nyu english phd faculty

English and American Literature (PhD)

Program description, dual degree.

The Department of English warmly welcomes qualified applicants who wish to pursue advanced study towards a graduate degree. We are a large department and value historical coverage of the field that has traditionally been the study of English and American literature: we also encourage innovative approaches to that study, and have an expansive sense of the topics it might cover.  We teach in all areas and currently have particular research clusters among our faculty and graduate students in Medieval and Renaissance, modernist, post-colonial, Latino/Latina, American and African American literatures.  We maintain close ties with the Department of Comparative Literature, with which we jointly organize a certificate in Poetics and Theory and an Advanced Certificate in Comparative Approaches to the Literatures of Africa, the Middle East, and the Global South (CALAMEGS), and with the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, while we also participate in offering an Advanced Certificate in Digital Humanities.  In addition, our graduate students originate, organize and receive funding for their own working and reading groups, which currently include African American and African Diasporic Working Group; Critical Theory and Medievalisms; Cultures of War and the Post-War; Creative Writing; Digital Culture/s; the Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century British Literature Working Group; Politics of Empowerment; Postcolonial, Race and Diaspora Studies Colloquium; Nonhuman(isms) Working Group; University On the Edge/ (re)Thinking the University; and the Organism for Poetic Research.

All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the  general application requirements , which include:

• Academic Transcripts
• Test Scores  (if required)
• Applicant Statements
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae
• Letters of Recommendation , and
• A non-refundable  application fee .

See English for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.

The English Department offers a dual degree with the NYU School of Law : English PhD/Law JD.

Program Requirements

Concentration in medieval and renaissance studies, doctoral examination, dissertation defense, submission and approval, departmental approval.

The program requires the completion of 72 credits, and offers a concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. See concentration details below.

The concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies is interdisciplinary in nature and creates a framework and community for diverse approaches to the study of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It complements doctoral students’ work in their home departments with interdisciplinary study of the broad range of culture in the medieval and early modern periods, as well as of the theories and methods that attend them. The concentration is designed to train specialists who are firmly based in a traditional discipline but who can work across disciplinary boundaries, making use of varied theoretical approaches and methodological practices. The concentration consists of twenty credits, comprised of the following:

At least one course, not counting either the Proseminar or Workshop, must be taken outside a student’s home department. In addition, students pursuing the concentration will present a paper at least once either in the Workshop or in a conference offered by the Medieval and Renaissance Center.

Additional Program Requirements

Students must demonstrate language proficiency beyond the English language. This requirement may be satisfied either before or after matriculation at NYU by demonstrating either (a) advanced proficiency in one language by completing the sixth term of an acceptable college language course with a grade of B or better or by passing a language examination at a comparable level of proficiency or (b) proficiency in two languages by completing the equivalent of four semesters of acceptable college work. The final course or examination establishing proficiency must have been completed no more than two years prior to matriculation for the PhD program. The language(s) offered must be relevant to the dissertation research and scholarly practice of the field in which the student intends to work, and the department reserves the right to require a particular language on these grounds. Any student whose first language is not English should see the director of graduate studies to discuss the use of that language to fulfill (or partially fulfill) the requirement.

The Doctoral Examination consists of major and minor field examinations. These two fields are centered on reading lists to be drawn up by the student in conjunction with the faculty members who serves as the major and minor field examiners, respectively. according to the following standards: The approved lists, together with the Doctoral Examination Lists Approval form, should be submitted to the office of the Director of Graduate Studies no later than April 1 of the spring term of the second year. Students prepare for the Doctoral Examination by carefully reviewing the materials on their reading lists. The examination culminates in the writing of two essays in response to two sets of questions prepared by the examiners. The Doctoral Examination occurs over the course of one calendar week, a Friday-to-Friday period preceding the beginning of fall semester classes. This writing proceeds under take-home, open-book conditions, with the exam for each field requiring the student to discuss at least four texts from the relevant reading list.

PhD students must defend their completed dissertation as the final step towards the doctorate degree. The Graduate Administrator will assist students in arranging the time and location of the defense. The defense committee consists of five members, typically consisting of the three members of the student’s Dissertation Committee and two external readers who have relevant academic expertise in the dissertation field and topic. A student should provide all members a penultimate draft of the full dissertation at least one month prior to the date of the defense. A student should provide all members a penultimate draft of the full dissertation at least one month prior to the date of the defense. The defense is scheduled to last 90 minutes and typically consists of a short presentation by the student providing an overview of the dissertation project. This is followed by an extended question and answer session, after which committee members and readers consult on the outcome of the defense. Students may be asked to revise extensively and, if necessary, a second defense scheduled if faculty are not satisfied with the dissertation and defense.

All Graduate School of Arts & Science doctoral candidates must be approved for graduation by their department for the degree to be awarded.

Sample Plan of Study

Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation ( MAINT-GA 4747 ) course.  All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:

• Attain a wide range of knowledge in history and criticism of literature in English, while being acquainted with different theories and modes of query. 
• Develop expertise in chosen fields of specialization and to identify and pursue original research questions in these fields, locating them persuasively and comprehensively within and against relevant scholarly literature(s).
• Conduct original research and produce substantial work as a contribution to the area(s) of chosen expertise and the discipline of English at large.    
• Develop expertise and acquire experience to allow graduates access to careers for which doctoral training in English is essential or highly desirable.

NYU Policies

Graduate school of arts and science policies.

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages .

Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page . 

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English and American Literature

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