Graduate Programs

Brown's graduate program in English offers professional training in literary research, theory, criticism and the teaching of literature and writing.

The Department of English has a diverse faculty representing a range of theoretical approaches. Faculty regularly publish books and articles in such areas as literary history, theory of the novel, poetic form, literature and 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 film studies. The Department of English has close ties with the departments of Africana Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature, Modern Culture and Media, and with the Cogut Institute for the Humanities and the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women.

Additional Resources

Research opportunities in the John Hay Library, the John Carter Brown Library, and the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage; collaborative work with the Cogut Institute for the Humanities, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, the Malcolm S. Forbes Center for Modern Culture and Media, and the programs housed in the Department of Africana Studies and Ethnic Studies; interdisciplinary opportunities in the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.

Application Information

Application Requirements

GRE Subject:

Not required

GRE General:

Not required

Writing Sample:

Required

Personal Statement:

Required

Dates/Deadlines

Application Deadline

Completion Requirements

Minimum of 13 courses, including one course from each of three historical areas: medieval and early modern literatures and cultures, enlightenment and the rise of national literatures and cultures, and modern and contemporary literatures and cultures, one course with a focus on the study of race, ENGL2210 Proseminar, ENGL2950 Seminar in Pedagogy and Composition Theory, and two independent studies that serve as preparation for the qualifying examination; one foreign language; six semesters of teaching; oral qualifying examination; dissertation.

Alumni Careers

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Leadership

Department Chair
Richard Rambuss
Director of Graduate Studies
Daniel Kim
Associate Director of Graduate Studies & Graduate Admissions
Olakunle George

Contact and Location

Department of English

Mailing Address

Brown University
70 Brown Street, Box 1852
Providence, RI 02912
Visit the Department of English

Resources