Ph.D. in English

In the Literature, Cultural Theory, and Social Practice Ph.D. Program in English at Kent State University, graduate students identify, investigate and theorize the social functions of texts in a variety of contexts both within and outside the academy.

A nationally recognized program, the department's literature Ph.D. program features a faculty of scholars and teachers with diverse interests, whose work crosses the increasingly fluid boundaries that have begun to characterize the profession of literary and cultural studies. They bring to bear on literary and popular texts a variety of cultural theories, including deconstruction, feminism, gender theory, historical materialism, postcolonial studies, and psychoanalysis. Kent State University's program provides sustained focus on the social functions of all categories of texts (both literary and non-literary), including the conditions of their production, distribution, and consequent use.

The Department of English awards a small number of Teaching Fellowships (TFs) to qualified applicants. The TF carries a yearly stipend of $15,510 (beginning in Fall 2023), tuition waiver, and partial reimbursement of health insurance. TFs are required to take a graduate course Teaching College English the summer prior to their appointment  and teach in the first year writing program. Application instructions may be found at Admissions Guidelines.