism, and Aesthetics .  Students in Comparative Literature and in other disciplines may choose to take a minor in literary theory, criticism, and aesthetics, which is administered jointly by Philosophy and Comparative Literature.

The minor strengthens the training of students in literature and in related fields by providing a coherent philosophical and theoretical basis for their advanced work. It also provides an interdisciplinary context for their doctoral program. A core of 6 credits exposes students to literary theory and criticism (through either CMLIT 502 or 503) and to aesthetics or interpretation theory (through either PHIL 409 or 516).

In addition to the minor in criticism, theory, and aesthetics, other minors may be useful. The minor in women’s studies has been especially popular. Minors may also be taken in fields such as geography, history, anthropology, philosophy, theatre, or marketing. When a minor is undertaken, a representative of the minor field is included on the student’s doctoral committee, and some aspect or methodology of the minor subject must be present in the dissertation.

Admission to graduate study in Comparative Literature at Penn State is based on a number of considerations. Above all we seek intellectually curious, highly motivated students whose interests suggest a good fit with our departmental strengths. We welcome well-qualified applicants from diverse backgrounds.

We are often asked what our committee looks for and the truth is that there is no standard formula. Above all we look for intellectual engagement and scholarly commitment. The graduate committee that evaluates applicants seeks evidence of intellectual promise, openness to new ideas and methods, capacity for original scholarship, the ability to think critically and to write clearly, and potential for professional success. Of obvious importance for scholars who will work across cultures is appropriate language preparation. Research plans that are in synch with our areas of expertise are also of importance. We do not consider GRE scores.

For full funding consideration, completed applications should be submitted by  January 5 . We will continue to accept applications on rolling basis thereafter; however, those who apply by  January 5  will have the best opportunity for support.

We recognize that the vast majority of graduate students require financial assistance to complete their studies. We admit students with multi-year funding packages that include both a stipend and a tuition grant-in-aid. No separate application for financial aid or graduate assistantship is required.

Your application to Comparative Literature at Penn State consists of two groups of items:

A.   Items that are provided through the on-line Graduate School Application Portal.

If you are ready to proceed to the application but have NOT read the Graduate School requirements (included application fee information) please visit that website at  http://www.gradschool.psu.edu/index.cfm/prospective-students/requirements/ .

If you have read the Graduate School and program requirements and are ready to apply, you may proceed to the application at  http://www.gradschool.psu.edu/index.cfm/apply/ .

This on-line process includes the following items which you will input or upload:

• Transcripts.  Applicants are required to electronically upload copies of transcripts (or equivalent documents for institutions outside the U.S., e.g., degree/study certificates, diplomas, etc.) from all post-secondary institutions attended, in the language of instruction (and copies of an official English translation if English is not the language of instruction).  Applicants recommended for admission who accept an offer through the online graduate admission system will be notified by the Graduate School that official/original transcripts/documents must be sent from the originating institutions in the official language of the institution(s) attended (and if the language of instruction is not English, an official English translation must also be sent).  The Graduate School will review all official documents to finalize the offer of admission.  An offer of admission will be revoked if official/original documents are not received by the Graduate School within specified deadlines, or if official/original documents differ from the copies uploaded by the applicant prior to the offer of admission.  For applicants whose degree conferral is in progress at the time of uploading copies, the deadline specified for receipt of official/original documents will allow for the passage of the reported date of degree conferral, and that conferral must be confirmed on the official/original documents received by the Graduate School, in order for the offer of admission to be finalized.
• Self-reporting of   ETS Scores :  TOEFL   scores  are required of applicants who do not hold prior degrees from institutions where the language of instruction is English. These are self-reported in your online application, with official scores submitted to the department of Comparative Literature at Penn State through the normal mechanisms of the agencies that administer these tests. Use institution code 2660. We do not consider GRE scores.
• Sample of your written work , preferably an essay on literature. 
• Statement of purpose.   The statement of purpose should include information on a) your education and other relevant background, including teaching experience or other activities that have prepared you for graduate work in Comparative Literature; b) your research interests; c) your language skills and their application to your research interests; d) your reasons for considering graduate work in Comparative Literature, especially your interest in our specific program.  
• A C.V. or resumé.
• Three Letters of Reference.  We do not require a specific form for recommenders. You input your recommenders’ information on the application and they will be sent an email asking them to upload their letter directly.

B. Items sent directly to our department:

• Official   ETS Scores :  TOEFL  scores  are required of applicants who do not hold prior degrees from institutions where the language of instruction is English. These are self-reported in your online application, with official scores submitted to the department of Comparative Literature at Penn State through the normal mechanisms of the agencies that administer these tests.

