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English (PhD)

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The Department of English offers the degrees of master of arts (with or without thesis) and doctor of philosophy in English. Both programs equip students to pursue advanced studies in British, Canadian, or American literature informed by a broad knowledge of literary history and by recent developments in literary criticism and cultural theory. The department is well known for its annual Canadian Literature Symposium, and its faculty is distinguished and well-published. The Ontario Council on Graduate Studies (OCGS), has consistently awarded the department the council's highest rating.

The department participates in the collaborative program in Women's Studies at the master's level and in the collaborative program in Canadian Studies at the PhD level. For more information on these programs, see “Admission Requirements”.

General regulations are to be found in the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies calendar. Please note, however, that any course fulfilling a graduate degree requirement in English must be completed with a mark of B or higher. A student whose record shows any two grades lower than a mark of B will automatically be asked to withdraw from the program. All graduate courses in the Department of English at the University of Ottawa carry three credits. Requirements are stated in number of credits.

Search all research fields for members of the teaching staff

The professors included in the list below are members of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. This means that they are authorized to supervise or co-supervise theses. A complete list of the faculty and staff members associated with the program can be found at http://www.english.uottawa.ca/

ALLEN, Thomas, Associate Professor
Nineteenth-century American literature

ARSENEAU, Mary, Full Professor
Nineteenth-century British literature

BLAIR, Jennifer, Assistant Professor
Canadian literature and cultural studies; Critical theory; Literature and architecture

BURKE, Victoria, Associate Professor
Early modern literature; Women's writing; Manuscript culture

CARLSON, David, Full Professor
Middle English and Renaissance literature

CHILDS, Donald, Full Professor
Modern British literature, T.S. Eliot, V. Woolf, W.B. Yeats

DE BRUYN, Frans, Full Professor
Restoration and eighteenth-century literature

DENNIS, Ian, Full Professor
Romantic Literature; Mimetic Theory; Creative Writing

FERRIS, Ina, Full Professor
Romantic and Victorian literature; Novel theory; Critical theory

FIAMENGO, Janice, Full Professor
Canadian literature

GILLINGHAM, Lauren, Associate Professor
Nineteenth-century British literature and the novel; Regency society, popular genres, popular culture; Realism; romance; and the rise of the novel

GORDON, Craig, Assistant Professor
Modernist Studies; Science and Culture; 20th-Century British Literature; Literary and Critical Theory

JARRAWAY, David, Full Professor
American literature and cultural studies; Queer theory

LANDRETH, Sara, Assistant Professor
Eighteenth-century literature and culture; Historical epistemology ; Literature and science; Literature and theology

LONDON, April, Full Professor
Eighteenth-century; Romantics

LYNCH, Gerald, Full Professor
Canadian literature; Creative writing

MAKARYK, Irene, Full Professor
Shakespeare; Comparative literature

MANGANIELLO, Dominic, Full Professor
Anglo-Irish; Modern British; Comparative literature

MAYNE, Seymour, Full Professor
Canadian literature; Modern poetry; Creative writing; Comparative literature

MOSS, John, Emeritus Professor
Canadian Literature; Literary Criticism and Critical Theory; Arctic Narrative

PANEK, Jennifer, Associate Professor
Renaissance literature

RADLOFF, Bernhard, Full Professor
Literary theory; American literature

RAINE, Anne, Associate Professor
American literature and cultural studies; literature and environment

RAMPTON, David, Full Professor
Contemporary American literature; Comparative literature

RECTOR, Geoffrey, Associate Professor
Anglo-Norman and Middle English literature; Medieval rhetoric and education; Medieval romance and historiography

STACEY, Robert, Associate Professor
Canadian literature

STAINES, David, Full Professor
Canadian literature; Medieval literature; Victorian poetry

SUGARS, Cynthia, Associate Professor
Canadian Literature; Postcolonial theory; Psychoanalysis

TAYLOR, Andrew, Full Professor
Medieval literature

VON MALTZAHN, Nicholas, Full Professor
Milton; Seventeenth-century literature

WILSON, Keith, Full Professor
Victorian and twentieth-century British literature

The student must successfully complete 18 credits of course work (or 15 credits if the student has completed ENG6302 and ENG6303 as an MA student in English at the University of Ottawa, or an equivalent course elsewhere), one language requirement, comprehensive examinations, ENG9997 (PhD Thesis Proposal) , and ENG9999 (PhD Thesis Research.)

