The University of Cincinnati offers a doctoral degree in English with tracks in Literary and Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric & Composition. The English Department, home of The Cincinnati Review, receives additional support in its activities from the Elliston Poetry Foundation, The Schiff Foundation for Fiction, and the Helen Weinberger Center for Drama and Playwriting.
All doctoral coursework is seminar- or workshop- style, and all classes are supervised by our most active researchers and publishing writers. The curriculum is enhanced by speakers from the Taft Center for the Humanities, and a superlative array of visiting creative writers.
The doctoral program emphasizes the study of modern and contemporary literature, but has strengths in a variety of areas and time periods. Our literature curriculum is driven by a broad interest in theory and the relationship between writing and culture. UC was one of the first programs in the nation to have developed the option for a creative dissertation, which currently includes an independent critical essay, along with a body of fiction, poetry, or non-fiction. Our doctoral students have outstanding publication histories and a strong record of job placement.
Virtually all admitted doctoral students receive departmental financial aid in the form of scholarships and assistantships. Students that are awarded graduate assistantships teach one course per term. They receive extensive theory- and practice-based training in teaching composition, and additional pedagogical training and opportunities in their own fields of study are available.