Study PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis at Western Michigan University in the USA, College of Arts and Sciences
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PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in English with a Creative Writing Emphasis

USA

7

What will I learn?

A 90-credit hour degree, the doctoral program in creative writing allows students to hone their writing of poetry, fiction, and playwriting.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, a forms course in their genre, one class in their major area (i.e., contemporary poetry, fiction, or playwriting), and at least 12 credit hours of workshop in their genre. Having fulfilled these requirements, students take an additional 9 elective credits, six hours of teaching pedagogy, and round out their doctoral experience with reading and dissertation hours. The program is designed with significant flexibility to meet the student’s educational aims.Doctoral students from our program have gone on to tenure-track jobs at a variety of institutions, including Kansas State University, California State University, San Bernardino, West Chester University, The University of Southern Mississippi, Kendall College, Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Pacific Lutheran University, and Truman State University.

Which department am I in?

College of Arts and Sciences

Study options

Full Time (7 Semesters)

Tuition fees
US$15,240.00 per year
Books/Supplies- 676

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

Start date

August 2026

Venue

Main Campus

Kalamazoo, MI,

Kalamazoo,

Michigan,

49008, Midwest, United States

Entry requirements

For students from United States

Applicants must have a master’s degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of 3.0 or better as indicated on an official transcript

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:

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): 80 iBT

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic: 6.5

Pearson Test of English, Academic Module (PTE): 54

Michigan English Test (MET): 57

Application deadlines:

For Fall semester: January 10.

*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)
  • 16:1 student-faculty ratio, (WMU Common Data Set, 2024)
  • 93% of students join Experience-Driven Learning (WMU, 2024)

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