The English Master of Arts is perceived as an advanced degree in which students are encouraged to discover new ways of thinking and to broaden and enhance their readings in and understanding of a wide range of literatures. The English Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Rhode Island is a degree with specializations in American and British literature and culture, critical and cultural theories, and rhetoric and composition studies. Offerings in gender and literature/film courses are part of our cultural studies emphasis. Courses are offered each semester on both the main campus in Kingston and the College of Continuing Education in Providence.

The Ph.D. and M.A. programs are highly competitive and selective and based primarily on academic merit. Admission to the Ph.D. program in particular is based on demonstrated capability to do scholarship and the match of research interests between the applicant and faculty in indicated and developing areas of specialization. With a small student/faculty ratio and an actively publishing faculty interested in sharing their time and interests, students get personalized attention and are encouraged to publish their work and to deliver conference papers. Our graduate Teaching Assistants in literature/theory/cultural studies also have the opportunity to study and to teach various courses in both composition and literature. For Rhetoric and Composition specialists, opportunities to teach different writing courses and to tutor, work, and research in the Writing Center are provided. In the Spring, the English Department hosts a graduate-student conference.

Because of our selective process and the commitment of faculty, our Ph.D. graduates have had an unusually high degree of success in the job market with positions in colleges and universities offered to most of our graduates. Our M.A. graduates have gone on to further graduate study and/or employment in social work, business, law, and teaching.

We encourage students to be active in the workings and maintenance of the English Department. An inclusive system of governance gives graduate students a voice in departmental affairs. Department meetings, except for those dealing with personnel matters, are open to graduate students, and student representatives sit as voting members on some departmental committees. The University’s Graduate Student Association is an active group that elects students to committees, and sponsors student travel to professional conferences and meetings.

Recent PhD Graduates Brian Dixon, Beau La Rhee, and Guanglan Jin       L-R: Brian Dixon, Prof Josie Campbell, Beau La Rhee, and Guanglan Jin

For More Information

Please visit our Program Information Page for more information about Admissions, Financial Aid, Graduate Course Offerings, Areas of Concentration, as well as for information on the Graduate School and for forms pertaining to all aspects of graduate study here at URI. For detailed synopses of current and upcoming courses to be taught in the graduate program, please visit our current courses by going to our English Department home page and clicking on the Wordsworth link. To see a comprehensive list of courses that may be offered in the graduate program, please see the Complete Graduate Course Listings page. Finally, for a complete list of the many courses offered in English at URI (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels), please see the Course Catalog.

This website is the best source of information about the English Department Graduate Program. If you have specific questions that are not answered, feel free to contact the Office of Graduate Studies.

Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Ryan Trimm
Telephone: (401) 874-4664 E-mail: enggraddir@gmail.com

Secretary, Donna David
Telephone: (401) 874-4663 E-mail: gradsec@etal.uri.edu