PhD Timeline

Each PhD program in the Department of English is designed to be completed in 5 years of fulltime enrollment.

When planning a course of study, students should consult their program’s timeline benchmarks:

PhD English (English Education) Benchmarks
PhD English (Literature) Benchmarks
PhD English (Writing, Rhetorics and Literacies) Benchmarks
PhD Linguistics and Applied Linguistics Benchmarks

PhD students receiving funding as Teaching Assistants (TAs) or Research Assistants (RAs) are expected to complete their degrees within 5 years. Depending on students’ individual circumstances, they may take longer; however, the Department of English strongly discourages students from taking more than 7 years, and the Graduate College sets a time limit of 10 years from the semester and year of admission to the PhD program for completing all program requirements.

Students should refer to the English Department Graduate Handbook for more specific information about degree requirements and timeline.