Normal progress through the program:

Year One:

18 credits of course work, including ENG6302 and ENG6303 (or 15 credits if the student has completed ENG6302 and ENG6303 as an MA student in English at the University of Ottawa, or an equivalent course elsewhere), and including ENG6304; registration of the dissertation topic by the end of the third session (that is, the spring session, if initially registered in the fall) after the date of initial enrollment; progress toward meeting the language requirement.

Year Two:

Completion of comprehensive examinations and the language requirement.

Year Three:

Submission of thesis proposal ENG9997 followed by research and writing of the dissertation.

Year Four:

Completion of the dissertation and its defence.

Comprehensive examinations are normally taken by the end of the second year and are offered three times each year (late August, December, and April). Students who wish to write the comprehensives must obtain approval from the director of graduate studies by April 1 for August examinations, by September 1 for December examinations, and by December 1 for April examinations.

The examinations are made up of three written papers (a major field and two minor fields) and corresponding oral examinations. If the major field is before 1790, then at least one of the minor fields will be post-1790, or the converse. Complete guidelines and procedures are available in the department.

Language Requirements

The language requirement is normally French. However, where knowledge of another language is necessary for the major field (e.g. Latin for students working in Medieval or Renaissance studies), the student may request an alternative choice from the Department's Graduate Committee.

Students may satisfy the requirement by passing FLS1000 or by passing six credits of second-year university-level language course(s). These courses are additional to the 18 credits required for the degree. Language testing of languages other than French is normally administered by the Department during the first week of September and in December and April of each year. The departmental language tests are one-hour examinations which require the candidate to translate, with the aid of a dictionary, a passage of literary criticism or another appropriate selection of similar difficulty approximately one page in length. In call cases, the minimum passing mark is 65%, and leads to an S (Satisfactory) on the transcript for ENG7900. Students who already achieved 65% in the test at the MA level are not required to retake the test at the PhD level.

The language requirement must be satisfied before the student proceeds to the thesis proposal

Duration of the Program

The student must complete all requirements within six years of initial registration.

Residence

The program is offered on a full-time basis only and requires full-time registration for a minimum of six sessions.

Minimum Standards

The passing grade in all courses is B. Students who fail two courses (equivalent to 6 credits), the thesis proposal, or the comprehensive exam or whose research progress is deemed unsatisfactory are required to withdraw.

Every year the department usually offers at least three credits in each of the following areas: medieval, renaissance, restoration and 18th century, romanticism, victorian, modern British, American, Canadian, and theory.

The titles below refer to general subject areas, whereas the actual seminars will consist of specific studies in the subject areas. For a detailed description of the seminars available in any year, please consult the department webpage. Information is normally available early in the winter for the next academic year. All courses are three credits.

ENG6300 OLD ENGLISH I (3cr.)

ENG6301 OLD ENGLISH II (3cr.)

ENG6302 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY (1.5cr.)
Preparation of students for the professional study of English. Review and analysis of the expanding number of electronic and print research tools and methods. Internet database searches, both in the discipline of English as well as in related fields (such as history, philosophy, and sociology), and evaluation of Internet sites. Short assignments based on the student’s proposed area of research. Preparation of grant applications and of the thesis proposal. Compiling a preliminary bibliography and taking the initial steps toward the preparation of a thesis proposal. Graded S/NS. Offered in the fall session.

ENG6303 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (1.5cr.)
Preparation of students for the professional study of English. Introduction to professional concerns and activities: writing and publishing scholarly articles, presenting conference papers, membership in professional organizations, and career opportunities (including the interview). Sessions to be devoted to the practice of teaching, covering such topics as syllabus construction, teaching ‘styles,’ classroom management, teaching dossiers, and student evaluation. Graded S/NS. Offered in the winter session

ENG6304 Doctoral Research Methods (3cr.)
Overview of theoretical, methodological, and critical approaches to literary studies to enable students to situate their own research within the discipline.

ENG6310 MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG6320 MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE (3cr.)

ENG6321 MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG6322 MIDDLE ENGLISH LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG6330 RENAISSANCE LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG6341 SHAKESPEARE I (3cr.)

ENG6342 SHAKESPEARE II (3cr.)

ENG6343 SHAKESPEARE III (3cr.)

ENG6344 SHAKESPEARE IV (3cr.)

