Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities: English
Director
Anthony Shiu
shiua@umkc.edu
English faculty who are members of the doctoral faculty.
Overview
The Humanities Ph.D. offers students the opportunity to engage in coursework and collaborate with faculty to write a dissertation that integrates various methods (which may include digital methods for portfolio creation) with research in the Humanities, with a primary discipline in English or History and a secondary discipline in English, History, Digital and Public Humanities, or General Humanities.
This degree program is designed to prepare students for careers in the academy and several other sectors by combining traditional academic training with applied research experience in the Humanities. This will equip them to bring Humanities content to broad public audiences using traditional and/or digital tools. It will also allow students the option to think creatively about the application of quantitative data analysis methods and digital communication tools to diverse datasets that are not traditionally subjected to this sort of inquiry.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from this program will:
- Demonstrate a thorough degree of knowledge in the discipline
- Demonstrate an ability to use proper investigation techniques for the discipline
- Use oral and written forms of communication to convey their ideas
Residence requirements: Ph.D. students must satisfy the doctoral residency requirement by satisfactory completion of at least 18 credits in no more than 24 consecutive months. When satisfying the residency requirement, all Ph.D. students are subject to the following restrictions:
- The doctoral residency requirement must be satisfied no later than the end of the semester in which the student completes his or her comprehensive examinations.
- Students must achieve a cumulative graduate grade-point average of at least 3.0 in all courses counted toward satisfying the residency requirement.
Plan of Study: Students should be aware that on their overall Plan of Study, only two (2) courses may be drawn from the 300-/400-level, and only with the prior approval of their advisor.
Rules concerning graduate students taking undergraduate courses: https://catalog.umkc.edu/general-graduate-academic-regulations-information/general-graduate-academic-regulations/course-and-grading-policies/graduate-course-designations/.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from this program will:
- Demonstrate a thorough degree of knowledge in the discipline
- Demonstrate an ability to use proper investigation techniques for the discipline
- Use oral and written forms of communication to convey their ideas
Admission Requirements
Application Deadline: December 15
- Admission is normally for the Fall Semester.
- Applicants should speak with a potential faculty sponsor in the English department before applying and identify them during the application process. Please initiate contact by the November preceding your application date.
- Applicants are expected to have the M.A. in English or equivalent coursework as determined by the English Department’s doctoral committee.
- Applicants must demonstrate facility in a foreign language relevant to study in English. The language requirement will ordinarily be met by two years of satisfactory college-level language study. Students may be required to demonstrate additional language skills to undertake or complete their dissertations. In cases where an applicant has not yet met the foreign language requirement, provisional admission may be recommended.
Application
In addition to the above criteria, the committee considers the applicant's writing sample, letters of recommendation, research statement, potential sponsor form, and the overall viability of the applicant's proposed dissertation project.
- Writing Sample: a sample of academic prose with a research component that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to undertake graduate course work in English and to engage in a scholarly conversation, preferably on a subject closely related to the applicant’s proposed doctoral studies.
- Research Statement: a personal statement that explains your motivation for the Ph.D. degree and outlines your research aims. Please consult with the director of the Ph.D. in Humanities: English program for advice on the preparation of the Research Statement.
- Letters of Recommendation: submitted by three individuals who are academically or professionally qualified to assess the applicant's ability to pursue doctoral work. References submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for admission to doctoral studies may be judged by the English department doctoral committee as sufficient evaluation, but the department reserves the right to request further information.
All coursework in both the primary and secondary discipline must be approved prior to registration by the student's committee chair.
Primary Discipline in English
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Take one of the following courses: | 3 | |
| Graduate Study In English | ||
| Teaching Writing: Theories, Histories, Contexts, Practices | ||
| Theory and Criticism in English Studies | ||
| Take elective courses in ENGLISH at the 5400- or 5500-level | 12 | |
Secondary Discipline in Humanities Field
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A minimum of 9 credit hours in coursework. Students with a primary discipline of English may select one of the following secondary disciplines: History, Digital and Public Humanities, or General Humanities. | 9 | |
Comprehensive Exam and Dissertation Hours
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENGLISH 5691 | Doctoral Research In Selected Fields | 3 |
| ENGLISH 5699 | Research And Dissertation | 12 |
Total Credit Hours: 39
Secondary Discipline Coursework
History
Students must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours in HISTORY and have a member of the History Department graduate or doctoral faculty on their advisory committee. It is recommended that students include HISTORY 5581 in their plan of study. Coursework can include any graduate-level HISTORY class (5400- or 5500-level), or 300-/400-level courses with previous approval by their advisor.
