This page contains information about General Requirements, Grading, and Graduate Certificate Programs.
General Requirements
Requirements for students entering the program Autumn 2019 or later
- Sixty-five (65) graduate-level credit hours, which may include all credits from an MA in English Language & Literature from UW
- Beginning Autumn 2023, all incoming PhD students must take ENGL 506 - Introduction to Graduate Study in English in their first quarter
- At least 55 credits must be numerically graded; the remaining 10 credits may be graded numerically, S/NS, or CR/NC
- At least 35 credits must be earned from the UW Department of English (does not include ENGL 570, 581, 584-587, 591, 597, 601, 700, 800)
- Up to 10 credits may be transferred in from a graduate degree at another institution, upon approval from the Director of Graduate Studies
- Any courses taken outside the the UW Department of English must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or the student's doctoral supervisory committee chair before they can be applied toward the doctoral coursework requirement
- Courses at the 100, 200, or 300 level cannot be applied toward the doctoral coursework requirement; courses at the 400 level must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or the student's doctoral supervisory committee chair
- Thirty (30) credit hours of dissertation credit (ENGL 800)
Upon admission to the PhD program, the student's previous coursework is reviewed to determine the number of master's credits that will count toward the PhD.
Requirements for students who entered the program Autumn 2018 or earlier
Seventy-five (75) graded credit hours (including MA coursework), plus thirty (30) credit hours of dissertation credit (ENGL 800) are required. Upon admission to the PhD program, the student's previous coursework is reviewed to determine the number of master's credits that will count toward the PhD.
What Counts (and Doesn't Count)
- All 500-level English graduate seminars at the University of Washington count toward PhD credits (except ENGL 570, 581, 584, 585, 586, 587, 591, 597).
- 500-level Comparative Literature courses automatically count toward the 75 credits.
- Up to 30 credits from a recent Master’s degree in English or another discipline at another institution may be applied toward the 75 credits, with the approval of the Graduate Director.
- Credits from an MA, MFA, or MAT(ESOL) degree in English from the University of Washington may be counted toward the 75 credits, upon approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.
- More than 15 credits of English graduate independent studies (Engl 600) must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.
- Up to 20 credits of 500-level coursework offered by departments other than English may count toward the 75 credits, upon approval of the Director of Graduate Studies or the PhD Exam Committee Chair.
- Creative writing workshop credit, practicum or internship credit, and seminars in other departments (except Comparative Literature) unrelated to proposed graduate study do not count toward the 75 credits required for the PhD.
- PhD reading list preparation taken as English 597 does not count as coursework.
Grading
While students are enrolled in coursework, grades are the primary mechanism for indicating to students how they are doing in the program. In the Department of English, grades for graduate seminar courses are generally limited to a range of 3.6 - 4.0, with the following breakdown:
- 4.0 and 3.9: Indicate that a student is working successfully (or very successfully) at the level one would expect of someone at their stage of the program.
- 3.8: Indicates that the work in some respects fell short of expectations, but not in a manner that raises larger concerns about the student’s capacity to do better work in the future.
- 3.7: Indicates that the work fell short of expectations in ways that do or might raise concerns about the student’s aptitude for work in the field.
- 3.6: Indicates that the work fell short of expectations in ways that raise quite serious concerns about the student’s aptitude for work in the field.
If a student receives a 3.6 or 3.7 in an English graduate seminar, they are encouraged to follow up with the instructor.
The UW Graduate School's Memo 19: Grading System for Graduate Students contains an explanation of other types of grades, including I - Incomplete, N - No grade, and S/NS - Satisfactory/Not-Satisfactory. If a grade has not been submitted, then an X will appear on the student's transcript.
NB: In order to monitor satisfactory academic progress, the English graduate advising staff and/or Director of Graduate Studies will review grades on an annual basis. Students should understand that no single grade by itself has a decisive impact; the advising staff and Director of Graduate Studies will review the student's full graduate transcript to determine whether a low grade is part of a larger pattern or simply an anomaly.
Graduate Certificate Programs
UW offers a number of interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Programs. Students are encouraged to pursue a certificate where relevant to the dissertation work and/or primary research/teaching interests. In accordance with UW Graduate School Policy 1.2: Graduate Certificates, there are no restrictions on credit sharing between a graduate certificate and a graduate degree program. No credit sharing is allowed between multiple graduate certificates.