September 13, 2005

SMU TRUSTEES APPROVE NEW Ph.D. PROGRAM IN ENGLISH

DALLAS (SMU) – Southern Methodist University’s Board of Trustees has approved the creation of a new Ph.D. program in English. The program will emphasize English and American literature, criticism and theory and will offer the option of a final postdoctoral year at SMU as a visiting assistant professor. SMU will enroll its first English Ph.D. class in fall 2007.

“We have been expanding and strengthening the faculty in English for the past five years in preparation for this Ph.D. program,” said Jasper Neel, dean of SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. “The program will be small, admitting about six new students a year, and of very high quality.”

Strong employment for doctoral graduates in English also makes this the right time to create the program, said Steven Weisenburger, English Department chair in Dedman College. About 90 percent of Ph.D. graduates in English from South Central-region universities found full-time employment within one year of receiving their doctorates, according to a 1997-2001 survey published in the Modern Language Association Guide to Doctoral Programs.

Top-tier institutions traditionally offer the full range of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in English, a liberal arts discipline that has been central to the emergence of modern universities.

The English Ph.D. program will be built around seminars, tutorials and close work with faculty. Courses and mentoring will prepare candidates for careers in college and university teaching.

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Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas with more than 10,000 students and offers degree programs through seven schools. More information about SMU is available at www.smu.edu.