The Literature Graduate Program in English begins with a course in the fundamentals of research and bibliography. Working closely with their advisory committee, students devise an individualized curriculum that reflects their own intellectual interests. The Program offers seminars in all historical periods of Anglophone literature from medieval to contemporary. Classes focusing on an individual genre or author, on multicultural and gender studies, and on literary theory are regularly scheduled.
Many graduate students teach writing classes and participate in workshops on pedagogy. Opportunities to teach other courses and to work as research assistants are periodically available for distinguished students. The combined emphasis on research and practical teaching experience enables new PhDs to compete for a variety of faculty positions at colleges and universities throughout the country.
A number of fellowships and teaching assistantships are given to new and continuing students, in addition to essay prizes and awards. The department provides some travel support for students to deliver papers at professional conferences.
Requirements
The BA in English at OSU requires 40 hours of general education courses, 54 hours within the major, and 10 hours of elective coursework. Literature is one of four paths available for the major coursework.
More Information about the BA Degree
MA students complete 30 hours (including 6 thesis hours), write a thesis, and demonstrate reading knowledge of one foreign language.
More information about the MA Degree Requirements
Doctoral students earn a total of 60 hours (including 18-20 dissertation hours) beyond those required for the MA; take PhD exams in two subject areas; write and defend a dissertation; and demonstrate a reading knowledge of two, or mastery of one, foreign language.
More information about the PhD Degree Requirements
Faculty
- African American Literature
- Aesthetics
- Comparative Literature
- American literature colonial to contemporary
- Ethnicities and color lines
- Critical Race Theory
- Early American Literature
- Early Caribbean Literature
- 18th-Century British Literature
- Modern British and Irish literature
- Autobiography/ Life Writing
- Critical Disability Studies
- 18th and 19th-century British literature
- Romanticism
- Food Studies
- Postcolonial literature and theory
- Contemporary Anglophone African fiction
- Studies in Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights
- Post-1900 American Literature
- Poetry and Poetics
- Sound Studies
- Native American and Indigenous Literatures
- U.S. Empire
- Transnational American Studies
- John Milton and the English Civil War
- 17th-Century British Literature
- Archival Records of the English Church, State, and Parish
- Modern & contemporary fiction
- Critical Theory (Post-Structuralism, Modernism/Postmodernism, Marxism, Globalization Studies)
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Middle English literature
- Medical humanities
- Disability studies
- American Indian Studies
- Global Indigenous Studies
- Racial Healing
- Victorian literature
- Aestheticism and Decadence
- History of Science
Learn more about other OSU faculty on the profile pages.
(Note: Students may use the below research groupings to facilitate the formation for their exam and dissertation committees. These clusters are intended to be suggestive, not definitive or restrictive.)
| Studies in Fiction | Poetry and Poetics | |
|---|---|---|
| Ritch Frohock | Andrew Belton | |
| Cailey Hall | Lisa Hollenbach | |
| Elizabeth Grubgeld | Edward Jones | |
| Alyssa Hunziker | Chelsea Silva | |
| Tim Murphy | ||
| Lindsey Smith | ||
| Lindsay Wilhelm | ||
| Studies in Non-Fiction | Literature and Film or Media | |
| William Decker | Lisa Hollenbach | |
| Ritch Frohock | Lindsey Smith | |
| Elizabeth Grubgeld | Stacy Takacs | |
| Tim Murphy | ||
| Native American/Post-Colonial Studies | African American Studies | |
| Ritch Frohock | Andrew Belton | |
| Katherine Hallemeier | William Decker | |
| Alyssa Hunziker | Katherine Hallemeier | |
| Lindsey Smith | Lisa Hollenbach | |
| Popular Culture | Critical and Cultural Theory | |
| Lisa Hollenbach | Andrew Belton | |
| Tim Murphy | William Decker | |
| Stacy Takacs | Katherine Hallemeier | |
| Tim Murphy | ||
| Literature and Medicine/Science | ||
| Cailey Hall | ||
| Elizabeth Grubgeld | ||
| Tim Murphy | ||
| Chelsea Silva | ||
| Lindsay Wilhelm |
Courses
Find out about course offerings at the Course Offerings Page.