Applicants are instructed to request that TOEFL scores be sent to Penn State  electronically .  MAT scores are only available in hard copy, so those scores should be sent by postal mail directly from Pearson to Penn State.

IELTS and MAT scores should be mailed to:

The Pennsylvania State University Graduate Enrollment Services 114 Kern Building University Park, PA  16802

We encourage you to get to know our faculty, graduate student cohort, and program thoroughly before applying.

Our program is committed to fostering an intellectually vibrant and international environment at the university.  Fully half the students in Comparative Literature come to Penn State from universities outside the United States. We have extensive experience working with, and training, students whose native language is not English, and in preparing them to succeed as scholars, either in the United States or abroad.         

We do not consider GRE scores. The TOEFL test is instead a requirement for admission. While we do take test scores into consideration, the graduate committee that evaluates applicants seeks evidence of intellectual promise, the ability to think critically and to write clearly, the capacity for original scholarship, and openness to new ideas and methods.

Because we admit only 3-5 students a year, we are able to offer an innovative and flexible curriculum that allows students to design individualized programs of study tailored to their interests. We aim to produce accomplished, serious intellectuals and scholars who are ready to become college or university professors, or to use the skills and training they receive at Penn State in other capacities and other professions.

First-year students go through a semester-long course, CMLIT 501, that introduces them to the fundamental interpretive, research, and writing skills of the discipline. We continue to work with students on research and writing, not only in coursework, but also through our Writing Fellowship Program. The WFP offers $4,000 in summer salary, and $1,000 in research support, to up to five students a year. Students in the program attend writing workshops and do independent studies with faculty members as they spend 9-12 months working on an article to be submitted for publication in a scholarly journal. Preference for the WFP is normally given to students in their second year of study, but all students are eligible.

When it comes time to go on the academic job market, all our students receive extensive support. We work with students to craft letters, CVs, and other important documents; we also run mock interviews and mock job talks to prepare our job candidates to do their best in Skype interviews, at the MLA, or on campus.

The department provides a comprehensive support program for helping students prepare themselves for a successful job search. Throughout the graduate program, our faculty offers substantial career mentoring and advice on how to develop strong credentials, including planning for professional development from the start of a student’s graduate career.

Of our PhD graduates from the past ten years (2002-2012), 85% currently hold full-time academic positions, of which roughly two thirds are tenure-track. In the United States, institutions that have hired our graduates include research universities such as Carnegie Mellon, Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, the University of Illinois, the University of Minnesota, the University of Nebraska, the University of Utah, and Rochester Institute of Technology, as well as liberal arts colleges such as Bay Path, Bennington, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Nicolette, Reed, Smith, Stockton, Vassar, the University of Dubuque, and Shawnee State University. In a testament to the global focus of our graduate program, our students have also successfully found employment around the world; recent graduates currently teach at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Tsinghua University in China; the Universität Bielefeld in Germany; El Colegio de México; Prague Metropolitan University in the Czech Republic; the University of Athens in Greece; Dogus University in Turkey; Tokyo Gakugei University in Japan, and the American University of Central Asia in the Kyrgyz Republic, among other international universities.

Literature Graduate Programs in America

1-19 of 19 results

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences - New York University

New York, NY •

New York University •

Graduate School

• • Rating 4.8 out of 5   10 reviews

Master's Student: I am enrolled specifically in the Magazine concentration. My professors have all been helpful with helping me succeed and are willing to stay back to go over something I don't understand. There are multiple points of resources at this program. A director is your main academic advisor. Aside from that, there is a pitch specialist to assist with freelancing and two wonderful career advisors. They help with setting up mingle sessions, job fairs, and internship talks. As of now, I haven't had bad experiences, however, I will say that the program is expensive and is an awkward three semesters. Those two things aren't ideal, however, its not too much of a dealbreaker. ... Read 10 reviews

New York University ,

Graduate School ,

NEW YORK, NY ,

10 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I am enrolled specifically in the Magazine concentration. My professors have all been helpful with helping me succeed and are willing to stay back to go over something I don't understand. There are... .

Read 10 reviews.

University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences

Seattle, WA •

University of Washington •

University of Washington ,

SEATTLE, WA ,

College of Arts and Humanities - University of Maryland

College Park, MD •

University of Maryland - College Park •

University of Maryland - College Park ,

COLLEGE PARK, MD ,

UC San Diego Division of Arts and Humanities

La Jolla, CA •

University of California - San Diego •

University of California - San Diego ,

LA JOLLA, CA ,

College of Arts and Sciences - American University

Washington, DC •

American University •

Blue checkmark.

