Graduate Study in English
The Ph.D. Program
The Berkeley English Department offers a wide-ranging Ph.D. program, engaging in all historical periods of British and American literature, Anglophone literature, and critical and cultural theory. The program aims to assure that students gain a broad knowledge of literature in English as well as the highly-developed skills in scholarship and criticism necessary to do solid and innovative work in their chosen specialized fields.
Please note that the department does not offer a Master’s Degree program or a degree program in Creative Writing. Students can, however, petition for an M.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing upon completion of the Ph.D. course requirements (one of which must be a graduate writing workshop) and submission of a body of creative work.
Students interested in combining a Ph.D. in English with studies in another discipline may pursue designated emphases programs in Film Studies, Medieval Studies, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality.
Normative time to complete the program is six years. The first two years are devoted to fulfilling the course and language requirements. The third year is spent preparing for and taking the Ph.D. oral qualifying examination. The fourth through sixth years are devoted to researching and writing the prospectus and dissertation.
Courses
The general goal of the first two years is to assure that the students have a broad and varied knowledge of the fields of English and American literature in their historical dimensions, and are also familiar with a wide range of literary forms, critical approaches, and scholarly methods. Students will complete ten courses distributed as follows:
- 1) English 200, “Problems in the Study of Literature”
- 2) Medieval through 16th-Century
- 3) 17th- through 18th-Century
- 4) 19th-Century
- 5) 20th-Century
- 6) a course organized in terms other than chronological coverage.
- 7-10) Elective courses.
(An eleventh required course in pedagogy can be taken later.) Students who have done prior graduate course work may transfer up to three courses for credit toward the 10-course requirement. Up to three of the 10 courses may be taken in other departments.
Languages
Students must demonstrate either proficiency in two foreign languages or advanced knowledge in one foreign language before the qualifying examination. There are no "canonical languages" in the department. Rather, each specifies which languages are to count, how they relate to the student's intellectual interests, and on which level knowledge is to be demonstrated. "Proficiency" is understood as the ability to translate (with a dictionary) a passage of about 300 words into idiomatic English prose in ninety minutes. The proficiency requirement may also be satisfied by completing one upper-division or graduate literature course in a foreign language. The advanced knowledge requirement is satisfied by completing two or three literature courses in the language with a grade of "B" or better.
At the end of the second year each student’s record is reviewed in its entirety to determine whether or not he or she is able and ready to proceed to the qualifying exam and the more specialized phase of the program.
The Qualifying Examination
Students are expected to take the qualifying examination within one year after completing course and language requirements. The qualifying exam is oral and is conducted by a committee of five faculty members. The exam lasts approximately two hours and consists of three parts: two comprehensive historical fields and a third field which explores a topic in preparation for the dissertation. The exam is meant both as a culmination of course work and as a test of readiness for the dissertation.
The Prospectus and Dissertation
The prospectus consists of an essay and bibliography setting forth the nature of the research project, its relation to existing scholarship and criticism on the subject, and its anticipated value. Each candidate must have a prospectus conference with the members of his or her committee and the Graduate Chair to discuss the issues outlined in the proposal and to give final approval to the project. The prospectus should be approved within one or two semesters following the qualifying exam.
The dissertation is the culmination of the student's graduate career and is expected to be a substantial and original work of scholarship or criticism. Students within normative time complete the dissertation in their fourth through sixth years.
Teaching
It is the expectation of the department that each student in the Ph.D. program will have the opportunity to serve at least two years as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI). Typically, students begin teaching in the third year, following successful completion of course and language requirements, and first serve as teaching assistants leading weekly discussion sections for larger lecture courses taught by department faculty members. Students who have passed the qualifying exam become eligible for appointments as Teaching Associates. Associate Instructors teach their own sections, under general supervision, of English 1A/B, the required reading and composition course.
Graduate students may also be employed as Readers for several of the department's larger undergraduate classes. Readers grade papers and exams and hold office hours to confer with students.
Students who are appointed as GSIs and Readers receive in-state fee waivers in addition to a stipend.
English Graduate Association
The EGA serves the needs of PhD students in the English department at UC Berkeley by fostering an intellectual, social, and professional community amongst students and faculty.
