Overview

The PhD in English Literary Studies from The University of Iowa requires a minimum of 72 semester hours of graduate credit, a comprehensive examination, dissertation, and dissertation examination.

Key Features

With the exception of the Introduction to Graduate Study course for PhD students, no specific course or sequence of courses is required of students.

Instead, all students are encouraged to design a program that combines the breadth they will need to teach survey courses with the focus that will enable them to make significant scholarly contributions to their areas of specialization even before they complete the degree.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

In planning your course of study, it is important to remember that in the past decade economic constraints have led many colleges and universities to seek broadly trained, critically informed job candidates who are prepared to teach and publish in amply defined fields of study.

All doctoral candidates are strongly advised to gain teaching experience, preferably in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Rhetoric and in GE CLAS Core literature courses.

Key information

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-08-24 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-12-14 00:00:00

Language

English

Duolingo English Test

120

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TOEFL^® IBT

110

Schedule TOEFL®

PTE Academic

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IELTS

Prepare for Your English Test

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Credits

72 SCH

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Iowa City, United States

Disciplines

Language Studies British Studies View 210 other PhDs in Language Studies in United States

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Academic requirements

GPA

3.5

English requirements

Duolingo English Test

120

Take A Free Practice Test!

TOEFL^® IBT

110

Schedule TOEFL®

PTE Academic

Schedule a PTE test!

IELTS

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Your unofficial academic records/transcripts from all post-secondary institutions. If you are formally admitted, you will need to submit official records/transcripts prior to entering the program.

Three letters of recommendation.

A brief statement of purpose (1-2 pages) explaining your intellectual interests, qualifications, and reasons for choosing Iowa’s MA or PhD program.

Official TOEFL scores for non-native speakers of English.

A writing sample. The sample should be your best critical or scholarly writing, originally written for a class, with the original instructor’s comments included (if available, not mandatory). Because of the number of applications we receive, we ask applicants to submit only one paper, of moderate length (10-25 pages).

CV/Resume.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

34390 USD / year

≈ 34390 USD / year
Out-of-State

32776 USD / year

≈ 32776 USD / year
Domestic

Applies to you

In-State

13829 USD / year

≈ 13829 USD / year

Living costs

Iowa City

United States

1187 - 1841 USD / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for English Literary Studies.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

About

Overview

Key Features

Programme Structure

Key information

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic

Living costs

Iowa City

Funding

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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