American University ,

WASHINGTON, DC ,

College of Humanities and Social Sciences - George Mason University

Arlington, VA •

George Mason University •

George Mason University ,

ARLINGTON, VA ,

• Find college scholarships

Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art

The Catholic University of America •

The Catholic University of America ,

University of North Dakota College of Arts & Sciences

Grand Forks, ND •

University of North Dakota •

University of North Dakota ,

GRAND FORKS, ND ,

Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities

Boston, MA •

Simmons University •

Simmons University ,

BOSTON, MA ,

College of Social Sciences, Policy, and Practice - Simmons University

• • Rating 4.36 out of 5   14 reviews

Current Doctoral student: I like to choose this school because advanced online program in field of clinical social work and experienced scholars. ... Read 14 reviews

14 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Current Doctoral student says I like to choose this school because advanced online program in field of clinical social work and experienced scholars. .

Read 14 reviews.

Hofstra University's School of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts

Hempstead, NY •

Hofstra University •

Hofstra University ,

HEMPSTEAD, NY ,

College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences - Gannon University

Gannon University •

Gannon University ,

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• Rhetoric and Composition Graduate Programs
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Mills College at Northeastern University Graduate Programs

Oakland, CA •

Mills College at Northeastern University •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   2 reviews

Alum: I did a Post Baccalaureate in Pre-Medicine and the instructors and advisors were top-notch. I learned a lot and did very well. Highly recommend although they have been taken over by another school Northwestern they are still a great school and campus! ... Read 2 reviews

Mills College at Northeastern University ,

OAKLAND, CA ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says I did a Post Baccalaureate in Pre-Medicine and the instructors and advisors were top-notch. I learned a lot and did very well. Highly recommend although they have been taken over by another school... .

Read 2 reviews.

School of Arts and Sciences - CUNY Hunter College

CUNY Hunter College •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   5 reviews

Master's Student: The teachers are highly engaged with student development but are working filmmakers themselves which is not only inspiring but so helpful for the quality of our education. ... Read 5 reviews

CUNY Hunter College ,

5 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says The teachers are highly engaged with student development but are working filmmakers themselves which is not only inspiring but so helpful for the quality of our education. .

Read 5 reviews.

College of Liberal Arts - University of Central Oklahoma

Edmond, OK •

University of Central Oklahoma •

University of Central Oklahoma ,

EDMOND, OK ,

Clarks Summit University

Clarks Summit, PA •

Niche User: The academics at this school are amazing! I feel so prepared to enter into the field of counseling because of how this school has equipped me through their academics. The academics were engaging and challenging. I will be a better counselor because of it. ... Read 2 reviews

CLARKS SUMMIT, PA ,

Featured Review: Niche User says The academics at this school are amazing! I feel so prepared to enter into the field of counseling because of how this school has equipped me through their academics. The academics were engaging and... .

College of Arts and Sciences - Eastern Michigan University

Ypsilanti, MI •

Eastern Michigan University •

Eastern Michigan University ,

YPSILANTI, MI ,

College of Arts and Humanities - Central Washington University

Ellensburg, WA •

Central Washington University •

Central Washington University ,

ELLENSBURG, WA ,

Center for Advanced Studies On Puerto Rico & the Caribbean

San Juan, PR •

SAN JUAN, PR ,

Showing results 1 through 19 of 19

The Department of Comparative Literature

(Above image: Mario Vargas Llosa. Faculty expert, Efrain Kristal)

The Department of Comparative Literature offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Comparative Literature. The department only admits students with the objective of the Ph.D. degree.

PH.D. IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Standing at the forefront of innovative work in literary, theoretical, and cultural studies, comparative literature is one of the most exciting fields in the humanities. As a discipline it requires exceptional linguistic ability, theoretical knowledge, and high intellectual caliber. UCLA’s program offers students the opportunity to work with faculty members in any of the University’s language and literature departments as well as with the Department of Comparative Literature faculty.

THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Comparative Literature at UCLA is interdisciplinary and multilingual in scope. The Department is committed to continuing its pioneering work in defining new literary paradigms and fostering new directions for exploration in literary studies, including such areas as:

• The relationship between translation and transnationalism
• Literary theory and emerging media
• The future of national literatures in an era of globalization, gender and sexuality studies
• East-West cultural encounters
• Human rights and global censorship
• Postcolonial and diaspora studies
• Experimental approaches to literature and culture

Courses are designed to provide Ph.D. students with both a historical and theoretical understanding of literary and cultural forms, themes, and movements. For a complete list of offerings visit the Courses page.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Students in the Ph.D. in Comparative Literature program have the opportunity to serve as Teaching Apprentices after their first year of doctoral study. Teaching apprenticeships are awarded on the basis of merit.