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~ega
Admissions
Required of All Applicants:
- A Bachelor's Degree (or international equivalent)
- Two sets of official transcripts of all college-level work
- Scores for the GRE General Test and Subject Test in English (we will accept scores from all of the November and December tests) GRE Institution Code: 4833, Department Code: 2501
- University application forms, including the Personal Statement and the Statement of Purpose
- Three letters of recommendation
- Critical or scholarly writing sample of no more than 20 pages
Applications are considered for fall admission only and must be postmarked no later than December 12, 2007. Mail all materials directly to the following address:
Department of English, Graduate Office
322 Wheeler Hall #1030
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1030
For information, please contact the English Graduate Office (510-642-4005, dlbarton@berkeley.edu). The application is available on-line from Graduate Division (www.grad.berkeley.edu). Paper applications are usually available by early September.
International Applicants
International applicants should consult the Graduate Division's web site, www.grad.berkeley.edu, for admissions requirements and estimated costs of graduate study for international students.
Application Preparation & Evaluation
The English Department typically receives between 450-550 applications each year and offers admission to 40-45 applicants, of whom 18-20 enter the program. We make our admissions decisions on the basis of the whole application. No one factor necessarily carries more weight than the others. The Graduate Division requires an overall GPA of at least 3.0; however, the average GPA of successful applicants is considerably higher at 3.85. We consider the kinds and number of the courses the applicant has taken and how well he or she has done, especially in the junior and senior years. The Bachelor's Degree need not be in English. There are no minimum GRE scores but those admitted score, on average, in the 700s (97%) in the Verbal test and 650 (88%) or higher in the Subject test. Letters of recommendation should come from professors who can attest to the quality and strength of the applicant's academic work. The Statement of Purpose should provide a clear sense of the applicant's interests and intentions in pursuing graduate study. The writing sample is an important element in our evaluation. Applicants should submit only one paper of no more than 20 pages, and it should be an example of scholarly or critical writing (not creative writing). Applicants should not send a longer paper with instructions to read an excerpt, but should edit it themselves.
Reactivation of a Previous Application
The Department keeps all applications on file for two years. If you have filed an application within the past two years but have not registered, you may reactivate your previous application (see current application for instructions). The Department recommends that applicants submit new materials such as the Statement of Purpose and writing sample if the previous application was denied.
Fellowships, Financial Aid, Housing
For information on fellowships, financial aid, and housing, please consult the the Graduate Division, www.grad.berkeley.edu. The English Department typically is able to offer fellowships, which provide a stipend and cover tuition and fees, to approximately 20-25 of the admitted applicants each year.
Graduate Diversity Outreach
http://ls.berkeley.edu/divisions/art-hum/diversity/
Dr. Josephine Moreno is the Graduate Diversity Coordinator for the Arts & Humanities in the College of Letters & Science at the University of California, Berkeley. She works with both prospective and continuing graduate students, discussing graduate school preparation, admission criteria, the admissions process, university and extramural funding, academic issues, student life, and more.
Ph.D. Placement
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Mark Allison | Cathy Gallagher | Ohio Wesleyan | 19th-century British |
| Penelope Anderson | Lorna Hutson/Victoria Kahn | Indiana University, Bloomington | 16th/17th-century British |
| Kevin Attell | John Bishop | Cornell University | 20th-century British |
| Arthur Bahr | Anne Middleton | MIT | Medieval |
| Drew Daniel | Janet Adelman | Johns Hopkins University | Renaissance |
| Avilah Getzler | Cathy Gallagher | Grand View College | 19th-century British |
| D. Rae Greiner | Ian Duncan | Indiana University, Bloomington | 19th-century British |
| Christine Hong | Colleen Lye | Mt. Holyoke | American Studies/Asian American/Post Colonial |
| Joel Nickels | Charles Altieri/Silverman | University of Miami | 20th-century American |
| Paul Stasi | Charles Altieri | SUNY, Albany | 20th-century British/American |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Christine Hong | Colleen Lye | 2007-2008 Chancellor's Postdoc, UC Berkeley | American Studies/Asian American/Post Colonial |
| Nick Nace | James Turner | Residential Fellowship, Clark Library, UCLA | 17th/18th-century British |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Adrienne W. Boyarin | Jennifer Miller | Univ. of Victoria, British Columbia | Medieval Literature |
| Sarita Cannon | Hertha Sweet Wong | San Francisco State University | 19th & 20th-century American/African-American and Native American |
| Julie Carr | Kent Puckett | University of Colorado, Boulder | Victorian/ Creative Writing |
| Marissa Lopez | Marcial Gonzalez | UCLA | 19th & 20th-century American/ Chicana/o Studies |
| Len von Morze | Samuel Otter | Univ. of Massachusetts, Boston | Early American |
| Erin Ninh | Abdul JanMohamed | UC Santa Barbara | Asian-American Studies |
| Padma Rangarajan | Ian Duncan | Univ. of Colorado, Boulder | Victorian/ Post-Colonial |
| Ellen Samuels | Susan Schweik | Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison (starting Fall 2007) | 19th-century American/ Disability Studies |
| Joel Slotkin | Paul Alpers | Towson State University | Renaissance |
| Travis D. Williams | Joel Altman | Univ. of Rhode Island | Renaissance |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Arthur Bahr | Anne Middleton | Haverford (1-yr. visiting Asst. Prof.) | Medieval Literature |
| Sharon Goetz | Jennifer Miller | Assoc. Editor, Mark Twain Project, UC Berkeley | Medieval Literature |
| Paul Stasi | Charles Altieri | Northwestern Univ. (2-yr. Visiting Asst. Prof.) | Modernism |
| Ellen Samuels | Susan Schweik | Ed Roberts Postdoc, 2006-07, UC Berkeley | 19th-century American/ Disability Studies |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Dennis Childs | Saidiya Hartman | Wayne State University | African-American Studies |
| Tina Choi | Catherine Gallagher | Northwestern University | Renaissance |
| Kasey Evans | Janet Adelman | Northwestern University | Renaissance |
| Omri Moses | Charles Altieri | Concordia University, Cornell University, 2005-2006 | Mondernism Mellon Post-doc Fellowship |
| Suzie Park | Steven Goldsmith | Eastern Illinois University | 18th-century Romanticism |
| Jen Scappettone | Charles Altieri | University of Chicago, Wesleyan University, 2005-2006 |
20th-century American Mellon Post-doc Fellowship |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Kevin Attell | John Bishop | Johns Hopkins University (2 yr.) Mellon Post-doc Fellowship | Modernism |
| Sarita Cannon | Hertha Wong | University of Illinois, Urbana-Champain (1 yr.) Post-doc Fellowship | Native American |
| Trane DeVore | Richard Hutson | Osaka University (3 year) | 19th-century American |
| Mary Knighton | Carolyn Porter | University of Tokyo (3 year) | 20th-century American |
| Erin Khue Ninh | Abdul JanMohamed | UCLA (2 year) UC President's Post-doc Fellowship | Asian American |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Elizabeth Chang | Celeste Langan | University of Missouri, Columbia | 19th-century British |
| Dan Grausam | Mitchell Breitwieser | Washington University | Post WWII US/ UK |
| Stafford Gregoire | Samuel Otter | City College of New York, La Guardia | 19th-century African American |
| Genevieve Guenther | Jeffrey Knapp | University of Rochester | Renaissance |
| Hsuan Hsu | Samuel Otter | Yale University | 19th-century American |
| Ruth Jennison | Abdul JanMohamed | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | 20th-century American |
| Warren Liu | Charles Altieri | Oberlin College | 20th-century American |
| Marja Mogk | Susan Schweik | California Lutheran University | 19th/20th-century American |
| Nadia Nurhussein | Christopher Nealon | University of Massachusetts, Boston | 20th-century American |
| Hoang Phan | Stephen Best | State University of New York, Albany | 18th/19th-century Transatlantic |
| Asali Solomon | Elizabeth Abel | Washington & Lee University | 20th-century African American |
| Rachel Teukolsky | Catherine Gallagher | Penn State University | 19th-century British |
| Karen Tongson | Catherine Gallagher | UC Irvine | 19th-century British |
| Kathryn Vulic | Caroline Dinshaw | Western Washington University | Medieval |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Joseph Nugent | John Bishop | Boston College (1 year) | Irish Literature |
| Damion Searls | Mitchell Breitwieser | Harvard University Expository Writing Program | 18th/19th-century American |
| Mayumi Takada | Dorothy Hale | Oberlin College (3 year) | 19th/20th-century American |
| Kevin Attell | John Bishop | UC Davis (2-yr. post-doc) | 20th-century British/American |
| Suzie Park | Steve Goldsmith | UC Davis (2-yr. post-doc) | 18th/19th-century British |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Emily Anderson | Catherine Gallagher | Knox College | Victorian |
| Katy Breen | Anne Middleton | Northwestern | Medieval |
| Alison Hurley | George Starr | Miami University of Ohio | 18th-century British |
| Catharine Koo | Hertha Wong | Saint Mary's College, Moraga | 19th/20th-century American |
| Larry Kutcheon | Nancy Ruttenberg | Trinity College, Texas | 19th-century American |
| Kim Johnson | Donald Friedman | Brigham Young University | 17th-century British |
| Diane Matlock | Dorothy Hale | George Washington University | Rhetoric and Composition |
| Thy Phu | Elizabeth Abel | University of Western Ontario | 20th-century American |
| Shawn Salvent | Samuel Otter | Vanderbilt University | 19th-century American |
| Jeff Santa Ana | Hertha Wong | My. Holyoke | 20th-century American |
| Lytle Shaw | Charles Altieri | New York University | 20th-century American |
| Miriam Thaggert | Elizabeth Abel | University of Tennessee | African American |
| Charles Tung | Charles Altieri | Seattle University | Modernism |
| Edlie Wong | Saidiya Hartman | Rutgers University | African American |
| Susan Zeiger | Catherine Gallagher | UC Riverside | Victorian |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Brian Glaser | Dusseldorf, Fullbright Fellowship | ||
| Karen Tongson | UC Presidential Fellowship |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Holly Blackford | Julia Bader | Rutgers University, Camden | Children's Literature |
| Glenda Carpio | Samuel Otter | Harvard University | African American |
| Gillian Harkins | Saidiya Hartman, Judith Butler | University of Washington | 20th-century American |
| Joe Lockard | Mitchell Breitwieser | Arizona State University | 19th-century American |
| Jillian Sandell | Elizabeth Abel | San Francisco State University (Women's Studies) | 20th-century American |
| Sarah Torpey | Anne Middleton | Hofstra University | Medieval |
| Benj Widiss | Dorothy Hale | Princeton University | 20th-century American |
| Andrea Zemgulys | Elizabeth Abel | University of Michigan | 20th-century British |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Mary Knighton | Carolyn Porter | Osaka University (3 year) | 20th-century American |
| Susan Zieger | Catherine Gallagher | Stanford University (3-year post-doc) | Victorian |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Amy Greenstadt | James Turner | Portland State University | 17th-century British |
| Ellie Hernandez | Genaro Padilla | UC Santa Barbara (Women's Studies) | Chicano/a Literature |
| Catherine HOllis | Elizabeth Abel | Lawrence University | British Modernism |
| Joseph Jeon | Dorothy Hale | University of San Diego | 20th-century American |
| Julie Ruiz | Genaro Padilla | Wesleyan University | 19th-century American/ Chicano/a Literature |
| Martha Rust | Carolyn Dinshaw | New York University | Medieval |
| Thomas Sheehan | Ann Banfield | Florida Atlantic University | Modernism |
| Alisha Siebers | Katherine Snyder | University of Wisconsin, Rock County | 19th-century British |
| Elizabeth Schirmer | Anne Middleton | New Mexico State University | Medieval |
| Graduate | Director | Appointment | Specialization |
| Brian Glaser | Charles Altieri | UC Berkeley (2 year) | Modernist Poetry |
| Sarah Liu | Carolyn Porter | UC Davis (2 year) | 20th-century American |
| Joe Lockard | Mitchell Breitwieser | UC Davis (2 year) | 20th-century American |
Last modified: December 07, 2007