A PhD from Utah's Department of English prepares students for the job market by opening them up to classes and teaching opportunities that are not limited to creative writing. The academic job market is highly competitive on a national scale, and being a more flexible educator makes a professorial candidate that much more appealing to any English department. Not only do Utah's Ph.D. students perform in a number of workshop classroom environments, they also study theoretical and historical subject matter in the given course load. It is required to complete a theory and practice course on either narrative or poetry, and to take at least two courses focusing on subject matter before 1830 and one concerning literature before 1700.
English Languages & Communication Bldg
255 S Central Campus Dr. Rm. 3500
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
801-581-6168
hum.utah.edu
Teacher credentials are among the most important features to investigate when looking at any graduate program in the arts. T.C. Boyle is one of our nation's finest authors and teaches in USC's Department of English. Author of numerous award-winning books, this professor would be an invaluable resource to young aspiring writers. Applicants must have taken the GRE Subject Test on Literature in addition to the GRE General Test. The unique dissertation process at USC involves developing an artistic text in the midst of more critical, analytical scholarship surrounding that work.
College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Department of English
Taper Hall of Humanities, 404
3501 Trousdale Parkway
University Park
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0354
213-740-2808
college.usc.edu/engl/home/index.cfm
Houston's Ph.D. program requires that students have a master's degree before entering, which means classmates will be surrounded by equally experienced intellectuals who already know the ins and outs of graduate student life. Because much of the coursework in any creative writing program is taught in a workshop setting, this can be a great resource for collaboration. Students teach one another how to become better writers, and the professor is a guide and authority. Typically, the Ph.D. program takes five years, during which students are encouraged to publish work in literary journals on a regular basis. The department is willing to work with interested students financially by offering tuition remission and teaching assistantships for the five years of the Ph.D. program.
Department of English
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
University of Houston
229 Roy Cullen Building
Houston, Texas 77204-5008
713-743-2255
class.uh.edu/cwp/program_coursework_phdreqs.html