Graduate students in English at SMU have the opportunity to learn from a distinguished faculty of scholars and dedicated teachers in a collegial environment. Interaction is fostered by a low faculty-to-graduate student ratio, and a long-standing SMU tradition that all faculty members, including senior professors and researchers, teach regularly. Our faculty members offer coursework and research supervision in most areas of literary study, including: British and American literature; literature written in English by writers around the globe; critical and rhetorical theory, cultural studies; and women's studies, gender, and sexuality. Students may pursue independent studies, and with departmental approval, may also undertake limited course work in related departments and in the Dallas Area Medieval Consortium. With departmental approval they may also pursue the Graduate Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. In our commitment to preparing highly qualified teachers, we offer pedagogical training through course work and classroom experience.
Our faculty members are active scholars and researchers publishing books and articles in major national venues ranging from scholarly journals and university presses to trade publishing houses and newspapers such as the New York Times. Our faculty edit two major journals: Configurations: A Journal of Literature, Science and Technology; and the Southwest Review, the fourth oldest continuously published literary quarterly in the nation, which has been headquartered at SMU since 1924. Our faculty members regularly participate in national and international conferences, ensuring that SMU’s programs reflect the highest scholarship in the field. SMU and Dallas also offer a remarkably robust literary scene. The Dallas Literary Festival, in conjunction with the Department of English's Gilbert Lecture Series and other special events, annually brings many of the nation's prominent writers and scholars to campus.
SMU's Department of English offers a Ph.D. graduate degree program focusing on literature and related areas. (Please note that we do not offer graduate degrees in creative writing at this time.
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