Ph.D. in English

The Ph.D. in English at UC Davis provides a vibrant, supportive environment for advanced literary study and boundary-crossing research.

Program Overview

Students gain advanced knowledge of English literature from the British Middle Ages to contemporary postcolonial and global Anglophone writing, as well as knowledge of literary theory, literary analysis, and interdisciplinary methods. The course of study balances coverage of national literary traditions with innovative frameworks such as literature and science; literature and environment; translation studies; gender and sexuality studies; race and ethnicity studies; studies of empire; and game studies. Students graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary for professional research and teaching in English and related disciplines and for a wide variety of non-academic positions reliant on high-level analysis and communication.

Research & Collaboration

Our Ph.D. students are active leaders across the university. Beyond the department, you can:

Pursue a Designated Emphasis (DE): Specialize in secondary fields like Critical Theory, Feminist Theory, or Classics.
Global Exchange: Compete for a year-long exchange with the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies in Mainz, Germany.
Research Hubs: Collaborate with campus partners like ModLab, DataLab, and the Medieval and Early Modern Studies program.

Training & Outcomes

We provide comprehensive pedagogical training to ensure our graduates are competitive for both academic and diverse professional careers.

Teaching Experience: Students gain hands-on experience teaching University Writing Program (UWP) courses and Introduction to Literature.
Professionalization: Our program supports a strong record of research, publication, and conference presentation.

Note: We do not offer a stand-alone M.A. degree; however, an M.A. in English may be completed "en route" to the Ph.D.

Visit our Ph.D. Alumni Directory to explore recent dissertations and careers

Graduate Program Contacts

We’re happy to answer any questions you may have about the Ph.D. program or funding structure.

Fluff Barstow
Graduate Program Coordinator
[email protected]
(530) 752-2738

Michael Ziser
Director of Graduate Studies
[email protected]
(530) 752-1696

Ph.D. Degree Requirements
The English Ph.D. program requires 50 units of coursework, a dissertation, and demonstrated proficiency in one foreign language.
Coursework Overview
3 Core Courses (8 units)
To advance to candidacy, students must complete 13 total graduate courses (50 units). At least 44 units must be taken for a letter grade.
• ENL 200: Introduction to Graduate Studies (Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory).
• Literary Theory Survey: One course (CRI 200A or CRI 200C) taken for a letter grade.

Prospectus Workshop (2 units)
• ENL 200: Introduction to Graduate Studies (Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory).
Note: Students may petition to complete this requirement independently with a Prospectus Adviser.
Graduate-Level Seminars (40 units)
Students must complete 10 seminars for a letter grade, organized as follows:
• Breadth Requirements: Five courses (see below for specific areas).
• Electives: Five courses.
• Undergraduate Credit: One 100-level undergraduate course may count toward this requirement.
• Grading Policy: Aside from ENL 200 and ENL 288, courses graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (including independent or group studies) do not count toward the 10-seminar requirement.
Language Requirement
The English Ph.D. requires reading proficiency in one language prior to degree completion. Students may demonstrate reading proficiency through coursework, a placement test, or the English Department language exam.

A. Completion within the past eight years of 3 semester-length or 4 quarter-length language courses at the undergraduate level. Students must earn a passing grade, but courses may be taken on a pass/no pass basis.
B. Students may take a Proficiency Exam (Proctored) offered by the UC Davis Language Center.
C. A pass on the language exam offered by the English Department at the beginning of Fall or Spring Quarter each year.
Breadth Requirements
To ensure a well-rounded academic foundation, five courses (20 units) from your required coursework must satisfy the following breadth requirements. These must be taken within the Department of English or taught by English Department faculty.
Important Note on Course Designation: A single course may be eligible for multiple categories, but it can only satisfy one requirement. Example: A course on "Women in Early Modern Literature" could fulfill either an Earlier Period or a Focus requirement, but not both.
Requirement 1: Earlier Period (2 Courses)
Pre-1800; or Pre-1865 if the course focus is on American literature
Requirement 2: Later Period (2 Courses)
Post-1800 or Post-1865 if the course focus is on American literature
Requirement 3: Focus Course (1 Course)
Themes: This requirement allows for specialized study in areas such as:
• Interdisciplinary: Connections between literature and other fields (e.g., Science, Environment).
• Identity: Critical Race, Gender, and Sexuality studies.
• Genre & Method: Specialized study in specific forms or theoretical frameworks.
• National Literatures: Focus on specific global or non-U.S. traditions.
Electives Requirement
To complete your degree, you must take five elective courses (20 units). These seminars allow you to tailor your research to your specific interests and may be taken within or outside the English Department. graduate course at another University of California campus through the Intercampus Exchange Program.

