The Berkeley English Department offers a wide-ranging PhD program, engaging in all historical periods of British and American literature, Anglophone literature, and critical and cultural theory. The program aims to assure that students gain a broad knowledge of literature in English as well as the highly-developed skills in scholarship and criticism necessary to do solid and innovative work in their chosen specialized fields.
Please note that the department does not offer a master’s degree program or a degree program in Creative Writing. Students can, however, petition for an MA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing upon completion of the PhD course requirements (one of which must be a graduate writing workshop) and submission of a body of creative work.
Students interested in combining a PhD in English with studies in another discipline may pursue Designated Emphases or Concurrent Degrees in a number of different fields.
Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. The Graduate Division hosts a complete list of graduate academic programs, departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website.
Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application and steps to take to apply can be found on the Graduate Division website.
Admission Requirements
The minimum graduate admission requirements are:
A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and
Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.
For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page. It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here.
The doctoral degree requires satisfactory completion of the following five requirements:
1) Thirteen courses undertaken in graduate status at Berkeley;
2) Course work in a broad range of fields of English and American literature;
3) Demonstration of competence in two foreign languages, or advanced knowledge of one,
relevant to the student's research interests;
4) An oral qualifying examination;
5) A prospectus and dissertation.
Normative time to complete the program is six years. The first two years are devoted to fulfilling the course and language requirements. The third year is spent preparing for and taking the Ph.D. oral qualifying examination. The fourth through sixth years are devoted to researching and writing the prospectus and dissertation.
Courses
The general goal of the first two years is to assure that the students have a broad and varied knowledge of the fields of British and American literature in their historical dimensions, and are also familiar with a wide range of literary forms, critical approaches, and scholarly methods. Students will complete twelve courses distributed as follows:
1) English 200, “Problems in the Study of Literature”
2) Medieval through 16th-Century
3) 17th- through 18th-Century
4) 19th-Century
5) 20th-Century
6) a course organized in terms other than chronological coverage.
7-12) Elective courses.
(A thirteenth required course in pedagogy can be taken later.) Students who have done prior graduate course work may transfer up to three courses for credit toward the 12-course requirement. Up to five of the 12 courses may be taken in other departments.
Languages
Students must demonstrate either proficiency in two foreign languages or advanced knowledge in one foreign language before the qualifying examination. There are no "canonical languages" in the department. Rather, each specifies which languages are to count, how they relate to the student's intellectual interests, and on which level knowledge is to be demonstrated. "Proficiency" is understood as the ability to translate (with a dictionary) a passage of about 300 words into idiomatic English prose in ninety minutes. The proficiency requirement may also be satisfied by completing one upper-division or graduate literature course in a foreign language. The advanced knowledge requirement is satisfied by completing two or three literature courses in the language with a grade of "B" or better.
At the end of the second year each student’s record is reviewed in its entirety to determine whether or not he or she is able and ready to proceed to the qualifying exam and the more specialized phase of the program.
The Qualifying Examination
Students are expected to take the qualifying examination within one year after completing course and language requirements. The qualifying exam is oral and is conducted by a committee of five faculty members. The exam lasts approximately two hours and consists of three parts: two comprehensive historical fields and a third field which explores a topic in preparation for the dissertation. The exam is meant both as a culmination of course work and as a test of readiness for the dissertation.
The Prospectus and Dissertation
The prospectus consists of an essay and bibliography setting forth the nature of the research project, its relation to existing scholarship and criticism on the subject, and its anticipated value. Each candidate must have a prospectus conference with the members of their committee and the Graduate Chair to discuss the issues outlined in the proposal and to give final approval to the project. The prospectus should be approved within one or two semesters following the qualifying exam.
The dissertation is the culmination of the student's graduate career and is expected to be a substantial and original work of scholarship or criticism. Students within normative time complete the dissertation in their fourth through sixth years.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Approaches to literary study, including textual analysis, scholarly methodology and bibliography, critical theory and practice. Problems in the Study of Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Open only to students in the English Ph.D. program
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2019, Spring 2007
Studies in the structure of the English language, varying by semester. Possible topics include phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, either separately or in relation to literature, culture, and society. Topics in the Structure of the English Language: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Graduate lecture courses surveying broad areas and periods of literary history, and directing students in wide reading. Offerings vary from semester to semester. Students should consult the department's "Announcement of Classes" for offerings well before the beginning of the semester. Graduate Readings: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Open to advanced undergraduates, with the consent of the instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2016, Spring 2012
Rapid reading of selections in Middle English, from the twelfth century through the fifteenth. Readings in Middle English: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2014, Fall 2010, Fall 2008
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Restoration and early 18th century: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2022, Fall 2019, Spring 2016
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Later 18th century: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2017, Spring 2015
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Romantic: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2020
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Victorian: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2012, Fall 2011
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: American to 1855: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2020, Spring 2014, Spring 2011
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: American 1855 to 1900: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2019, Fall 2014
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1900 to 1945: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2014, Fall 2007
Proseminars in the major chronological fields of English and American literature providing graduate instruction in scholarly and critical approaches appropriate to each field. Graduate Proseminars: Literature in English 1945 to Present: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
Required of all Ph.D. students. Advanced study in various fields, leading to a substantial piece of writing. Offerings vary from semester to semester. Students should consult the department's "Announcement of Classes" for offerings well before the beginning of the semester. Research Seminars: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of seminar per week
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Directed research. Open to qualified graduate students wishing to pursue special topics. If taken to satisfy degree requirements, must be taken for four units and a letter grade. Special Studies: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-12 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
Normally reserved for students directly engaged upon the doctoral dissertation. Special Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-12 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-30 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 2-23 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: English/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Summer 2012 10 Week Session, Summer 2010 10 Week Session, Summer 2009 10 Week Session
Primarily for students engaged in preliminary exploration of a restricted field, involving research and the writing of a report. May not be substituted for available seminars. Special Study: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-5 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
Discussion of course aims, instructional methods, grading standards, and special problems in the teaching of composition and literature, with practice in handling sample essays. When given for graduate student instructors in the English R1A-R1B Program or the English 45 series, the course will include class visitation. The Teaching of Composition and Literature: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: English/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015
Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. May not be used for unit or residence requirements for the doctoral degree. Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
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