Graduate Programs

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Welcome to the Graduate English program at Binghamton University. Our program has had a history of distinguished faculty and graduates in literary research, critical theory, rhetoric, and creative writing.

 

History

 The Graduate English Program was founded as part of Harpur College of the State University of New York in the late-1950’s and early 60’s with a distinguished faculty drawn primarily from Northeast research programs in English and comparative literature. Its distinguished early faculty included such scholars and writers as Bernard Huppe, William Bysshe Stein, Mario DiCesare, Roger Stein, Sheldon Grebstein, Christian P. Gruber, Arthur Clements, William Spanos, Robert Kroetsch, and Milton Kessler.

 

Distinguished Professor of English

In the 70’s and 80’s we added other prominent creative voices such as John Gardner, Basil Bunting, Ruth Stone, Joanna Russ, Barry Targan, Heather McHugh, and Jerome Rothenberg, and such literary and rhetorical critics as Grant Webster, Zack Bowen, Karen Campbell, Martin Bidney, Lennard Davis, Sidonie Smith, and Richard E. Young.

The department currently includes established scholars and theorists like William Spanos, Bernard Rosenthal, Leslie Heywood, Jean-Pierre Mileur, Susan Strehle, Marilynn Desmond, David Bartine, and Albert Tricomi, and writers like John Vernon, Maria Gillan, and Liz Rosenberg. We also have exciting critics and writers such as Nancy Henry, Michael Hames-Garcia, Jaimee Wriston Colbert, Thomas Glave, Donette Francis, Lisa Yun, and Joseph Keith. Find out more about our faculty (courses, writings, and research) at English Department Faculty

Programs

 

The department offers four graduate programs in English:   §         MA in English/American literature §      MA in English with a creative writing concentration, §         Ph.D. in English with a research dissertation, §         Ph.D. in English with creative dissertation.

Albert Tricomi Distinguished Teaching Professor

LITERATURE DEGREES: The MA in literature stresses breadth of knowledge in literature and theory. The Ph.D. program encourages students to pursue focused interests in literary periods or movements, theoretical models and schools, or global literature. Ph.D. candidates take field exams and write dissertations on specific areas of literary, critical or theoretical interest.

CREATIVE WRITING DEGREES: The MA and Ph.D. programs with a creative writing concentration offer a range of workshops, readings, and visiting writers. (Recent visiting faculty have included Charles Johnson, Galway Kinnell, Robert Creeley, Marvin Bell, W. D. Snodgrass, and Molly Peacock.)  MA-CW students take courses in literature and writing and produce a creative thesis. Ph.D. students take  courses in literature and writing, complete the same field exams as literature students, and produce novels, books of poems, or books of short stories for their dissertations.

John Vernon Distinguished Professor of English

Students and Doctoral Placements

Our English graduate community currently enrolls about 130 students, almost half of whom are funded with teaching assistantships or fellowships.

Many of our graduates have moved on to join faculties at major American research universities, such as

·         City University of New York

·         Colgate University

·         Duke University

·         George Mason University

·         Howard University

·         Michigan State University

·         Notre Dame University

·         The University of California, Santa Barbara

·         The University of California, Irvine

·         The University of Hawaii

·         The University of Pittsburgh

·         University of Alaska

·         University of Massachusetts

·         Virginia Commonwealth

foreign universities, such as
 

·         University of Athens

·         University of Trento

·         Sun Yat Sen University

 

smaller, liberal arts colleges, such as

·        California State University, Fresno

·        Franklin and Marshall College (PA)

·         Georgia State University

·         Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY)

·         Hollins University (VA)

·         Ithaca College NY)

·         Lake Forest College (IL)

·         Lycoming College (PA)

·         Marist College (NY)

·         St. Mary’s College (Ind)

·         College of St. Rose

·         Beloit College

·         SUNY Cortland

·         SUNY Fredonia

·         SUNY Potsdam

·         University of Michigan, Dearborn

and community colleges. Many of our creative writing graduates have successfully pursued careers as novelists, screenwriters, and poets.

Our graduate students in creative writing edit and publish their own literary journal Harpur Palate and produce and organize their own nationally known conference Writing By Degrees.  The creative writing program also has a very active Readers Series.

We also offer all Ph.D. students the opportunity to acquire a Teaching Certificate in college teaching.  

Susan Strehle Professor of English

David Bartine Department Chair

Maria Maziotti Gillan        Director, Creative Writing

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