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Graduate Student Research

The Department of English at the University of Pittsburgh allows students to focus on Children's Literature and Childhood Studies (CLCS) as part of our PhD Program in English. Drawing on Pitt’s nationally-renowned faculty in Children’s Literature and Culture, the CLCS focal area pursues the interdisciplinary study of children’s literature and media from the U.S., Britain, and beyond. Pitt was a pioneering department in the field of children’s literature  and continues to forge new directions in the field. Students in this focal area benefit from

• Rigorous training in historical and archival literary studies as well as exceptional support for interdisciplinary projects on children's literature, media, and culture
• An active undergraduate Children’s Literature program that offers excellent teaching opportunities for PhD students
• Faculty strengths in American and British studies, global childhood studies (especially involving China and the early Caribbean), girlhood studies, ecocriticism, ethnography, musicology, trauma/memory studies, readership/literacy studies, and new media
• The Elizabeth Nesbitt and Nietz Old Textbook Collections (containing children’s literature, materials related to the history of children’s literature, and nineteenth-century schoolbooks)
• The papers of children's and YA authors, including E.L. Konigsburg and Daniel Kraus
• A Childhood Studies lecture series that has brought scholars such as Robin Bernstein, Kathryn Bond Stockton, Jack Halberstam, Patricia Crain, Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Julia Mickenberg, Philip Nel, Karin Westman, Derritt Mason, Mary Celeste Kearney, Lauren Silver, Rebekah Sheldon, Rebekah Fitzsimmons, Alison Pugh, and Mitsuko Ito
• A Global Speakers' series put on with our global partner institutions, Newcastle University, Ocean University of China, Catholic University of Chile, and the University of Antwerp
• Visits by authors of children’s and YA books including E. Lockhart, Jonathan Auxier, Daniel Kraus, Julie Murphy, and Sarah Dessen
• An active Children's Literature and Childhood Studies reading group
• Genealogies of Modernity: Medieval and Early Modern
• Media and Material Practices
• Race, Poetics, Empire

Individuals wishing to study Children's Literature at the MA level are also encouraged to apply to our MA Program in English. For information on applying to either program please visit the English Department Graduate web site.

Graduate students fulfill the general requirements for the MA and PhD degrees in addition to taking courses in children's literature and culture; writing theses and dissertations on the subject; and optionally designing directed studies with Pitt faculty. Please consult the Requirements page to familiarize yourself with the general requirements for these degrees.

Pitt PhDs with dissertations on children's literature have been appointed to tenure-track positions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and American University of Beirut. Others are working at institutions supporting scholarship and public humanities initiatives, including Yale's Black Bibliography Project and Books @ Work, a non-profit organization promoting lifelong literacy.

Literature Reviews

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Definition: A literature review is a systematic examination and synthesis of existing scholarly research on a specific topic or subject.

Purpose: It serves to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge within a particular field.

Analysis: Involves critically evaluating and summarizing key findings, methodologies, and debates found in academic literature.

Identifying Gaps: Aims to pinpoint areas where there is a lack of research or unresolved questions, highlighting opportunities for further investigation.

Contextualization: Enables researchers to understand how their work fits into the broader academic conversation and contributes to the existing body of knowledge.

tl;dr  A literature review critically examines and synthesizes existing scholarly research and publications on a specific topic to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of knowledge in the field.

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❌ A chronological compilation of studies

The reason for conducting a literature review is to:

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2024 Theses Doctoral

Artificial Intelligence vs. Human Coaches: A Mixed Methods Randomized Controlled Experiment on Client Experiences and Outcomes

Barger, Amber

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) challenges us to explore whether human-to-human relationships can extend to AI, potentially reshaping the future of coaching. The purpose of this study was to examine client perceptions of being coached by a simulated AI coach, who was embodied as a vocally conversational live-motion avatar, compared to client perceptions of a human coach. It explored if and how client ratings of coaching process measures and outcome measures aligned between the two coach treatments. In this mixed methods randomized controlled trial (RCT), 81 graduate students enrolled in the study and identified a personally relevant goal to pursue. The study deployed an alternative-treatments between-subjects design, with one-third of participants receiving coaching from simulated AI coaches, another third engaging with seasoned human coaches, and the rest forming the control group. Both treatment groups had one 60-minute session guided by the CLEAR (contract, listen, explore, action, review) coaching model to support each person to gain clarity about their goal and identify specific behaviors that could help each make progress towards their goal. Quantitative data were captured through three surveys and qualitative input was captured through open-ended survey questions and 27 debrief interviews. The study utilized a Wizard of Oz technique from human-computer interaction research, ingeniously designed to sidestep the rapid obsolescence of technology by simulating an advanced AI coaching experience where participants unknowingly interacted with professional human coaches, enabling the assessment of responses to AI coaching in the absence of fully developed autonomous AI systems. The aim was to glean insights into client reactions to a future, fully autonomous AI with the expert capabilities of a human coach. Contrary to expectations from previous literature, participants did not rate professional human coaches higher than simulated AI coaches in terms of working alliance, session value, or outcomes, which included self-rated competence and goal achievement. In fact, both coached groups made significant progress compared to the control group, with participants convincingly engaging with their respective coaches, as confirmed by a novel believability index. The findings challenge prevailing assumptions about human uniqueness in relation to technology. The rapid advancement of AI suggests a revolutionary shift in coaching, where AI could take on a central and surprisingly effective role, redefining what we thought only human coaches could do and reshaping their role in the age of AI.

