The PhD in English is an advanced degree preparing graduates for humanities professions and faculty positions in renown universities. UNCG has one of the top English graduate programs in the state, according to U.S. News & World Report (2025). Graduates of this program have a high success rate finding tenure-track and full-time faculty positions and benefit from tight-knit faculty and student relationships that the department is known for.
PhD students may choose from 12 areas of specialization in British and American Literature, Literary Theory, and Rhetoric and Composition.
phd in english PROGRAM DISTINCTIONS
UNCG’s English PhD program benefits from a faculty of published writers and mentors. The program is competitive, which reflects in the research and creative work developed in the Department of English.
- UNCG’s graduate program in English ranks No. 3 in North Carolina by U.S. News & World Report (2025).
- Member of the Association of Departments of English, the South Atlantic Association of Departments of English, and the Associated Writing Programs.
- Professors regularly win university-wide teaching and mentorship awards for their commitment to student success.
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THE English phd STUDENT EXPERIENCE
A PhD typically requires 5-7 years of intense, full-time studying and writing. Teaching assistantships and internships, job placement workshops, and intensive study with our distinguished faculty within the English Department help our doctoral students prepare for careers in the academy and in humanities-supported professions.
- All students have three course requirements in their doctoral program, and all are taken as a part of the 27 hour plan of study. For the remaining hours of electives, students can choose to specialize in one of 12 areas.
- PhD students complete a graduate prospectus and dissertation.
- Graduate students consistently remark on the strong sense of community among the graduate English program.
“I’m most excited about helping students advocate for their passions so they can live out meaningful careers and lives.”
–Lauren Shook ’15, Ph.D. in English, Humanities@Work Internship Coordinator
Careers for English phd graduates
Our doctorates have been extraordinarily successful in finding academic employment. Since 2016, the UNCG English Department has placed 72 percent of the students who have graduated from our doctoral program in tenure-track or other full-time positions.
- Recent graduates have secured positions as:
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Baylor University
- Assistant Professor, Mercy College
- Assistant Professor, West Virginia University at Parkersburg
- Assistant Professor, University of North Georgia
- Assistant Professor, University of Mary Washington
- Assistant Professor, University of Lynchburg
- We are proud of the range of positions our PhD students have taken including not only tenure-track positions at four-year institutions but careers in grant-writing, nonprofit work, and other non-academic and alternative-academic fields.
- Recent graduates have secured positions as:
- HRSA Student Support and Pre-Nursing Advisor at Mars Hill University
- Head, Digital Media Commons, UNCG, Jackson Library
- Office of Sponsored Programs, Guilford Technical Community College
- Lecturer/Director of First-Year Writing, Emory University
Program Details
Degree Type: Doctoral
College/School: College of Arts and Sciences
Program Type: Majors & Concentrations
Class Type: In Person
Catalog Name: English, Ph.D.
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Contact Us
Dr. Amy Vines
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of English
anvines@uncg.edu