ENG6350 RENAISSANCE LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG6351 RENAISSANCE LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG6352 RENAISSANCE LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG6355 RESTORATION LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG6356 RESTORATION LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG6357 RESTORATION LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG6360 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG6361 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG6362 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG6363 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG6370 ROMANTIC LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG6371 ROMANTIC LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG6372 ROMANTIC LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG6373 ROMANTIC LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG6380 VICTORIAN LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG6381 VICTORIAN LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG6382 VICTORIAN LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG6383 VICTORIAN LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG6900 SECOND LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
In keeping with the bilingual character of the University, the MA program has a French language requirement. Students may satisfy this requirement by passing the FLS1000, the test administered by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, or the departmental language test. The departmental tests are one-hour examinations which require the candidate to translate, with the aid of a dictionary, a passage of literary criticism or another appropriate selection of similar difficulty approximately one page in length. Students may also satisfy the language requirement by passing six credits of second-year university-level language course(s). These courses are additional to the English courses required for the degree. In all cases, the minimum passing grade is 50% and leads to an "S" (Satisfactory) on the transcript for ENG6900.

ENG7300 MODERN LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG7301 MODERN LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG7302 MODERN LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG7303 MODERN LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG7310 AMERICAN LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG7311 AMERICAN LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG7312 AMERICAN LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG7313 AMERICAN LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG7320 CANADIAN LITERATURE I (3cr.)

ENG7321 CANADIAN LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG7322 CANADIAN LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG7323 CANADIAN LITERATURE IV (3cr.)

ENG7330 ANGLO IRISH LITERATURE (3cr.)

ENG7331 ANGLO-IRISH LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG7332 ANGLO-IRISH LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG7370 HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE (3cr.)

ENG7375 COMMONWEALTH LITERATURE (3cr.)

ENG7376 COMMONWEALTH LITERATURE II (3cr.)

ENG7377 COMMONWEALTH LITERATURE III (3cr.)

ENG7380 HISTORY OF CRITICISM I (3cr.)

ENG7381 THEORY OF CRITICISM I (3cr.)

ENG7382 HISTORY OF CRITICISM II (3cr.)

ENG7383 HISTORY OF CRITICISM III (3cr.)

ENG7384 THEORY OF CRITICISM II (3cr.)

ENG7385 THEORY OF CRITICISM III (3cr.)

ENG7900 SECOND LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
In keeping with the bilingual character of the University, the PhD program has a French language requirement. Students may satisfy this requirement by passing FLS1000, the test administered by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute, or the departmental language test. The departmental tests are one-hour examinations which require the candidate to translate, with the aid of a dictionary, a passage of literary criticism or another appropriate selection of similar difficulty approximately one page in length. Language testing of languages other than French is normally administered by the Department. Students may also satisfy the language requirement by passing six credits of second-year university-level language course(s). These courses are additional to the 18 credits required for the degree. In all cases, the minimum passing grade is 66 percent and leads to an "S" (Satisfactory) on the transcript for ENG7900. NOTE: Students who achieve 65% or higher at the MA level will not be required to retake the test if they continue on to the PhD.

Readings and Research

ENG6111 DIRECTED READINGS I (3cr.)

Only in the most exceptional of circumstances and subject to the approval of the graduate committee will a directed reading course be accepted.

ENG6112 DIRECTED READINGS II (3cr.)

Only in the most exceptional of circumstances and subject to the approval of the graduate committee will a directed reading course be accepted.

ENG6313 DIRECTED READING (3cr.)

ENG7997 MA Thesis Proposal
The thesis proposal is prepared under the direction of the thesis supervisor and is approved by the graduate committee. The proposal must normally be successfully completed by the end of the third session. In the event of failure, the proposal can be resubmitted the following session at the latest. A second failure leads to a grade of NS on the transcript and to withdrawal from the program. Graded: S (Satisfactory) / N/S (Not Satisfactory). Prequisites: 12 credits.

ENG7999 MA THESIS RESEARCH

ENG9997 PhD Thesis Proposal
The thesis proposal is prepared under the direction of the thesis supervisor and is approved by the graduate committee after consultation with area experts. The proposal must normally be successfully completed by the end of the seventh session. In the event of failure, the proposal can be resubmitted the following session at the latest. A second failure leads to a grade of NS on the transcript and to withdrawal from the program. Graded: S (Satisfactory) / N/S (Not Satisfactory). Prerequisites: 15 credits.

ENG9998 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM (PhD)

ENG9999 PhD THESIS RESEARCH

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