Graduate Study at TAMU

Welcome to Graduate Programs in English!

At Texas A&M, we offer two graduate degrees: a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy. We admit students only in the fall semester; applications are due December 14, 2020. All PhD and the majority of MA students in English are supported by assistantships. We also have very generous funding for conference presentations, research travel, and participation in workshops and seminars.

Graduate students in English benefit from an innovative curriculum, excellent scholarly and pedagogical training, and a vibrant intellectual community. We have an internationally prominent faculty and a diverse and professionally active student body. Check out news about our students on the Graduate Research page.

In the Department of English at Texas A&M, we have strengths in areas ranging from Medieval Studies to 21st Century Studies, with special emphases in the Transatlantic 19th Century, Gender and Sexuality, Digital Humanities, and Children’s Literature. We typically offer eleven or twelve courses each semester, and all courses are capped at 15 students, with the majority smaller than that. Graduate students can also earn certificates in Women’s and Gender Studies, Film Studies, Africana Studies, Latino and Mexican American Studies, and Digital Humanities. Except for the DH and Film certificates, these interdisciplinary programs are administered through Interdisciplinary Critical Studies (ICS).

Professionalization and Teacher Training

The Department of English has a strong record of supporting and mentoring graduate students. Our students have the opportunity to teach a range of undergraduate courses, both face to face, and online. We have an excellent training program for graduate student teachers, including a workshop in August before classes begin, a formal pedagogy course, and a mentoring system for graduate student teachers.

We take seriously the professional development of our students; each semester, we organize panel discussions and workshops of topics ranging from writing abstracts, preparing for prelims, choosing journals for the submission of articles, compiling a teaching portfolio, and narrowing down a dissertation topic.

Our graduate students compete very successfully for research funding and awards through the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research on campus and within the College of Liberal Arts. Our students receive national recognition for their work through, among others, acceptance into seminars at the Folger Institute, the English Institute, the School for Criticism and Theory, Rare Book School, and Digital Humanities Summer Institute.  Students who gain admission to these seminars and workshops receive generous funding from the Department.