• Adult education
• Artificial intelligence--Educational applications
• Graduate students
• Educational technology--Evaluation
• Education, Higher--Technological innovations
• Education, Higher--Effect of technological innovations on

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More About This Work

• DOI Copy DOI to clipboard

• Open access
• Published: 23 May 2024

Integrating the social determinants of health into graduate medical education training: a scoping review

• Nehal Nour 1 ,
• David Onchonga 1 ,
• Siobhan Neville 1 ,
• Patrick O’Donnell 1 &
• Mohamed Elhassan Abdalla 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  565 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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The social determinants of health (SDH) play a key role in the health of individuals, communities, and populations. Academic institutions and clinical licensing bodies increasingly recognize the need for healthcare professionals to understand the importance of considering the SDH to engage with patients and manage their care effectively. However, incorporating relevant skills, knowledge, and attitudes relating to the SDH into curricula must be more consistent. This scoping review explores the integration of the SDH into graduate medical education training programs.

A systematic search was performed of PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, ERIC, and Scopus databases for articles published between January 2010 and March 2023. A scoping review methodology was employed, and articles related to training in medical or surgical specialties for registrars and residents were included. Pilot programs, non-SDH-related programs, and studies published in languages other than English were excluded.

The initial search produced 829 articles after removing duplicates. The total number of articles included in the review was 24. Most articles were from developed countries such as the USA (22), one from Canada, and only one from a low- and middle-income country, Kenya. The most highly represented discipline was pediatrics. Five papers explored the inclusion of SDH in internal medicine training, with the remaining articles covering family medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, or a combination of disciplines. Longitudinal programs are the most effective and frequently employed educational method regarding SDH in graduate training. Most programs utilize combined teaching methods and rely on participant surveys to evaluate their curriculum.

Applying standardized educational and evaluation strategies for SDH training programs can pose a challenge due to the diversity of the techniques reported in the literature. Exploring the most effective educational strategy in delivering these concepts and evaluating the downstream impacts on patient care, particularly in surgical and non-clinical specialties and low- and middle-income countries, can be essential in integrating and creating a sustainable healthcare force.

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Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the social determinants of health (SDH) as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, that affect a wide range of health and quality of life outcomes.” These conditions are brought about by the nature in which resources, finances, and power are distributed locally, nationally, and globally and may include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies, and political systems [ 1 ]. SDH can have a significant impact on individual and population health. Studies have demonstrated that marginalized individuals and communities suffering discrimination have noticeably poorer health outcomes [ 2 ]..

There has been a clarion call to integrate SDH concepts for doctors seeking postgraduate training to equip future healthcare professionals with the appropriate competencies to tackle SDH-related factors at the patient and community level [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. A critical understanding of the causes and impacts of SDH by doctors is needed to provide effective healthcare while offering adequate stewardship of limited resources and promoting health equity of the populations they serve [ 6 ]. Orienting medical training towards SDH is a significant step to equip physicians with the understanding, proficiencies, and attitudes needed to begin to address health inequalities [ 7 ].

Medical education regarding the SDH is crucial for future medical practitioners [ 8 ]. Besides potentially enhancing health outcomes for individual patients, physicians tackling these disparities will adopt the initiatives calling for changes to influence population and community health [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. Thus, understanding social determinants of health requires a perspective shift for graduate learners, with the desired educational outcome being transformative learning [ 12 , 13 ].

Despite a growing understanding of the importance of integrating SDH into health professional curricula, the optimum approach to incorporating SDH teaching into undergraduate and graduate training curricula has yet to be clarified. A comprehensive guide for SDH teaching strategies would promote consistency in graduate training. A previous scoping review explored the inclusion of SDH in undergraduate medical curricula. The study highlighted the benefits of longitudinal curricula with community involvement in developing retainable knowledge and skills regarding SDH for medical students [ 14 ]. In 2019, a scoping review exploring the graduate curriculum interventions focused on SDH objectives concluded the insufficient physician training regarding SDH covers Canada only [ 15 ]..

