PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in English with a Literature Emphasis: Fees & Entry Requirements at Western Michigan University, USA

PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in English with a Literature Emphasis

USA

1

What will I learn?

A 90-credit hour degree, the doctoral program in literature and language allows students to pursue in-depth study in literary history, authors and authorship, linguistics and language, critical theory, children’s literature, and comics studies.Students coming to this degree are granted up to 30 hours credit from their master’s program, and are then required to take ENGL 6150: Literary Criticism and a course in their major area of study (e.g., medieval literature, comics studies). Having fulfilled these requirements, students take an additional 24 elective credits, six hours of teaching pedagogy, and round out their doctoral experience with reading and dissertation hours. The program is designed for maximum flexibility to meet the student’s educational aims. Doctoral students from our language and literature program have gone on to tenure-track jobs at a variety of institutions, including California State University-Northridge, Middle Tennessee State University, Pacific Lutheran University, Ryerson University, Kendall College, the University of Texas at Dallas, The University of St. Mary, Eastern Connecticut State University, Texas Christian University, Morningside College, Winthrop University, and Wichita State University.

Which department am I in?

College of Arts and Sciences

Study options

Full Time (7 Semesters)

Tuition fees
$17,482.00 (14,75,025) per year
Health Insurance- 1324

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution

Application deadline

01/04/2027

Start date

August 2027

Venue

Kalamazoo Campus

Kalamazoo, MI,

Kalamazoo,

Michigan,

49008, Midwest, United States

Full Time (7 Semesters)

Tuition fees
$17,482.00 (14,75,025) per year
Health Insurance- 1324

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution

Application deadline

Expected July 2027

Start date

January 2027

Venue

Kalamazoo Campus

Kalamazoo, MI,

Kalamazoo,

Michigan,

49008, Midwest, United States

Entry requirements

For international students

As an applicant to the doctoral degree program, you must have an M.A. in English, an M.A. in English with an emphasis in teaching, or an M.F.A. in Creative Writing with a minimum GPA of 3.0. In rare instances, you may be admitted directly from the B.A. to the Ph.D. level, if you also have a great deal of professional or academic experience. If you have a masters degree in an area other than English, English education or creative writing, you may have to take extra coursework in order to make up deficiencies.

Minimum English proficiency test scores:

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

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About Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University offers career-focused degree programs which propel students into meaningful careers in their specialty.

  • 9/10 students employed in jobs they like (WMU Outcomes, 2024)
  • Top 100 for graduate programs in five fields (USNWR, 2025)
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