PhD Timeline and Comprehensive Exam Checklists

PhD Timeline

Each PhD program in the Department of English is designed to be completed in 5 years of fulltime enrollment. Depending on the program,* coursework should be completed in 4-5 semesters, comprehensive exam(s) completed in 1-2 semesters, the dissertation prospectus completed in either the same semester as the exam(s) or the following semester, and the dissertation completed in 2-4 semesters.

*Students should refer to the English Department Graduate Handbook for more specific information about degree requirements and program timelines. For example, the PhD English (English Education) degree is designed to be completed in 4 years.

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.

PhD Exam Checklists

PhD students and their supervisory faculty committees can use the following PhD exam process checklists when planning the exam portion of their PhD program.