This scoping review was performed to explore the extent of integration of SDH in graduate medical education curricula globally. The study objective was to explore the structure, content, training strategies, and evaluation methods used in incorporating SDH into training qualified doctors seeking higher medical training.

The scoping review was performed by searching four relevant databases – PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, ERIC, and Scopus. The process was undertaken by standard scoping review methodology, including identifying the research question, identifying relevant studies, selecting studies, charting the data, and collating, summarizing, and reporting the results [ 16 ].

Formulation of the research question

All authors formulated the research question, guided by the WHO’s definition of social determinants of health [ 1 ]. The overall question: What has been published on the topic of the integration of SDH into graduate medical education curricula? Specifically, the research question focused on the content of the SDH teaching in the graduate medical curriculum, their presentation, teaching strategies, and program evaluation. It aimed to identify any gaps in the available literature to guide future research.

Identification of relevant studies, including the data sources and search strategy

Authors searched PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, ERIC, and Scopus in March 2023. Individual search strategies were developed for each database, and searches were run for each database (Table  1 ). The search strategy was comprehensive to capture the diversity of the potential SDH integrated into the graduate medical education curricula. PRISMA-ScR guidelines [ 17 , 18 ] were followed, as illustrated in (Fig.  1 ). The study population consisted of medical professionals (doctors) in any discipline undertaking postgraduate training, including specialty trainees, residents, fellows, and registrars; the concept was the content of the curriculum used for teaching the SDH, with the context being graduate medical schools and training health facilities and institutes globally.

Identifying relevant studies

PRISMA flow diagram for the systematic scoping review of the SDH post-graduate training program

*Consider, if feasible to do so, reporting the number of records identified from each database or register searched (rather than the total number across all databases/registers). **If automation tools were used, indicate how many records were excluded by a human and how many were excluded by automation tools. From: Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n71. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71 . For more information, visit: (38)

Two authors (DO, NN) reviewed relevant articles after the initial removal of duplicates by exporting the references to Mendeley Reference Manager [ 19 ]; articles were analyzed using Rayyan [ 20 ], an online software that helps with a blinded screening of articles. Two authors (DO, NN) then independently screened the titles and abstracts without limiting the articles’ publication dates, population, and study locations. The remaining articles underwent full-text screening, and a third author was called to arbitrate where there were differences in screening outcomes.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Articles were deemed eligible for inclusion if they focused on graduate SDH curricula, including fellows, registrars, trainees, and residents. Studies had to contain structural curricula to qualify for inclusion. Articles published in English between January 2012 and March 2023 were included in the current study. If the program did not intend to integrate the SDH in graduate medical education or did not indicate a mechanism for evaluating the curriculum, they were excluded from this review. Also, the following exclusion criteria were applied: undergraduate programs, reports, systematic reviews, pilot programs, unstructured programs, programs not focusing on SDH teaching, programs not in English, internship studies, and studies that focused on allied health programs such as nursing, public health, global health, dentistry, and pharmacy.

Charting the data

The main characteristics of each graduate SDH medical curriculum were detailed, including the discipline integrating the program, the program title, length, educational methods, teaching concepts, and methods of curriculum evaluation. In this stage, data from the selected articles were extracted to a Microsoft Excel sheet, and key information about the authors and year of publication was included.

Quality assessment tool.

Two reviewers (DO, NN) performed an independent quality assessment for each article. The Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) [ 21 ] was selected for quality appraisal of the included articles. The appraisal tools assessed the articles over six domains – study design, sampling, type of data, validity of the evaluation, data synthesis, and outcome. All the included articles had a score of 9 and above, which is acceptable.

The original search yielded 970 articles. A total of 141 duplicates were removed. In the initial title and abstract screening step, 829 articles were examined. A further 801 articles were removed upon applying exclusion criteria. The exclusion criteria were: unrelated to SDH ( n  = 229), associated with undergraduate curricula ( n  = 129), not curriculum-based ( n  = 97), irrelevant ( n  = 71), nursing curricula ( n  = 62), related to public health and disease prevention ( n  = 57), allied health curricula ( n  = 50), considered with global health and elimination of global issues ( n  = 25), internship ( n  = 20), unstructured programs ( n  = 20), social accountability ( n  = 13), pharmacy curricula ( n  = 11), dentistry curricula ( n  = 9) and book chapter ( n  = 8).

