PhD in Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy

English Department
College of Arts & Sciences
University of Oklahoma

Ph.D. Program in Composition/Rhetoric/Literacy

A doctoral student in CRL must declare a primary area and a secondary area chosen from the specialties available among the faculty. Your advisory committee will be constituted by four members from within the department (including your Chair) and one from outside the department.

Required Courses

One Research Methods course in Composition/Rhetoric/Literacy. (3 hours)

One 6000 level Research Seminar in CRL (3 hours)

Three other courses in CRL (must include two 5000 level courses in History of Composition or in Rhetorical Theory. These three courses cannot be CRL courses taken for the MA and must be other than the required methods and research seminars) (9 hours)

Two courses in secondary area (must be 5000 or 6000 level; no directed readings) (6 hours)

Elective Courses

Three elective courses (9 hours)
These courses may be distributed over CRL, Literary and Cultural Studies, or in disciplines outside English. They must be directly relevant to the student's preparation for doctoral research and must be approved by the Chair of your committee.*

*If you and the Chair of your committee decide there are good reasons for taking a 4000 level course within the English department, a graduate course outside the department, or a directed reading within or outside the department, you may petition the Graduate Committee to take such classes. All petitions must be accompanied by a letter or email of support from the Chair of your committee. (NB: only three directed readings in total within the English department count towards a Ph.D.)

In the semester before General Exams, all students must fill out an Advisory Conference Report and file it with the Graduate College. Please see the link below on General Exams for more information.

Total credit for Required and Elective courses: 30 hours
Credit for Directed Readings for General Examination: 3-6 hours
Total credit for Ph.D. in Literary and Cultural Studies: 90 hours beyond B.A.

An advising form for the Ph.D. in Composition/Rhetoric/Literacy can be found here.

These pages are maintained by Jack Day, English Computer Lab Manager.