Digital and Public Humanities (DPH)
Students must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours in DPH coursework and have a DPH graduate or doctoral faculty member on their advisory committee.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Course 1 | 3 | |
| HISTORY 5579 | Public History: Theory and Method | 3 |
| or ENGLISH 5477DH | Studies in Digital Humanities | |
| Two electives: | 6 | |
| Studies in Digital Humanities | ||
| Technical Communication | ||
| Girls, Literacies, and Print Culture | ||
| Histories Of Writing, Reading, And Publishing | ||
| Publication Practicum | ||
| Publication Practicum | ||
| Publication Practicum | ||
| Oral History | ||
| Public History: Theory and Method | ||
| Archival Methods | ||
| Museum Studies | ||
| Public History and New Media | ||
| Art Museums: History and Practice | ||
| Visual Arts Administration | ||
| Introduction to Historic Preservation | ||
- 1
If the student has already taken one of these courses as an MA student, they can replace it with another course from the list of electives below in consultation with their DPH committee member.
General Humanities
Students must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours. Students who select General Humanities may select courses from any Humanities-related field. Coursework can include any graduate-level class (5400- or 5500-level), or 300-/400-level courses with previous approval by their advisor.
Recommended Humanities-related fields:
- Anthropology (ANTHRO)
- Art History (ART-HIST)
- Economics (ECON)
- English (for students with History as their primary discipline) (ENGLISH)
- Film (FILM)
- History (for students with English as their primary discipline) (HISTORY)
- Law (LAW)
- Philosophy (PHILOS)
- Political Science (POL-SCI)
- Race, Ethnic and Gender Studies (REGS)
- Sociology (SOCIOL)
- Theatre (THEATRE)
- Urban Studies (UPD, URBAN ST)
- World Languages and Cultures (FRENCH, FRN-LNG, GERMAN, SPANISH)
Comprehensive Written Examination
Before advancing to Ph.D. candidacy, students whose primary discipline is English will take comprehensive written examinations over two designated areas in English studies. They will also participate in an oral exam over the dissertation prospectus.
The examinations must be taken within a year of completing coursework. Prior to taking exams, students must have a supervisory committee, an approved Plan of Study on file with the School of Graduate Studies, and have completed all required coursework. See Comprehensive Examination guidelines from the School of Graduate Studies for full details.
At least six months before taking comprehensive written exams, the student will submit a tentative reading list of primary and critical works for each written exam area. The supervisory committee will then review and approve the proposed reading list, addressing any oversights or imbalances.
Areas for the comprehensive written examination will be designated at the time of the submission of the Plan of Study. These may be changed only with the consent of the supervisory committee. The examination is designed to test the breadth of the candidate's knowledge in two areas of English studies whether periods of literary history (e.g., British 19th century, American literature from 1865, British and American literature since 1945) or other areas of expertise (e.g., book history, rhetoric, genre studies, literacy studies).
For students whose primary discipline is English, the examining committee must include at least two members of the graduate faculty in English. Each part of the comprehensive written examination receives equal weight. The format of these examinations, designed in consultation with the student to reflect a sustained preparation (typically three to six months), will include a "take-home" component written over a 72-hour period.
Minimum Academic Regulations governing the Comprehensive Examinations can be found here.
Oral Examination
The oral examination will evaluate the student’s command of methodology and current scholarship as well as primary sources and standard scholarly works in the field and assess the student’s ability to integrate content, theory, and/or methods in the discipline of English. At least two weeks before the oral examination, the student will submit a dissertation prospectus detailing chapters, methodology, and bibliography. The exam is typically administered in a single 120-minute sitting and is intended to prepare the student to begin writing the dissertation.
Doctoral Dissertation Requirement
The dissertation defense will be a one and a half hour discussion of the dissertation that includes all members of the Supervisory Committee. The majority of the committee must vote for approval of the dissertation in order for the student to graduate. See the School of Graduate Studies guidelines for further procedures and deadlines. Minimum Academic Regulations governing the dissertation can be found here.