Only 28 articles met the inclusion criteria. The next step was a full examination of the 28 articles that met the inclusion criteria and whose focus was oriented toward the contents of the SDH in graduate medical education. At this point, we removed seven articles as they did not meet the quality assessment criteria.

A total of 21 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. A hand search through the references of the included articles yielded another four studies; three were deemed eligible for inclusion, and one pilot program was excluded. The final number of articles included in the review was 24.

Summary of the graduate SDH training programs

Of the 24 programs included in the current scoping review, 22 were from graduate residency programs in the United States of America(USA), one from Canada, and one from a residency program in Kenya. Almost 50% ( n  = 12) of the articles were based on pediatric graduate curricula, while nearly 21% ( n  = 5) were from internal medicine programs, as indicated in Table  2 .

Structure and duration of the postgraduate SDH training

As Table  3 illustrates, of the 24 articles analyzed, the duration of the program relating to SDH varied. Twelve programs had longitudinal modules, spanning one to 3 years in the postgraduate medical residency [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], while five other programs spanned two to 9 months in the postgraduate medical residency [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Seven programs took between 2 weeks and 6 weeks [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 43 , 44 ], while the shortest program involved three online simulations; each simulation is 4 hours (one-half day) and completed during a module on advocacy [ 45 ].

The structure of the programs related to SDH varied across a range of thematic areas. A total of five courses had a focus on home visits and different community healthcare interventions [ 23 , 30 , 31 , 40 , 41 ], while another set of 10 programs was in the form of case-based workshops on a variety of topics such as prison healthcare, housing issues locating pharmacies and follow-up of patients after discharge [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 34 , 39 , 43 , 45 ] Lastly, nine programs focused on health advocacy topics, such as opportunities to integrate SDH at community health clinics, housing, education, and legal issues, integration of health disparities to clinical practices and equity, diversity, and inclusion [ 22 , 27 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 44 ].

Programs presentation methods

The approach to presenting the graduate SDH training and learning activities varied. All the programs used participatory learning, “where the learners are actively participating instead of being passive listeners,” as an educational strategy in combination with other teaching modalities. Eleven programs combined participatory learning with community placement and didactic teaching [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 28 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Another six programs relied on a participatory approach, with community placement and no formal lectures [ 27 , 35 , 36 , 43 , 44 , 45 ]. Three programs integrated didactic teaching and a participatory approach with no community engagement [ 29 , 37 , 38 ]. Another set of four programs included participatory learning only, requiring participant engagement, such as information gathering, group discussions, and activities [ 22 , 26 , 32 , 39 ].

Evaluation of the graduate SDH programs

All the reviewed programs ( n  = 24) had an evaluation component in their curriculum. Six programs used pre- and post-learning evaluation surveys [ 24 , 25 , 30 , 32 , 35 , 38 ], while 11 programs used only post-learning evaluation surveys [ 22 , 27 , 28 , 31 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 44 , 45 ]. Three programs used thematic analysis of participants’ written reflections and interviews [ 26 , 34 , 44 ]. One program used both post-course interviews and participants’ reflections analysis [ 23 ]. One program combined pre and post-surveys with participants’ reflections [ 29 ]. Another program used pre-surveys and post-course reflections [ 43 ].Only one program evaluated the participants and the patient’s primary guardians’ views [ 33 ].

Five programs evaluated the participants’ affective learning, including their awareness, interest, and empathy combined with their level of knowledge regarding the SDH within the local context [ 23 , 29 , 31 , 42 , 44 ]. Another three programs used affective learning assessment solely [ 33 , 35 , 41 ]. One program adopted a comprehensive assessment on the three levels, including participants’ attitudes, knowledge, and performance [ 43 ]. Another program incorporated knowledge and performance as an evaluation tool [ 38 ], and one used the candidate’s performance as the main evaluation aspect [ 34 ]. Additionally, 13 programs only used the participants’ knowledge level as an evaluation indicator [ 22 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 32 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 45 ]..

This work details a scoping review of literature relating to incorporating the SDH in graduate medical training curricula. Notably, of a total of 24 included articles, 22 programs were implemented in the USA medical schools [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 45 ], with one program in Canada [ 44 ] and only one from a low- and middle-income country (Kenya) [ 22 ]. The evaluation of the programs varied on different levels; most programs performed post-learning evaluation only for the participants, and only one program added the patient’s perspective on the quality of service provided. The evaluation modules used need more clarity in reporting. The programs with extended training over the years reported a more favorable impact on the knowledge and the participant’s skills regarding SDH concepts. Participants favored training programs that blinded academic knowledge with community placement.

