The Ph.D. Program in English draws on the abundant resources of New York City and CUNY to provide exceptional, varied academic training that both profits from the rich inheritance of literary tradition and contributes to current innovations in a rapidly changing discipline.

In a recent study conducted by Academic Analytics, the Ph.D. Program in English ranked tenth in the country for the scholarly achievement of  its faculty, according to a Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index.  Further, in the “broad” category of humanities, the Graduate Center was fourth after Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.  The rankings take into account scholarly publications, honors and awards and grants. (These findings were reported in the January 12, 2007, issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. For the survey results, visit Academic Analytics.)

The Ph.D. Program in English also ranked first nationally in a 2000 survey of U.S. Doctoral Programs, their educational practices, and student satisfaction. A "Site Visitor's Report" drew attention to the Program's "large, diverse, and distinguished faculty." This group of scholars includes professors whose faculty appointment is at The Graduate Center and more than 40 others who are members of both a CUNY college and The Graduate Center's doctoral faculty.

Each year, the Program offers an extensive array of courses running the temporal gamut from Anglo-Saxon to literature at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Established fields within the English Program include African-American Writings and Poetics; Bibliographical Studies and Textual Theory; Composition Theory and Rhetoric; Feminist Theory and Women's Writings; Gay and Lesbian Literature and Theory; and Literary History, Criticism, and Theory.

The Program hosts a wide variety of events every semester. Especially popular is the Friday Forum series, which brings distinguished scholars to the Graduate Center each week.

Students in the Ph.D. Program in English come to The Graduate Center from across North America and throughout the world. Their diversity constitutes a substantial reason for the Program's health.

Please click here for some information for prospective students.

The images in our logo at the top of the page are fragments of a 1935 Berenice Abbott photograph (© Museum of the City of New York). Click here to learn more about this photograph and to see the full image.

ESA announces election results.

Fall 2008 registration begins May 1; register before June 7 to avoid a late fee. Course information is available.

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