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PhD Program

Students who come to UC for their PhD in English quickly discover how truly collegial and collaborative the program is. The doctoral program at UC, in contrast to larger programs, fosters close interaction among graduate students as a community, and between graduate students and professors.

Students' essays are read thoroughly, annotated completely, and always approached as work that may be revised for publication. Students are thoroughly oriented in the profession, encouraged to give conference papers, and often funded for these presentations. The overwhelming majority of our graduates take tenure track positions within two years of completion of the PhD.

The program draws on a strong faculty well-versed in literary criticism and theory and creative writing. Students take seminars that combine intensive study of literary works with attention to the powers and limitations of a current of ideas and theoretical paradigms.

The curriculum is enriched by such special resources as the Elliston Poetry Foundation, the Taft Foundation and Center for the Humanities, the Ropes Lecture Series, and the Weinberger Center for the Study of Drama and Playwriting. The Department publishes a renowned journal, The Cincinnati Review. Our teacher training program is nationally regarded, and all doctoral students participate. Students may also take advaced pedagogy courses in teaching literature and teaching creative writing. Advanced doctoral students gain further experience by teaching literature and creative writing courses.

The typical time to degree is four years. The culmination of studies leads to completion of either a scholarly dissertation or a creative dissertation combined with a critical essay suitable for publication in a scholarly journal.