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Ph.D. in English

Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics Concentration

The Ph.D. in English at Tennessee combines a breadth of study throughout the field of English with a range of options for advanced work in various specialties. In the Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics Concentration, students benefit from that breadth while developing their particular interests and research agendas in the history of rhetoric, rhetorical and writing theory, critical theory, composition research and pedagogy, literacy studies, technical communication, applied linguistics, and second language acquisition. The program encourages interdisciplinary perspectives that make connections with other areas of English studies (period and genre studies, feminist criticism, literary theory, literacy studies) and other disciplines (legal studies, education, classics, political science, performance theory, philosophy, history, and sociology). Candidates are credentialed through an examination process that grounds them in their respective fields and develops their particular specializations. Click below for more information about the following:

Entrance Profile of Candidates

We have a single admission deadline, December 15, for admission to all our degree programs. All admitted applicants begin their work together as a class in the fall. While candidates who have majored in English generally have an advantage in our competitive pool, we are also very interested in those who bring other disciplinary backgrounds to bear on their work with us. Generally, we do expect candidates to have 18 semester hours of upper-division coursework in English. The Graduate School requires a 2.7 average; most of our applicants have a 3.5 or better in their English courses.

We evaluate all of our degree candidates holistically, based on a portfolio of grades, recommendations, GRE scores (with an emphasis on the verbal and analytical scores), a statement of goals, and a writing sample. We are interested in the overall picture of strengths and interests that these materials provide. We have no specific cutoff numbers for the GRE scores, though our most competitive candidates have verbal scores of 600 or above and analytic scores of 5.5 or higher.

For the forms and a checklist of materials you will need to complete your application, click on How to Apply.

Teaching

We believe in the importance of excellent teaching in the graduate and the undergraduate classroom. Our professorial faculty and our graduate students share in the balance of teaching and research that makes up the academic life. Our teacher-training program, our primary assistantship program for graduate students, introduces students to that balance and to the rewarding work of classroom instruction. First-year M.A. students on Teaching Assistantships apprentice with a master teacher, assist in the Writing Center, and study the best practices in writing and critical reading instruction with our Rhetoric and Composition faculty as they prepare to take responsibility for their own classes independently in their second year as Teaching Associates. M.A. Teaching Associates can expect to teach two sections of First-Year Composition each semester of their second year. The Director of First-Year Composition and the Director of the Writing Center provide valuable guidance, insight, and support throughout the teaching experience. Our graduate student teachers as well as our professorial faculty regularly win departmental, college, and university teaching awards for their superb work in the classroom. Our assistantships and associateships include a tuition waiver, and current stipend amounts are $7226 for first-year assistants and $12,245 for second-year associates. For more Information about our teaching assistantships and associateships, see Financial Assistance.

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree

Completion of a program of study--normally at least six full semesters--approved by the candidate's committee or the Director of Graduate Studies in English. This program will include:

1. Fifty-four semester hours beyond the B.A. level (of which, at least, twenty-four semester hours must be beyond the M.A. level) divided as follows:
   
   1. At least twenty-one hours at the 600 level.
   2. At least fifteen additional hours at the 500-600 level (only three hours of Independent Study may be applied toward the M.A. and three hours after the M.A.).
   3. Fifteen additional hours of courses at any level approved for graduate credit. Students may take up to six of these hours in collateral areas outside the English department. Doctoral candidates who have completed the M.A. may not count 400 level courses toward the minimum number of credit hours required for the Ph.D. degree, except insofar as the maximum of two-four 400 level courses presently creditable toward the M.A. degree will still count toward the minimum number of credit hours transferable to the Ph.D. if approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. A student may, with a supporting letter from his/her dissertation advisor, petition the Director of Graduate Studies to count 400 level courses toward the minimum number of credit hours up to a maximum of 12 credit hours.
   4. Three semester hours of the departmental course in the teaching of composition. NOTE: Students who have taken the M.A. thesis option at the University of Tennessee may count the thesis as one 500-level course and one 600-level course. Upon recommendation of the Director of Graduate Studies, other doctoral candidates may include up to three semester hours of M.A. thesis credits (counted at the 500-level) as part of the required course hours. If the student has an M.A. from another institution, he or she may normally transfer 24 hours, but the level of credit (400, 500, or 600 level) for each course transferred will be determined by the Director of Graduate Studies at UT after the student has entered the doctoral program.
   5. Fulfillment of the concentration in Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics core courses:
      1. At least three courses in RWL at the 500 level.
      2. At least one course in RWL at the 600 level.
      These requirements may be fulfilled with coursework from the MA used to meet the 54 hour requirement.
2. Twenty-four semester hours of dissertation. These represent the research for and writing of the dissertation. The dissertation will be directed by a faculty member of the department and approved by him or her and three or four other faculty members, including one from a field other than English.
   NOTE: Once a student has completed course work and foreign languages, he or she normally registers for English 600, Dissertation Hours. Once a student does register for it, he or she must continue to do so, including the summer term, unless granted a leave of absence by the Graduate School. Such leaves are usually granted at the recommendation of the Director of Graduate Studies in English.
3. Successful completion of a foreign language requirement in one of the following ways:
   1. Two foreign languages approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. The requirement for each language may be fulfilled in any of the following ways:
      1. Completion of French 302 or German 332 with a grade of B or better.
      2. Completion at the University of Tennessee of any two semester courses on the 300 level, or above, in the foreign language or literature with at least a grade of B in each course.
      3. Passing the regular Ph.D. foreign language examination as administered at the University of Tennessee.
   2. One modern foreign language approved by the Director of Graduate Studies. This requirement must be fulfilled in the following way: a passing mark on the language examination given by the University of Tennessee and completion of two semester courses given in the foreign language at the 400 level or above, one course at least to be at the 500 or 600 level. A minimum grade of B must be received in each course.
   3. One modern foreign language approved by the Director of Graduate Studies and intense study of the English language. This requirement must be fulfilled in the following way: completion of a, b, or c in option 1 for foreign language; completion of English 508 and 509 (offered in alternate years) with a minimum grade of B in each course (one other course in the English language taught at the University of Tennessee could, with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, be substituted for one of these courses; a minimum grade of B must also be earned in that course). These courses will not count toward the minimum number of courses for the Ph.D. degree, and anyone electing this language option may not take a special topics Ph.D. examination in English Language and Linguistics.
4. Written comprehensive examinations. Information about the particular tracks is available in the Graduate Student Handbook. Comprehensive examinations are offered in the following areas: Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and 18th Century British, Nineteenth-Century British, American to 1900, Twentieth-Century American, Modernism, Contemporary Literature, Critical Theory, Feminist Studies, a genre (Novel, Drama, Poetry), African American Literature, Southern Literature, English Language and Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Composition, and a specialized field proposed by the student and approved by a committee of three faculty and the Director of Graduate Studies. The student should choose the areas of examination to reinforce one another and to develop a strong background for the dissertation. In addition, one area of examination might well develop a strong minor area for teaching.
5. A one-hour oral defense of the dissertation.