Department of English
Graduate Co-Chairs Josephine Park and Paul Saint-Amour
To All Current and Prospective Graduate Students:
Welcome to the virtual home of the M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Department of English at the University of Pennsylvania. On these pages, current as well as prospective students will find detailed information about graduate study in English at Penn.
The English Department offers full-time M.A. and Ph.D. programs. Comprehensive in their range of specializations, these programs are intellectually dynamic and rigorous. Our M.A. program offers students a solid foundation in the study of literature and culture, and our Ph.D. program prepares students for full participation in the profession as scholars and teachers of literatures in English, broadly conceived, in settings in and outside of academia. Sixty graduate students benefit from close interaction with thirty-six internationally renowned English Department faculty, whose teaching and scholarship cover a large range of historical periods, theoretical areas, and methodological approaches. Many of our faculty work across traditional period and disciplinary divides, and we encourage graduate students to bring similar innovation and creativity to their own research and teaching.
Our department culture reflects our commitment to fostering an open environment that is at once challenging and supportive. We recognize that success in our profession requires more than taking courses, passing exams, writing a dissertation, attending conferences, and publishing articles; it also involves the recognition that we produce new knowledge collectively. We, therefore, provide opportunities for graduate students to balance their important academic work with active roles in the intellectual and social community of the department, as well as other programs and departments across campus. We convene an array of reading and discussion groups that bring together faculty and graduate students throughout the year; we host numerous departmental lectures by leading scholars from across the world; we encourage eligible graduate students to take leading roles in planning conferences and symposia; and we include graduate students in a range of departmental gatherings, dinners, and other intellectual and social events. We also support and value our Graduate English Association, which acts as a forum for graduate students to provide each other advice and support, organize workshops, help one another through all stages of the program, discuss graduate concerns and initiatives with faculty and administration, and plan various social events.
Since most of the Department’s Ph.D. students plan to become professors, the Department provides extensive pedagogical training and mentorship. All Ph.D. students teach at least three semesters while working toward their degrees. Second-year students assist professors with teaching and grading in undergraduate courses and enroll in a semester-long pedagogy seminar; fourth-year English Ph.D. students teach a One Series course of their own design, developed during a third-year series of pedagogy workshops. In addition to these official requirements, Ph.D. students have other opportunities to assist with and teach courses at Penn and beyond, supported by a range of teaching and mentoring workshops on relevant topics. Students preparing for a career outside of academia may take advantage of internship opportunities to develop transferable skills and networks that may be useful for future employment.
The Department recognizes the importance of financial support in a program as demanding as ours. To this end, all admitted Ph.D. students are awarded an identical five-year guaranteed funding package. This award gives students a generous annual stipend and covers all tuition, fees, and health insurance. In addition, Ph.D. candidates are eligible for many travel grants for conference presentations and archival research. The Department provides information about internal and external mid-career and dissertation fellowships, and the University offers a number of competitive sixth-year funding opportunities for dissertation completion. Regrettably, no financial aid is available for M.A. students, whether in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, or teaching assistantships.
The Department has two Placement Officers, one for academic jobs and one for jobs outside of the academy, who provide extensive assistance and support to students especially in the last two years of the degree. We are proud of our placement record, which is among the best in the country. Graduates of our Ph.D. program go on to thrive in tenure-track positions at a range of public and private colleges and universities. We also are proud of those who have chosen careers in library and digital services, in the publishing industry, in teaching at the secondary level, and in management consulting, to name just a few of the alternate paths graduates of the Department have taken.
Graduate school is full of many surprises, but there is one thing of which you can be sure: Your time in our department will be one of intellectual growth and excitement. Supported by robust mentoring and advising, you will have made an original and important contribution to your field of scholarly expertise by the end of your degree. We cannot promise you that earning a Ph.D. or M.A. in Department of English will be an entirely smooth or always pleasurable process. The work and effort required is difficult and at times daunting. We promise you, however, that we will do everything we can to support you on your path as you work toward an advanced degree in English and prepare for a brilliant and rewarding career beyond graduate school.
