12 Course Requirements
Course requirements for the Ph.D. in English include a minimum of 60 semester hours of coursework. Up to 12 hours of master’s-level credit may be transferred and applied toward the 60-hour requirement if recommended by the Graduate Program Director or Graduate Advisor and approved by the College of Graduate Studies. Master’s-level coursework must be recent (within the past ten years) to be considered. (See the Graduate Program Director or the Graduate Advisor to discuss the transfer of master’s-level coursework. The ten-year time limit is firmly enforced.)
The 60 hours of required coursework include the following:
- At least 12 hours of dissertation research (ENGL 7640). Students may take more (those with Federal loans should consult with the graduate advisor each semester), but only 12 hours count toward the 60-hour requirement. Students who have passed their prelims must be continuously enrolled in at least one semester hour of dissertation research each semester, excluding summers, until the degree is completed. Students planning to graduate in the summer must be enrolled in at least one credit hour.
- At least 48 hours of 7000-level English coursework (or 36 hours if 12 hours of master’s-level credit have been approved to count toward this requirement, 39 hours if only 9 hours have been approved, 42 hours if only 6 hours have been approved, etc.). No undergraduate or dual-listed 4000/5000 courses may count towards this requirement. The 48 hours must include the following:
- Three hours of ENGL 7001: Introduction to Graduate Study (this course may be transferred from the M.A. if the M.A. course is sufficiently similar to the MTSU course).
- Three hours of theory fulfilled by either ENGL 7701: History of Criticism or ENGL 7705: Contemporary Critical Theory.
- Three hours (or one course) of distribution requirements from each of the following three groups:
- British Literature through the Renaissance (ENGL 7011: Old English Language and Literature; ENGL 7015: Beowulf; ENGL 7021: Medieval English Literature; ENGL 7051: Studies in Early English Drama, excluding Shakespeare: 900-1642; ENGL 7101: Studies in Sixteenth-Century Prose and Poetry; ENGL 7111: Studies in Seventeenth-Century Prose and Poetry; ENGL 7115: Studies in Shakespeare; other courses when appropriate as determined by the Graduate Program Director or Graduate Advisor, e.g., ENGL 7171: Major British Writers; ENGL 7415: Special Topics in Women’s Literature; ENGL 7611: Selected Topics in Literature and Language; ENGL 7901: Directed Reading and Research).
- British Literature since the Renaissance (ENGL 7131: Studies in Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Literature; ENGL 7145: Studies in English Romanticism; ENGL 7151: Studies in Victorian Literature; ENGL 7161: Modern British Literature. Other courses when appropriate as determined by the Graduate Program Director or Graduate Advisor, e.g., ENGL 7171: Major British Writers; ENGL 7401: Studies in Contemporary Literature; ENGL 7415: Special Topics in Women’s Literature; ENGL 7601: Studies in the Novel; ENGL 7611: Selected Topics in Literature and Language; ENGL 7901: Directed Reading and Research).
- American Literature (ENGL 7221: African American Literature; ENGL 7225: Studies in Southern Literature; ENGL 7201: American Literature to 1800; ENGL 7205: Studies in American Literature: 1800-1860; ENGL 7211: Studies in American Literature: 1860-1910; ENGL 7215: Studies in American Literature: 1910-1950; other courses when appropriate as determined by the Graduate Program Director or Graduate Advisor, e.g., ENGL 7231: Major American Writers; ENGL 7401: Studies in Contemporary Literature; ENGL 7415: Special Topics in Women’s Literature; ENGL 7601: Studies in the Novel; ENGL 7611: Selected Topics in Literature and Language; ENGL 7901: Directed Reading and Research).
