Graduate Programs
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.
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
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.
