English (PHD)

PhD

English
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The Department of English offers a Ph.D. degree in the areas of literature studies, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric.

Description

We offer graduate course work in all listed areas of study. There are also opportunities for students to obtain a specialization in ethnic studies; Great Plains studies, human rights and humanitarian affairs, 19th-century studies, and women's and gender studies. We also have certifications in Digital Humanities and the Teaching of Writing.

Diverse opportunities are available for professional development, including the development of scholarly and teaching portfolios, participation in critical/literary study groups, a fiction and poetry reading series, and collaboration with faculty on research, teaching, and creative activities.

In addition, the department houses a number of prestigious journals and projects, including Prairie Schooner, one of the most respected literary journals in the nation, The Western American Literature Journal and the Quarterly Review of Film and Video. We also have the Walt Whitman Archive, the Cather Project, the Nebraska Writing Project, the Nebraska Literacy Project, the Corvey Collection of 19th Century British Literature and the Studies in Writing and Rhetoric Monograph Series. Graduate students regularly enrich their academic experience through work on these major departmental projects.

Specializations

  • Composition and Rhetoric
  • Creative Writing
  • Ethnic Studies
  • Great Plains Studies
  • Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
  • Literary and Cultural Studies
  • Nineteenth Century Studies
  • Women's & Gender Studies

Applying for Admission

Standard requirements for all graduate programs

  • Application for Admission with $50 non-refundable application fee.
  • Transcripts (unofficial): Uploaded as part of application form.

    If International: Uploads must include all college- or university-level transcripts or mark sheets (records of courses and marks earned), with certificates, diplomas, and degrees plus certified English translations.

    After admission: Official documents are required from all students who are admitted and enroll. Photocopies of certified records are not acceptable. International students enrolled in other U.S. institutions may have certified copies of all foreign records sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies by their current school’s registrar office.

  • If applicant’s native language is not English, verification of English proficiency is required.

    When sending TOEFL scores, our institution code is 6877 and a department code is not needed.

  • If applicant is not a US citizen and expects an F or J visa: financial information.
  • Applicants must also fulfill any additional requirements the department specifies at the time of application.

Additional requirements specific to this program

  • Minimum English proficiency: Internet TOEFL 100, IELTS 6.5
  • Resume/CV
  • Personal Statement: This statement should be 1-3 pages and include why you want a degree from Nebraska. The department particularly welcomes personal statements that articulate the applicant's connection to the English Department Mission Statement.
  • Writing Sample: Provide 15-20 pages of a critical paper in English Studies.
    • Creative writing applicants only: In slot 1 upload a critical writing sample (15-20 pages of a critical paper in English Studies) and in slot 2 upload a creative writing sample in the appropriate genre (12 poems or no more than 30 pages of fiction or non-fiction). (See department website for details.)
  • Other Upload: A summary of your teaching experience or a discussion of your teaching potential, no more than 2 pages.
  • Three recommendation letters

Admission Application Deadlines

December 1 for Fall. Prospective students admitted Fall only.

Department

English

Graduate Chair

Stacey Waite

402-472-3191

swaite2@unl.edu

Campus Address

202 Andrews Hall

Tuition & Fees Contact Us

Program Faculty

Kenneth Price (bio)

American Literature and Periodicals, Textual Editing, Digital Humanities

Stephen Ramsay (bio)

Digital Humanities, Critical Theory, Drama

Guy Reynolds (bio)

Willa Cather, Women's Fiction, American Studies

Gregory Rutledge (bio)

African-American Literature and Culture, American Literature

Timothy Schaffert (bio)

Creative Writing, Fiction Writing

Julia Schleck (bio)

Renaissance Literature and History, Early Modern Travel Literature

Kelly Stage (bio)

Renaissance Literature, Literature of 16th and 17th Century London

Shari Stenberg (bio)

Composition and Rhetoric, Critical and Feminist Pedagogies, Literacy Studies, Teaching and Writing Development

Roland Vegso (bio)

Critical and Literary Theory, Psychoanalysis, Contemporary Political Theory, 20th Century Literature, Modernism, Cold War Stories

Hope Wabuke (bio)

Creative Writing (Poetry, Nonfiction), African and Diasporic Literature

Stacey Waite (bio)

Composition, Rhetoric, Literacy, Queer Theory/Queer Pedagogies, Teaching of Writing, Feminist and Gender Studies, Creative Writing/Poetry

Deborah Williams Minter (bio)

Composition, Literacy Studies, Rhetoric

UNL Graduate Chairs and staff please complete the program update form to provide edits. Updates to graduate program pages are made on an annual basis in conjunction with the Graduate Application for Admission.