What counts as an elective:
• Departmental & External Seminars: Any graduate-level seminar (200-level) in English or related disciplines.
• UWP 390: This course may count as one of your five required electives.
• Independent Study (299): While 299 courses are ungraded (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory), they contribute to your total unit count.
Note: Remember that 44 of your 50 total units must be taken for a letter grade.
Special Opportunities:
• Intercampus Exchange: With approval from the Graduate Adviser, students may take graduate courses at another University of California campus. This is a great way to access specialized faculty or archives across the UC system.
Course Waivers & Course Relief
Students entering the Ph.D. program with prior M.A. coursework from another institution may petition for a reduction in required seminars or a substitution of breadth requirements.
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.
Designated Emphasis
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 English with a Designated Emphasis in Native American Studies.”
Preliminary Examination
Students take the Preliminary Examination during the Spring Quarter of their second year or the Fall Quarter of their third year of graduate study. The examination covers two historical fields and one focus field and is conducted orally by a committee of three faculty members, each representing one of the selected fields.
• Introduction to Graduate Studies (ENL200)
• Survey of Literary Theory (CRI200A or CRI200C)
• Four of five Breadth Requirements
• Four of five Elective Requirements
Historical Lists
Students select two historical fields from the list below. Students wishing to select nonconsecutive historical fields must obtain prior approval from the Graduate Adviser. Reading lists and additional examination resources are available in the English Graduate Program's Box folder, Preliminary Exam.

• African American Literature 20th Century
• American Antebellum (1820-1865)
• American Indian Literature, 1768-present
• American Literature 1865 to 1914
• American Literature Early 20th-c. (1900-1945)
• American Literature Later 20th-c. (1945-present)
• Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature
• Colonial - Early American (to 1800)
• Later Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature (1675-1792)
• Middle English
• Native American Literature, 1900s to Present
• Old English (Anglo-Saxon)
• Pacific Indigenous Literatures
• Postcolonial Literature
• Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature (1660-1792)
• Romanticism (1776-1832)
• Seventeenth-Century English Literature From 1604-1675
• Sixteenth-Century Literature From 1485-1603
• Victorian
Focus Field

In addition to two historical fields, students select one focus field. Students may develop their own focus reading list in collaboration with two faculty members or select from the established focus fields below:
• Black Studies
• Critical Theory
• Disability Studies
• Ecocriticism and Environmental Humanities
• Feminisms
• Film Studies
• Indigenous Studies
• Marxism
• Material Culture
• Media Technologies
• Performance Studies
• Poetics
• Postcolonial Theory
• Psychoanalysis
• Queer and Trans Studies
• Queer Feminisms
• Queer Theories
• Race and Ethnicity Studies
• Religion
• Science and Literature
• Science Fiction
Preparing for the Examination
Students typically enroll in ENL 299 (Independent Study) during the quarter or quarters preceding the Preliminary Examination to prepare for the oral examination. ENL 299 is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U). Students may enroll in ENL 299 with the Graduate Adviser or with a faculty member representing one of their examination fields.
Examination Outcomes
If a student does not pass the Preliminary Examination, the examination chair reports the outcome to the Graduate Adviser. In consultation with the committee, the Graduate Adviser determines whether the student may retake the examination or whether dismissal from the program is recommended. A retake, if approved, must take place no sooner than six months after the original examination. The Graduate Adviser communicates the final decision to the student within 72 hours of the examination's conclusion.
Any remaining degree requirements must be completed before the student schedules the Qualifying Examination.
Qualifying Examination
Students take the Qualifying Examination (QE) as early as Spring Quarter of their third year and no later than Spring Quarter of their fourth year. The examination is conducted orally and focuses on the student's dissertation prospectus and an individually developed reading list.
Students develop their reading lists in consultation with their three-member dissertation committee. They may consult the department's standard Preliminary Examination reading lists, available in the English Graduate Program's Preliminary Exam Box folder, as a resource when preparing their lists. Students pursuing a Designated Emphasis (DE) must also incorporate relevant materials from that field into their QE reading lists.
Qualifying Examination Committee

In consultation with their Prospectus Adviser and, if needed, the Graduate Adviser, students nominate four faculty members to serve on the Qualifying Examination Committee:
• The three proposed members of the Dissertation Committee
• One faculty member from outside the English graduate program (this person may also serve on the Dissertation Committee)
The Qualifying Examination Committee is responsible for administering the examination. Neither the Prospectus Adviser nor the Dissertation Director may serve as chair of the QE Committee. Although these roles are often held by the same faculty member, they are not necessarily the same person.
Scheduling the Examination

Graduate Studies requires students to submit the Qualifying Examination Application through GradSphere at least 30 days before the scheduled examination date. Applications submitted with less than 30 days' notice will not be approved.
After the Examination

The Report on the Doctoral Qualifying Examination (Ph.D.) must be submitted within 72 hours of the examination. Following successful completion of the QE, students must submit the Advancement to Candidacy application through GradSphere.
Exam Accommodations
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.
Dissertation
The dissertation must be an original work of scholarship and/or interpretation. It may be critical, bibliographical, historical, or biographical in focus. Students work closely with a dissertation director and consult with two official readers, as well as other faculty with expertise relevant to their project.

For information about dissertation formatting, submission, and filing, see Filing Your Thesis or Dissertation.