Graduate Programs in English 2011-12
Brown’s doctoral and masters programs in English offer professional training in literary criticism, theory, research methods, and the teaching of literature and writing.
The English Department has a diverse faculty representing a range of critical and theoretical approaches. They regularly publish books and articles in such areas as literary history, theory of the novel, poetic form, literature and the visual arts, African American literature, Asian American literature, critical race theory, postmodernism, new historicism, feminist theory and criticism, gender and sexuality studies, postcolonial literature and theory, and film studies.
The English Department has close ties with the departments of Africana Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature, and Modern Culture and Media, and with the Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. Graduate students in English are encouraged to take advantage of the wide-ranging multi-disciplinary resources that these relationships make accessible to them.
Doctoral Program
The first two years of the doctoral program are devoted to course work and the fulfillment of the foreign language requirement. We expect graduate students to take the Qualifying Examination by the end of the third year. Their remaining time in the program is given to the writing of the dissertation. We expect this project to involve research and to demonstrate the potential to become a book or series of articles during the early years of the student’s career as a college or university professor.
Brown’s doctoral program trains graduate students to become teachers as well as researchers. Thus we require that, with some exceptions, our students teach for two years as assistants to members of the English Department faculty and as instructors of sections of ENGL0110 Critical Reading and Writing I: The Academic Essay, and ENGL0200 Seminars in Writing, Literatures, and Cultures. This teaching begins in the second year of the program. As part of their course work all students are required to take ENGL2950 Seminar in Pedagogy and Composition Theory. To help develop their teaching skills, we assign students to a variety of teaching positions, from assistant in a large course to instructor of a virtually autonomous workshop. We are convinced that the intellectual relationship between teaching and research is one that stands a college or university teacher in good stead for the duration of his or her career, and we try to establish this relationship early on by assigning graduate students, whenever possible, to teach courses related to their general area of research, and to work with faculty who may serve as appropriate mentors.
Course Requirements
1. Candidates for the Ph.D. are required to take a minimum of thirteen courses.
These courses are typically distributed as follows: six courses in the first year, five in the second year, and two in the third year. The two courses taken in the third year can be independent studies designed to help students prepare for the qualifying exam. Among the thirteen courses, students must take one in each of the following areas:
a. Medieval and Early Modern Literatures and Cultures
b. Enlightenment and the Rise of National Literatures and Cultures
c. Modern and Contemporary Literatures and Cultures
Graduate students are also required to take one course during their first year of study that has been designated theory-intensive. The theory-intensive course may also satisfy one of the three area requirements listed above. In certain cases, 1000-level courses (intended primarily for undergraduates) may satisfy the theory-intensive requirement.
2. Foreign language competence and courses in particular areas of specialization are required.
3. ENGL2950 Seminar in Pedagogy and Composition Theory is taken by all students during their second year of graduate studies.
Students Entering Brown's Ph.D. Program with an A.M. from Another Institution
In their second year at Brown, students who already have an A.M. (or M.A.) in English or graduate credit from another institution may transfer up to one year’s coursework toward the requirements for the Ph.D. at the discretion of the department.
Foreign Language Requirements
Ph.D. candidates can satisfy the language requirement in two ways: by demonstrating either an ability to use two foreign languages in their scholarly and critical work, or the ability to do graduate-level literary work in one foreign language. The department offers its own language exams. Students may ordinarily choose any languages that are appropriate to their research interests, but some fields within English and American literature have specific requirements.
Qualifying Examination
The purpose of the Qualifying Examination is to certify your mastery of the scholarly field in which you have chosen to specialize. The exam is given by a committee of three faculty members chosen by the candidate; it is oral, lasts approximately two and a half hours, and is based on a Field Statement of up to 25 pages written by the candidate in consultation with the committee. The exam is taken at the end of the third year, soon after the completion of course work and before the submission of a dissertation proposal.
Dissertation
The dissertation is a substantial work of criticism and scholarship that makes a contribution to professionally recognized areas of literary study. The dissertation process begins when the candidate’s proposal is approved by a committee in her or his field and accepted by the Director of Graduate Studies. It concludes when the completed dissertation is presented to a committee of three faculty members, including the dissertation director, and successfully defended in discussion with the committee and other interested members of the department.
Financial Assistance
1. The University offers fellowships to all first-year students. Each fellowship includes full tuition, health insurance, the health services fee, and a stipend.
2. In years 2 and 3, graduate students are supported primarily by teaching assistantships. Teaching assistantships include full tuition, health insurance, the health services fee, and a stipend.
3. In years 4 and 5, graduate students receive dissertation fellowships if they remain in good standing and are making good progress toward the Ph.D. Fellowships include full tuition, health insurance, the health services fee, and a stipend. (See the English Department’s Graduate Student Handbook for more details about fellowships and teaching assistantships.)
Master's Program
Brown University’s masters program in English is intended for students seeking to engage in the advanced study of literature, literary theory, and criticism. Through their coursework, students develop their critical skills, deepen their historical understanding of literatures written in English, and gain expertise in critical theory. They shape their studies around their own interests and undertake an extended research project culminating in a 35-45 page thesis together with full references and a bibliography. This program is intended for students with a variety of needs and ambitions: those whose eventual goal is the Ph.D., teachers who wish to increase their knowledge of literary history and develop further their analytical and writing skills, and any qualified college graduate who seeks to expand her or his knowledge of literature, literary criticism, and theory beyond an undergraduate level.
The Masters degree requires the completion of eight courses, one of which may be a thesis research/independent study course, and a thesis. A full-time student usually completes the work for the M.A. within one calendar year.
Course Requirements
1. Candidates for the M.A. must take one course in each of the following areas:
a. Medieval and Early Modern Literatures and Cultures
b. Enlightenment and the Rise of National Literatures and Cultures
c. Modern and Contemporary Literatures and Cultures
2. They must also take one course that has been designated theory- intensive. The theory-intensive course may also satisfy one of the three area requirements listed above. In certain cases, 1000-level courses (intended primarily for undergraduates) may satisfy this requirement.
Foreign Language Requirement
A candidate for the M.A. must show competence in one foreign language. The department offers its own language examinations. Students may choose any language appropriate to their research interests and purpose in seeking the degree.
Financial Assistance
No financial aid is offered to students accepted for the M.A. program, although loans are available to them.
Applications, Deadlines
Applications must be submitted electronically via the Graduate School's website. Application materials should not be sent directly to the English Department.
The deadline for applications is January 1, 2012. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test is required and should be taken well in advance of the application deadline, no later than December 2011. The GRE subject test is not required.