Doctoral Program

Thank you for your interest in the Doctoral program in English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee!

PhD Program

The PhD program involves course work, proficiency in a second language, a preliminary examination, a dissertation, and a final defense. Students entering the PhD program must have an MA or equivalent degree by the time of enrollment. Students who did not receive their MA or equivalent degree from UWM must pass an Academic Review. Students must pass their preliminary examination within five years from the date of initial enrollment in the doctoral program and must complete all degree requirements within a total of ten years in the doctoral program.

You can explore the requirements for the program and each plan in the academics section of this website. Doctoral students in English can choose to focus on:

Literature and Cultural Theory
Public Rhetorics and Community Engagement
Creative Writing
Media, Cinema, and Digital Studies

Application

Our application opens each year in September or October for entry the following Fall. The deadline to apply to both our our MA and PhD programs is December 15. We do not accept students to start in the spring semester.

Applications are submitted to the UWM Graduate School using the Panthera application system. Please see our How to Apply page for more information, and the Graduate School’s Admission page for minimum qualifications. International applicants should also refer to the Center for International Education admission guidelines.

Funding

English graduate students typically fund their education from a variety of sources. Some partial support is available in the form of fellowships or awards given by the UWM Graduate School or by the Department of English. Some students receive teaching assistantships. See our Financial Support page for more details.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have further questions not covered on our website, please feel free to contact our Graduate Studies Program Associate at gradeng@uwm.edu.

General Questions

The English Department does not require the GRE for any of the Graduate programs offered.

The English Department does not currently offer graduate degrees that are online only.

Please visit the Course Catalog page to see which courses are offered by the English Department. Not all courses are offered each semester. The description of each course will indicate when it was last taught.

Students can apply to be Non-Degree Candidates (NDC). NDC students can start in spring or fall. They should contact the instructors of classes they are interested in before applying, to make sure there is room in the class and that NDC students are welcome in the class. More information and a link to apply are available on the Graduate School website.

The PhD typically takes five to seven years.

Admissions

Admissions decisions to the English program are made in mid-February.

Commonly Asked Application Questions

The English Department only accepts applications for Fall semesters. Admissions are done once a year.

The English proficiency requirement for international admissions can be found on the Center for International Education website.

Please email the Graduate Studies Program Office at gradeng@uwm.edu for further assistance.

The deadline to complete the application is December 15th.

The English program has a variety of students with masters degrees that are not in English. We welcome students with a master’s degree and students with a master’s degree in another field of study to apply.

The online application system that applicants use, Panthera, requires unofficial transcripts only. Official transcripts are only required after an applicant accepts admission.

Applicants should order official transcripts and scan a copy to upload to the application system, Panthera.

For more information about the program, including requirements, visit its academic page at the link below.

English, PhD
DoctoralOn Campus