Paediatric training programs took the lead in training healthcare professionals in SDH. Other specialties, such as internal medicine, family medicine, and psychiatry, needed to be more proactive in integrating the SDH into their curriculum. Incorporating SDH concepts for all healthcare training is essential for weaving socially accountable healthcare into healthcare systems [ 46 ]..

Participants rated the SDH programs with a multi-year longitudinal structure highly. This finding agrees with other studies suggesting that spiral training programs improve trainees’ community integration, mentorship, confidence, knowledge in evidence-based medicine, patient-centred care, and reflective practice [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ].. Our study found heterogeneity in each program’s content, as SDH factors can differ from one geographical location to another. The WHO study states that educators should apply a local context approach to tackle this issue [ 51 ]..

All the programs’ teaching strategies involved the participants in the teaching process, so-called “participatory learning.” The programs integrated academic knowledge with community placement and significantly impacted the comprehension of SDH concepts and their application in real-life situations. These findings correlate with studies emphasizing that combining theoretical learning with community engagement will enhance participants’ ability to cultivate an understanding of the core principles of the taught subject [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]..

Finally, most programs evaluated the participants’ knowledge level and confidence in recognizing SDH-related factors pre- and post, or post-program only. The reported evaluation outcomes included improved knowledge, awareness, and trust in dealing with diverse and underserved communities. Only one program interviewed the patients’ guardians and evaluated the care received by the trained physician [ 33 ]. This finding highlights a gap in program evaluation and the need to identify standardized criteria to monitor the success of SDH teaching in postgraduate curricula [ 58 ]..

Study limitations and strengths

The number of published articles demonstrating the implementation of SDH training in postgraduate programs is limited. This limitation is likely a significant under-representation of the innovation and scope of SDH integration into postgraduate curricula and again highlights the need for more high-quality literature assessing the effective incorporation, delivery, and assessment of SDH competencies. The scope of articles available in English primarily limited our study. The study focused on the programs including SDH teaching as a separate module not included with public health or global health. Our study is constrained by the unavailability of data from specific databases, which has restricted the scope of our research. Despite these limitations, our study has several strengths. Our study represents a pioneering effort in the field by conducting a comprehensive analysis of integrating SDH into graduate medical training programs. The significance of this research lies in its ability to shed light on the current state of these programs and identify critical areas for improvement. This study displays the heterogeneity of evaluation for such training programs and the deficiency in following the downstream impact of this training on patients’ health. These findings further support questions raised by medical education experts such as Sharma et al. (2018), who explained the importance of SDH teaching and the role of educators and training institutions yet criticized the focus on integration rather than evaluation [ 59 ]..

Implications for practice and future research

Our review has identified several future research implications; there needs to be more representation of the published literature about the topic in general and from low- and middle-income countries. The different expression of the SDH training programs by the developed countries’ training institutions may be because of the influence of The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ACGME approves complete and independent medical education programs in the United States and Canada. The ACGME standards include addressing health equity and enhancing cultural competency through the taught curriculum of the accredited graduate program, which compels medical institutions to integrate SDH into their curricula [ 60 , 61 ]. This shows the critical influence accrediting bodies have on the content of medical curricula. As the United Nations (UN) stated in 2015, low- and middle-income countries face triple the burden of health issues and, therefore, creating a well-trained healthcare force and robust health system performance will decrease social disparities [ 62 , 63 ].

Integrating SDH into graduate medical education curricula is a dynamic and evolving area of research and practice. While the literature highlights the growing recognition of the importance of SDH education, it also reveals gaps in standardized curriculum development, assessment strategies, and long-term evaluation. Providing a multi-level structure approach for the methodology, implementation, and evaluation of SDH training programs will allow training bodies and institutions to integrate SDH concepts more effectively and produce a transparent blueprint for others to follow. Addressing these gaps will ensure that medical graduates are prepared to overcome complex SDH in healthcare.

Availability of data and materials

Data are available upon request by the corresponding author.

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The authors thank healthcare educators’ efforts to improve social inclusion in the healthcare section and the anonymous reviewers’ helpful comments that improved the manuscript.

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The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript. All authors conceived the manuscript, NN performed the search and analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. SN and PO supported the manuscript’s interpretation and analysis and contributed to the writing and editing. DO contributed to the screening, second review, and data analysis. MEA supervised the research, including its conception, and contributed to revising the manuscript.

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Nour, N., Onchonga, D., Neville, S. et al. Integrating the social determinants of health into graduate medical education training: a scoping review. BMC Med Educ 24 , 565 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05394-2

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Received : 27 June 2023

Accepted : 04 April 2024

Published : 23 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05394-2

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