PhD English

Saint Louis University’s Ph.D. in English provides students with advanced scholarly training in a variety of literary fields and in the study of rhetoric and composition. Students in our program receive training in pedagogy, research, writing, and theory. The Ph.D. prepares students for careers in higher education as well as in non-academic fields, including publishing, editing and secondary education.The Ph.D. in English requires 24 credits of coursework beyond the M.A. Students must demonstrate proficiency in at least one language other than English. After completing coursework, Ph.D. students prepare for a series of written and oral examinations based on a list of texts in their chosen field of concentration. Students then write and defend a dissertation prospectus, write a dissertation, and present the dissertation in a public defense.Graduate HandbookSaint Louis University's English department is affiliated with the Walter J. Ong Center for Digital Humanities. In addition to participating in various writing programs, including University Writing Services, the English faculty and graduate students participate in departmental research colloquia and reading groups. SLU also hosts the journal African American Review.Recent graduates with a Ph.D. in English from SLU have accepted tenure-track faculty positions at Creighton University, University of Central Florida, University of Detroit-Mercy, Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla), Truman State University and University of North Texas, Dallas.Ph.D. graduates who pursued non-academic paths have accepted positions such as document analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, corporate training manager at Enterprise Holdings and the director of research communication at Washington University's School of Medicine.Most admitted students meet the following criteria: