Graduate Student Manual (Handbook), Department of English (2025-2026)

4 – Doctor of Philosophy in English

The objective of the PhD program – including concentrations either in literature or in rhetoric and composition – is to prepare scholars for employment in a wide variety of post-secondary institutions of learning by providing both generalized and specialized training in literary/cultural theory and criticism, as well as opportunities to develop critical and research skills in literary and intellectual history, rhetorical theory, genre studies, composition studies, pedagogical theory, linguistics, digital humanities, and other related fields. 

The PhD candidate’s course of study is not designed to confront the student with every significant piece of writing in the respective field. Rather, the coursework aims to produce critics and scholars who are widely read, knowledgeable about the methods of systematic scholarship, and competent to function professionally, not only in the modern university, but also in related fields and career tracks that require advanced research skills.

4.1 – Program and Course Requirements

Qualifications

Students entering the PhD program in English are expected to have completed a master’s degree in English or in a related field of study at an accredited college or university, and to show promise of doing excellent work at the doctoral level. Students who complete a master’s degree at WSU must reapply for admission to the PhD program.

PhD candidates must demonstrate general competence in one foreign language (see Language Proficiency Requirements, Chapter 5 below). All doctoral students are expected to take part actively in planning their own program and in meeting deadlines set by the department and by the WSU Graduate School.

Program of Study

The Program of Study is to be filed with the WSU Graduate School no later than the semester before you anticipate taking the preliminary examination (October 1 deadline to take a spring preliminary exam; March 1 deadline to take a fall preliminary exam). Programs of Study can be changed once filed by submitting a Program Change form. Please consult with the Program Coordinator, Kim Pedersen, to begin work on this process at the end of your 2nd semester. This form includes all courses you are using towards your degree along with a list of committee member names.

The program will show 34 graded credit hours and 38 non-graded credit hours for a total of 72 graded credit hours. Of the non-graded credit hours, at least 20 hours must be 800-level research credits, 3 of 598, and 4 of 600.

Important: Please see the checklist at the back of the manual for detailed information.

4.1.1 – Required Graded Seminars

All PhD students must take:

  • English 590 (Directed Reading; up to 6 credits total. See Section 4.3 below.)
  • 20 hours of English 800 (see Section 4.1)

Students on Teaching Assistantships will also need to complete the following requirements:

  • English 501: Seminar in the Methodology of Composition (3 credits)
  • English 598 (1st semester): English 101 Preparation (1 credit)
  • English 598 (2nd semester): Weekly Colloquium on First-Year Composition (1 credit)
  • English 598 (3rd or 4th semester): Mentored Teaching/Pedagogy Course (1 credit)
  • 4 credits of ENGLISH 600 (1 during each of their first four semesters of employment.) All TAs teaching writing courses (100, 101, 105) must take ENGLISH 600 during the semester in which they teach the course, which means that they must attend PDC during that semester.

Exceptions: If an incoming PhD student received his/her/their MA from WSU, that student will already have completed the following:

  • English 501: Seminar in the Methodology of Composition
  • English 598: Teaching Apprenticeship (all three semesters)

Students with an MA from WSU will not need to retake those courses, since those requirements have been satisfied. However, incoming PhD students are strongly encouraged to take another semester of English 598 in order to gain additional expertise in their field of study and to observe the methods of a mentoring professor.

All TAs teaching writing courses (100, 101, 105) must take English 600 during the semester in which they teach the course, which means that they must attend PDC during that semester.

Rhetoric and Composition students are encouraged to take the following classes to help them prepare for exams. Students not taking this sequence or any portion of it will need to have their dissertation director confirm via email to the DGS that this is appropriate for the student’s program of study.   

  • English 502 (Seminar in the Teaching of Writing: Contemporary Theories),
  • English 509 (Seminar in Classical Rhetoric and its Influences),
  • English 515 (Contemporary Theories of Rhetoric)

What seminars are offered during my course of study?

Required seminars are scheduled on a regular rotation, either every year or every other year, so that each student can graduate on time.

Courses typically taught every year:

  • English 501: Introduction to the Teaching of Composition (Fall)
  • English 512: Introduction to Graduate Studies (Fall) (1 credit)
  • English 543: Phonology (Fall)
  • English 544: Syntax (Spring)

Courses typically taught every other year:

  • English 502: Theories of Teaching Writing
  • English 509: Classical Rhetoric
  • English 515: Contemporary Rhetoric
  • English 534: Teaching Technical and Professional Writing
  • English 546: Teaching English as a Second Language
  • DTC/English 560: Critical Theories in the Digital Humanities (Spring)
  • DTC/English 561: Advanced Work in the Digital Humanities (Spring)

Please consult the latest edition of the Graduate Bulletin for current course offerings.

What times of day are seminars scheduled?

Seminars are typically taught in the afternoon or early evening, with no seminars typically scheduled on Friday. Some seminars will have one 150-minute meeting per week, while others will have two 75-minute meetings.

Since six or seven seminars are scheduled each semester, however, there may be seminars with conflicting times. Typically, a rhetoric and composition class would be taught in the same time slot as a literary studies class to reduce these conflicts. The exception is 501, taken by every student on a TAship; nothing is scheduled opposite 501. 

4.1.2 – English 590: Research in English Studies

English 590 is a graded independent study for PhD students designed to provide directed research in English studies for individuals (or small groups) in conjunction with one or more faculty members. 

For each credit of English 590, students are normally expected to work with their English 590 supervisor to define the scope of the project. In collaboration with the supervisor, the student will prepare a brief description defining the scope and objectives of the project, which will then be made available to the DGS.

In Option One, the student would prepare least a one-page (typed and double-spaced) bibliography on key primary and secondary works in a specific research field along with a project description or rationale for choosing the works. This bibliography should meet with the approval of both the English 590 supervisor and the student’s advisor; often this will be the same person. The student will then read selected works from the bibliography and produce detailed annotations along with an accompanying critical narrative about or synthesis of key issues or significant patterns reflected in the bibliography. This bibliography should be accompanied by a draft syllabus indicating dates when works will be read and discussed. Written products: syllabus, annotated bibliography, critical narrative.

In Option Two, the student’s work might include not only readings but also a practical exploration of other methods of research, including but not limited to learning statistical methods, working with digital technologies, or gaining experience with editorial work. Given that English studies as a discipline is increasingly moving toward a broader array of methodologies, including collaborative projects, students could work on their own or their instructors’ larger projects (digital projects, editions, statistical studies) in a hands-on way while learning the theoretical rationales behind them.

The student’s research goals should be the focus of all work undertaken for the project. The description of the project should state clearly that its primary purpose is to enhance the student’s knowledge of the discipline, which may include elements of practice as well as theory, and it should tie that purpose to mutually agreed-upon benchmarks before the project begins. Under no circumstances may the instructor allow the needs of a larger project (for data collection, coding, and so forth) to supersede the benefit to the student.

For both options, the English 590 student and the instructor should draw up a memorandum of understanding that delimits the relative proportions of readings, discussion, and, if appropriate, practice, along with a clearly delineated set of standards for assessing quality and progress.

The student will typically meet with the 590 supervisor once a week or once every other week in order to discuss the readings. Since English 590 is a 1-credit course, which translates into three hours of contact time per week, descriptions for the course (either Option 1 or Option 2) should indicate how these hours will be spent.  Written products: memorandum of understanding, other materials (to be determined).

English 590 is graded and may be taken for 1 credit per semester up to a total of 3 credits altogether. Students will be graded on the following criteria: the student’s achievement of goals and standards set forth in the original description, and the student’s participation in discussion sessions. In English 590, the last discussion session is typically used as a comprehensive discussion of the work accomplished, goals achieved, and so on.

All doctoral students must take at least 1 credit of English 590, but no more than 6 credits total are allowed. English 590 is not intended to be a substitute for a viable graduate seminar.

4.2 – PhD Comprehensive Examinations: Qualifying, Preliminary, and Final

The examinations for the PhD are divided into three stages:

  1. Qualifying Examinations (devised, scheduled, and administered with the English Department by the student’s supervisory committee);
  2. a Preliminary Examination (an oral examination scheduled with the cooperation of the WSU Graduate School following successful completion of the Qualifying Examinations; and
  3. a Final Examination (an oral examination focused on the doctoral dissertation, scheduled in cooperation with the WSU Graduate School and held only after the readers of the dissertation have approved it for an oral defense).

The Qualifying Examinations and Preliminary Examination are offered after coursework is finished or during the semester in which the final coursework is being completed. The examinations aim at the integration of the student’s previous experience and study into consistent, mature understanding and expression suitable for advanced teaching, research, and writing in the chosen areas of study.

4.2.1 – Qualifying Examinations

Preparing for the Qualifying Examinations

All doctoral students are expected to work closely with their supervisory committees as they prepare for their exams. One or more of the three faculty members on each supervisory committee must work in fields directly relevant to the student’s exam areas and dissertation topic.

The chair of the supervisory committee (typically the Dissertation Director) will be a tenure-track member of the English Department; clinical faculty may serve on committees as well and no additional paperwork is required. If external faculty (e.g., from other departments or universities) are asked to serve on the committee, the student, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, will need to make a formal request to the Graduate School for their inclusion.

Students should recognize that the formation of such committees will depend upon the availability of appropriate faculty members and the limitations of their workloads; students may need to readjust their plans if particular people cannot serve. Committees are reviewed and approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair when annual plans and program forms are submitted and revised.

All graduate students should be aware that examinations and graded coursework are regarded as separate and independent evaluations of each candidate. (Examinations are not intended as reviews of coursework: their purpose and scope are described below for individual programs.) The English Department faculty is nonetheless committed – either in the design of courses or through recommended readings which supplement specific requirements – to providing students with guidance in the task of integrating the specialized contents of seminars into the broader contexts and perspectives demanded by examinations in the various programs.

Reading Lists

Overview: At the beginning of the semester before the exams are taken, each student will have completed a reading list for each section of the exam and submitted these lists to the members of his or her supervisory committee. For example, if the student takes the exam in the Fall semester, the committee will read them, offer suggestions for revision, and finally approve these bibliographies by mid-semester. The chair of the supervisory committee is responsible for seeing that this happens.

Once the reading lists are approved, the student will submit a copy of these materials to the Director of Graduate Studies, along with a cover sheet signed by all members of the supervisory committee. The cover sheets are available from the Academic Coordinator.

For the Special Area exam, a narrative providing the rationale for the bibliography must also be submitted; normally this narrative will be about 4-5 pages long.

Guidelines: To ensure fairness, the following guidelines must be observed:

Literary Studies

The Qualifying Examinations for doctoral students in literary studies will consist of three take-home exams in the following three areas:

  1. Cultural/historical period field
  2. Theory, genre, or second historical period field
  3. Special Area: the special area consists of a literary, historical, or cultural topic whose study is necessary for the student’s successful completion of the dissertation.

Rhetoric and Composition

The Qualifying Examinations for doctoral students in rhetoric and composition will consist of three take-home exams in the following three areas:

  1. Theory/Pedagogy: students will identify important theories and pedagogies in rhetoric and composition (broadly defined) that inform their work and understanding of the field.
  2. Methods and Methodologies: students will identify the methods and methodologies in rhetoric and composition (broadly defined) that most closely align with their research interests
  3. Special Area: students will identify a specific interest in rhetoric and composition (broadly defined) where they position themselves as a new member of the discipline

For both literature and rhetoric/composition students: the total length of the combined reading lists should be between 90-100 works. The student and their committee will decide on the balance between total number of list items relative to the number of books, articles, chapters, and edited collections. Students will continue to submit a 1500-2000 word rationale with their reading list that contextualizes their choices, particularly in the special area.

  1. There should be no significant overlap between the topics of the three reading lists.
  2. Each reading list bibliography should be between four and six pages in length (typed and double-spaced); and each must contain key primary and secondary texts. Obviously, there will be some variations in length depending on the topic of the bibliography.
  3. The Special Area exam must be considered necessary preparation for writing a high-quality dissertation, providing the student with theoretical, thematic, or topical grounding within which to locate the narrower dissertation project. The special area should not be construed as an introduction or individual chapter of the dissertation, but rather as an essential research stage prior to the composition of the dissertation.
  4. The Special Area exam reading list includes two parts: a bibliography and a rationale.
    • The special area bibliography. Topical divisions are recommended for the bibliography. 
    • A rationale of 4-5 double-spaced pages must accompany the bibliography. It should explain the intellectual coherence of the special area and the reasons for the specific bibliographic selections.  The rationale should include the following:
      • an initial section summarizing the special area’s content and scope;
      • the body of the rationale describing the theoretical, thematic, or topical grounding for the narrower dissertation project; and
      • a final section describing the area’s relationship to the student’s projected dissertation.

4.2.2 – Exam Procedures and Dissertation Prospectus

PhD comprehensive examinations consist of two parts: the Qualifying Examination (written) and the Preliminary Examination (oral).

Timeline

Qualifying (written)—students will take these exams no later than their second semester after completing coursework. We encourage committees to work with students on devising some question options as the process of composing questions can help students further refine their thinking.

Note: Students will work with their committees to determine a schedule for the exams, with students having at least one week, but no more than two weeks, to complete each of the three written exams. The exam periods and dates must be decided prior to the beginning of the first exam.

Candidacy (oral)—students will take this exam within 30 days of submission of their last written exam. The candidacy exam will serve to clarify any issues with the written exam and to engage the student and the committee in conversations about the dissertation prospectus.

Within 90 days of passing the preliminary exams, students will submit a 15-20 page prospectus to their dissertation committee. Once the committee approves of the prospectus, the student will begin work on the dissertation. This step will be internal to the English department and not registered with the graduate school.

The Qualifying Examination (Written)

The Qualifying Examination, which consists of three take-home written exams, will be administered by the supervisory committee, with the committee chair taking responsibility for ensuring that questions are submitted to the Academic Coordinator a few days in advance of the exam.

To create the Qualifying Examination, the dissertation director follows this process:

  • About 2-3 weeks prior to the first exam, the director sends a request to the other members of the Dissertation Committee, requesting 1-2 questions for each of the three exams. The committee also decides what form the exam will take; this is typically to write a 15-20 page essay on one of the questions.
  • The student may also draft questions to be included on the exam (at the committee’s discretion).
  • The dissertation director assembles a draft of the questions for each exam, ensuring that
    • Each set of exam questions is directly relevant to the exam bibliography on which it is based;
    • Questions from the whole committee membership appear somewhere;
    • Each set of questions contains enough variation that the student has a true choice among them;
    • There is no significant overlap with other exams in the sequence. For example, if a question on Exam #1 asks the student to discuss in detail the work of a particular theorist, exams later in the sequence should not ask about the same theorist.
  • The director circulates the exam questions among the committee for changes and edits.
    • At least a week before the exams begin, the director sends the exam questions, plainly numbered as Exam 1, Exam 2, and Exam 2, to the Graduate Coordinator for formatting and distribution.
Timeline for Qualifying Examination

The three take-home exams will be administered over a set period of time each semester to be decided by the student in consultation with the committee.

  • These exams are typically scheduled to begin no later than the fifth week of classes.
  • Students will typically receive the exam questions via email any time between 8 AM-5 PM, M-F and email responses to the Graduate Coordinator on the prescribed deadline. Please consult with the Graduate Coordinator about your schedule a few days in advance.
  • At the end of the three exam periods, the following process occurs:
    1. The committee chair (dissertation director) solicits written feedback on the candidate’s written exams (Qualifying Examination) from the committee members.  Each individual examiner emails the feedback, usually about one paragraph for each question, to the committee chair. This occurs before any discussion of the exams by the committee.
    2. The committee chair gathers and reads all the feedback. The committee members then meet (or confer by Zoom, Skype, or email) about the results of the exam. If all three take-home examination grades are granted a “pass” by committee members, the committee chair reports the results of the examination to the student, the Director of Graduate Studies, and Graduate Coordinator.
    3. The committee chair meets with the candidate and goes over the committee’s conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses of the exam as a whole. The candidate is then encouraged to discuss the exam and responses with the committee members, who may wish to share their written evaluation with the candidate. This helps to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses for the candidate and prepares the candidate for the oral exam.
    4. The Preliminary Examination is scheduled according to departmental and university guidelines.

The Preliminary Examination (Oral Examination)

Note: No Preliminary Examination can be scheduled until the candidate passes all three written portions of the Qualifying Examination. A candidate failing any one portion of the Qualifying Examination may later schedule a partial retake; if two or all three examinations are failed, the candidate must completely retake all portions of the exam. If a candidate who retakes the examinations fails any part (qualifying or preliminary examinations), the supervisory committee and the Director of Graduate Studies will meet as a review committee to rule on whether the candidate should be terminated from the program.

A Graduate School rule states that no more than 30 days may elapse between the completion of the third written exam, which the English Department defines as the results being reported to the student, and the date of the Preliminary Examination.

The supervisory committee conducts the Oral Preliminary Examination.  It concerns the three written exams, and looks forward to the dissertation prospectus. The oral exam is a conversation among colleagues in which the student has a chance to discuss their exam questions and dissertation project and to bring up questions for further discussion.

If you change your topic. By the principle of coherence noted above, a candidate changing plans after the examinations – proposing a dissertation in a field not addressed by the exam lists – must submit for approval to the supervisory committee an explanation of how he or she will become qualified to write in the new field.

If you don’t pass the exam. In all graduate programs requiring comprehensive written or oral examinations (qualifying and preliminary examinations), students who fail may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to retake the examination.  If permission is granted, the student will be advised of the maximum and minimum interval permitted between the original and the second exam. Two calendar years is the usual maximum interval. Normally an examination may not be taken a third time.

For the oral exam, an excellent performance can earn the Louise Schleiner Award (see Awards). This award is granted if the committee unanimously agrees, in their post-exam deliberation before the candidate is brought in, that both the written exams and the oral defense were exceptionally good.

The Dissertation Prospectus

Within 90 days of passing the preliminary exams, students will submit a 15-20 page prospectus to their dissertation committee and meet informally with the committee do discuss the prospectus. Once the committee approves of the prospectus, the student will begin work on the dissertation. This step will be internal to the English department and not registered with the graduate school.

The prospectus should:

  • Identify the questions that will be addressed in the dissertation;
  • Offer an account of relevant previous work in the field and describe what is new about the student’s project;
  • Discuss the student’s critical/theoretical orientation and methodology;
  • Provide a series of chapter summaries;
  • Furnish a preliminary bibliography. 

Please see the Academic Coordinator for sample prospectuses from previous students in the PhD program.

4.3 – The Dissertation

Having passed the Qualifying and Preliminary Examination, the doctoral student is advanced to candidacy. It is to be understood that passing the examinations does not constitute approval of the dissertation project per se, but rather of the candidate’s readiness and ability to undertake such a project in a given field. A final version of the dissertation prospectus, which might differ significantly from that submitted for the Preliminary Examination, may be required by the candidate’s dissertation committee if the chair and the other members so determine.

The candidate will prepare a dissertation under the supervision of this dissertation committee, which consists of at least three faculty members selected with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and the Department Chair. Normally the membership of this committee will be the same as that of the student’s supervisory committee, but it can be changed after the exams if necessary.

Graduate School Guidelines for Submission

Please make sure to read the current Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual section on Dissertations and submission of dissertations. Information can be found at the Graduating Your Degree page at the Graduate School.

4.3.1 – The Final Examination (Dissertation Oral Defense)

The Final Examination (Dissertation Oral Defense) is intended not only to be a defense of the claims and arguments of the dissertation but also to serve as a forum for discussing the student’s professional development, achievement, and future academic and intellectual goals.

The WSU Graduate School requires the completion and defense of the dissertation within three years from the date of the Preliminary Examination. After the completion of the dissertation, an oral defense is conducted by the members of the candidate’s dissertation committee. Voting is carried out by the members of the dissertation committee, with the committee chair supervising. Other faculty members, both within and without the English Department, are invited to attend. 

When planning the timeline for the oral examination, candidates must observe the following guidelines:

  • Minimum of 10 working days before the oral exam: As described above, the Graduate School must be notified ten working days in advance of the proposed examination date. Submit your exam form and upload a complete draft of your dissertation to ProQuest at least 10 working days prior to the proposed exam date. Remember, all forms must be submitted electronically by the Graduate Coordinator.
  • Minimum of 5 working days before the oral exam: The candidate is expected to deposit the dissertation in the Department at least five working days before the oral examination. 
  • Minimum of 5 working days after the oral exam: If the candidate passes the examination, the dissertation, in final form as approved by the committee, is to be deposited at the WSU Graduate School within five working days. Also, you must email your Hold Harmless form to gradschool@wsu.edu. Your myWSU upload of your thesis title, abstract, and signature pages must be approved by your committee and delivered to the Graduate School.
  • No exams during Finals Week: Final oral examinations may not be scheduled during Finals Week; the last eligible day is the Friday of the previous week.

4.3.2 – Creative Dissertation Option

With approval from the supervisory committee and the Director of Graduate Studies, a doctoral student may elect to write a creative dissertation. The basic prerequisite for this choice will be that the student already hold an MFA degree in creative writing (and will thus have already taken multiple writing workshops; the English Department does not currently offer such workshops at the graduate level).

Course work and doctoral examinations for such a student will be identical in structure to those for literature students: i.e., the student will complete ten seminars, enroll in at least one credit of ENGLISH 590, and take three week-long qualifying exams (the first in a historical period; the second in a separate historical period, a genre, or a defined field within literary theory; and the third in a special area). The prospectus and the dissertation itself will be the elements of the student’s program that most differ from those of students pursuing more conventional literary study.

Creative dissertations may take any number of forms, but the most common is a sustained piece of creative writing (a novel, a collection of poems, etc.) accompanied by a substantial critical preface or introduction. Since the Ph.D. in English has always been understood as a research-intensive degree, students electing to write a creative dissertation are still obliged to conduct original research and to produce a piece of writing which contributes in some original way to the broad field of English studies. The student’s prospectus, prepared after consultation with the members of his or her supervisory committee, must therefore outline the ways in which the proposed dissertation will satisfy these expectations.

4.3.3 – Dissertation Extensions

When a dissertation has not been defended within three years from the date of a candidate’s completion of the doctoral Qualifying Examination, the candidate must initiate a request for a dissertation extension. The candidate asks the chair of their committee to write a letter to the Director of Graduate Studies, who then forwards this letter, along with a corroborating request, to the WSU Graduate School. 

  • First extensions (for another calendar year) are normally granted as a matter of course.
  • Second extensions are more difficult to obtain; they involve detailed petitions and, in some cases, a full departmental vote. Students are strongly encouraged not to place themselves in a position where they need to seek a second extension. 
  • Third extensions are allowed only in exceptional circumstances (e.g., personal and/or family medical issues, etc.). The entire English Department is required to vote on whether a third extension should be granted, after which the documentation is submitted to the WSU Graduate School. The WSU Graduate School allows no possibility of dissertation extensions beyond the third extension.  For more detail, see Section 6.4 of the WSU Graduate Manual.
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