ENGL-PHD - English (PhD)
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Program Overview
The graduate program features rigorous training in researching and analyzing British, American, and Anglophone literary histories and theories, preparing students to produce scholarship of originality and importance and teach literature at advanced levels.
This program is full time. Doctoral students in the English PhD program are expected to maintain a significant presence on campus throughout their graduate studies. This ensures that students have access to advisors and mentors, libraries, and other resources that support timely progress towards completion of degree requirements. Additionally, being on campus ensures that students are part of the academic and campus community, which supports continued professional development.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Students must take at least 70 graded units of graduate level coursework of the 135 required total units. The 70 graded units must include ENGLISH 396 and 4 courses distributed across four categories as described in the Required Course section below. Five of the 70 graded units may be fulfilled with course Research Course, and an additional five units may be fulfilled with course Revision and Development of a Paper.
The remaining 65 units can be fulfilled with a mix of required, non-graded units and other non-graded units of the student's choosing, including research units with their advisor. The required non-grading units include the pedagogy course, ENGLISH 396L, the general exam preparation course, ENGLISH 398Q, and the cohort seminars, ENGLISH 398W. Research units are taken under ENGLISH 398 with the Introductory Advisor or their program advisor, once one has been determined. Students may count no more than ten 100-level units towards the 65 units at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies.
The English Ph.D. Handbook provides additional guidance.
Students are expected to do coursework across the full range of English and American literature with the following requirements.
Note: Courses taken outside of the Department of English for a letter grade intended to count toward the requirement of 70 graded units of coursework must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies unless they are taken in a department pre-approved in the English PhD Handbook.
ENGLISH 396 and 396L are to be taken in autumn quarter of the first year. ENGLISH 398Q is taken in the summer quarter of the first year.
ENGLISH 398W, the cohort seminar course, is to be taken in spring quarter of the second year; autumn, winter, and spring of the third year; and autumn and winter of the fourth year. Explore Courses lists the specific sections to enroll in by cohort year.
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Coursework in four primary areas explained below to be taken in the first three years of the program, before requesting Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR) status. Students should take at least one 5-unit course in each of the four areas listed below. Graduate-level coursework is considered to be courses numbered 200 or higher.
Graduate-level coursework in English literature before 1700, and English or American literature after 1700.
Graduate-level coursework in some aspect of literary theory, such as courses in literary theory itself, narrative theory, poetics, rhetoric, cultural studies, gender studies, or Digital Humanities.
Graduate-level coursework in an area outside of the student’s primary geographical focus.
Students concentrating on American Literature are expected to take at least one course in British or Anglophone literature;
Students concentrating on British Literature are expected to take at least one course in American or Anglophone Literature;
Students concentrating on Anglophone (non-British or American) literature are expected to take at least one course in British or American literature.
Of all courses taken, a minimum of six courses for a letter grade must be 300-level graduate seminars. The colloquia and seminars should be from different genres and periods, as approved by the student’s advisor. The remaining units of graded, graduate-level courses and seminars should be distributed according to the advisor’s judgment and the candidate’s needs.
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This is not a complete list. Other courses may be taken to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the English Ph.D. Handbook for further guidance.
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This is not a complete list. Other courses may be taken to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the English Handbook for further guidance.
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This is not a complete list. Other courses may be taken to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the English Handbook for further guidance.
Students whose main area of study is American or Anglophone Literature may take any course in this list to fulfill the Geographical Distribution requirement.
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This is not a complete list. Other courses may be taken to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the English Ph.D. Handbook for further guidance.
Students whose main area of study is British or Anglophone Literature may take any course in this list to fulfill the Geographical Distribution requirement.
- 2262791
- 2242031
- 2062271
- 2272551
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This is not a complete list. Other courses may be taken to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the English Ph.D. Handbook for further guidance.
Students whose main area of study is British or American Literature may take any course in this list to fulfill the Geographical Distribution requirement.
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- 2224031
- 2272582
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This is not a complete list. Other courses may be taken to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the English Ph.D. Handbook for further guidance.
An oral examination, based on a reading list, is to be taken at the end of the summer after the first year of graduate work.
Teaching is core to the academic and professional training of doctoral students in our program. All students are required to complete 3 quarters of teaching experience in the program, usually in the first three years, regardless of financial support. Typically, students complete additional quarters of teaching as part of their professional training and financial support.
Admission to candidacy is a prospective judgement by the faculty of a student's potential to successfully complete the requirements of the degree program. Students are expected to complete qualifying procedures and apply for candidacy by the end of their second year in the program during the Summer quarter.
In the Department of English, the determination that a student is eligible to advance to candidacy is based on grades from the first and second-year coursework, teaching evaluations, progress in degree milestones, the results of the general exam, and faculty assessment regarding the student’s ability to fulfill the requirements of the degree program and produce original scholarship. Advancement to candidacy is not automatic and is not based solely on satisfactory completion of prerequisites; instead, it is determined by a vote of the Department's Graduate Studies Committee.
The Graduate Studies Committee meets after the student’s qualifying examination to evaluate their progress through their first year and provide the student with written feedback and recommendations for improvement. The decision on candidacy is made after the student’s second year and includes an assessment of subsequent coursework and initial preparation for the oral exam. Candidacy decisions are released in early September, prior to the start of the third year in the program.
In the Department of English, the oral exam is a test of the knowledge of the student's field. Students are expected to complete this milestone by the winter of their third year in the program.
Ahead of the exam and once the reading list is finalized, the advisor will prepare three to four questions for the student. The student must address one of these questions in a prepared 20-minute talk at the start of the exam. After a brief discussion of the presentation, the rest of the exam consists of the advisor and examiners asking questions about the works on the reading list.
After the dissertation topic has been approved, the candidate should file a formal reading committee form as the university prescribes. Once the first chapter has been drafted, the student meets with the entire reading committee for a one-hour colloquium, usually in the spring quarter of their fourth year. The dissertation must be submitted to the advisor as a rough draft, but in substantially final form, at least four weeks before the university deadline in the quarter during which the candidate expects to receive the PhD degree. The committee will meet for a closing colloquium in order to discuss the full dissertation and to suggest professional developments beyond the PhD.
A PhD candidate is expected to find a topic requiring extensive original research and seek out a department faculty member as their advisor. The advisor works with the student to select a committee to supervise the dissertation. Candidates should take this crucial step as early in their graduate careers as possible. The committee may advise extra preparation within or outside the department, and time should be allowed for such work.
Note: Students matriculating in 2025-26 and later are required to demonstrate a reading knowledge of only one foreign language. Students who matriculated prior to 2025-26 may opt into this language requirement by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies.
For students coming to doctoral work at Stanford from graduate work done elsewhere, the Director of Graduate Studies determines satisfaction with a foreign language requirement based on the contact hours, syllabus, reading list, etc. The transfer is not automatic.
Foreign language requirements for the PhD may be fulfilled in any of the following ways:
A reading examination given each quarter by the various language departments, except for Latin and Greek.
Passage with a grade of B or higher of a course in literature numbered 100 or higher in a foreign language department at Stanford.
For French, Italian, German, and Spanish, passing the appropriate following class with a grade of 'B' or higher:
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For languages that Stanford neither offers coursework in nor a reading comprehension test for, students may study independently. Proof of completion of the language requirement in such a language will involve a certificate of completion from an accredited learning program at at least an intermediate level. All such languages must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.