Ph.D. in English

Student Resources

Administrative Guidelines, Forms, and Resources

Student Opportunities

We encourage graduate students to be active in the ongoing work of the English Department, and our inclusive governance system gives students a voice in departmental affairs. Department meetings, except for those dealing with personnel matters, are open to graduate students, and student representatives sit as voting members on some departmental committees. The University’s Graduate Student Association is an active group that elects students to committees and sponsors student travel to professional conferences and meetings.

Additional opportunities for participation include:

  • Organize and participate in our annual URI Graduate Student Conference
  • Provide editorial assistance for The Ocean State Review, our annual print journal 
  • Organize our Read/Write Series and engage with nationally and internationally renowned writers
  • Intern with Barrow Street Inc., a non-profit organization publishing prize-winning poetry books and an annual poetry journal

English Department Writing Contests

Four annual writing contests are open to both undergraduate and graduate students. See submission details.

Financial Support

Visit the URI Graduate School website for general financial support information for graduate students. In addition, please refer to the following resources and programs:

English Graduate Program Teaching Assistantships
The Graduate Program in English offers a limited number of Teaching Assistantships (TA-ships). Open primarily to Ph.D. students, these assistantships require that students teach approximately 20 hours per week. Support is renewable pending satisfactory teaching evaluations and degree progress.

Internal TA-ship Application
Applicants to the program who wish to be considered for a TA-ship should send a cover letter with their request to the Director of Graduate Studies along with the application supplementary materials listed below by February 1. Successful applicants will be notified of assistantship offers. Applications are forwarded to the Graduate Committee for review. The application for an internal TA-ship should include the following materials:

  • Personal Statement (1-2 pages) detailing any prior teaching, teaching assistantship, tutoring, or writing center experience. The committee is particularly interested to know what your intellectual interests are, how your coursework has guided you to this point in developing your ideas, and how your life experiences make you an excellent candidate for a TA-ship.
  • C.V. (Curriculum Vita)
  • Writing Sample (15-20 pages)
  • Two letters of recommendation (these letters should be from URI faculty, but one of these letters may be a letter from another university that speaks directly about your teaching)
  • Unofficial transcript
  • Classroom evaluation (optional)

TA-ship Renewal Application
Current teaching assistants (those who have a year or more remaining of their renewable TA award) must apply for renewal of the TA-ship each year. Renewal is contingent upon satisfactory progress in the Graduate Program. The deadline for submission of the TA renewal application is January 1.

College of Arts & Sciences Support for Graduate Student Research and Travel
The College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s External Advisory Council has established the Richard Beaupre Hope & Heritage Fund to support student and faculty excellence within the College of Arts & Sciences. Funding is available for partial reimbursement of expenses—such as travel and accommodations—directly related to presenting papers, delivering poster sessions, performing or exhibiting creative work. To be reimbursed, all travel must be conducted according to the URI Travel Procedures.

URI Center for the Humanities Graduate Research Grants
The URI Center for the Humanities offers a limited number of research awards of up to a maximum of $1,000 to students working toward master’s theses and doctoral dissertations within the traditional humanities disciplines (and from other disciplines, provided the research is clearly grounded in the humanities). All applicants must be enrolled for thesis or dissertation credits at the time of the grant award and must be making steady progress toward completion of the thesis or dissertation. Applicants who have received funding previously from the Center for the same project are not eligible. The Humanities website includes information about application process and criteria for selection.

Graduate Assistants United/NEARI (URIGAU) Grant Fund Application
The GAU Executive Committee has established the GAU Annual Grant Fund to support the growing financial needs of graduate assistants in their endeavor for excellence at the University of Rhode Island. Charitable funding is available for reimbursement of expenses directly related to presenting papers, delivering poster sessions, performing or exhibiting creative work, or other pursuits of professional/educational advancement. The awarded funds can be used to help cover registration fees, travel expenses, and accommodations, to purchase necessary supplies or equipment related to research/teaching endeavors, and to organize events which further academic advancement at the University of Rhode Island. Visit the Graduate Assistants United/NEARI website for more information.

Graduate Student Association (GSA) Conference and Paper Delivery Student Reimbursement Fund
This fund was established to encourage academic excellence by URI graduate students, by providing financial assistance for participation in short-term academic events as part of their research within their field of study. Academic events may include conferences, workshops or training seminars. Additional incentives are provided to those that present their academic work at such events. Reimbursement shall be for travel, registration, and lodging, up to the maximum. Students are required to have their department chair or major advisor sign the application to verify attendance and to verify whether or not the student received any funding from his/her department. Please see the GSA Reimbursement Program Guidelines page for detailed application information.

Graduate School Awards and Fellowships
The Graduate School provides a limited number of scholarships that are awarded on a competitive basis. Candidates for these scholarships must be nominated by their department or program and recipients are required to be full-time graduate students who are in good academic standing. The call for nominations for these awards goes out on 1 February, nominations for the awards are due on 1 March, and winners of the awards are announced on 1 April. URI Graduate School Scholarships provide health insurance and the remission of tuition and a waiver of twenty (20) percent of the graduate student fees.

The Graduate School provides a limited number of fellowships that are awarded on a competitive basis. Candidates for these fellowships must be Ph.D. students who are nominated by their department or program, and recipients are required to be full-time graduate students who are in good academic standing. The call for nominations for the awards goes out on 1 February, nominations are due on 1 March and winners are announced on 1 April. URI Graduate Fellowships provide a stipend, health insurance, the remission of tuition and a waiver of twenty (20) percent of the graduate student fees.

The Graduate School, with support from the URI Foundation and the New England Board of Higher Education, provide awards on a competitive basis to students who are members of groups currently under-represented in higher education. Candidates for these awards must be nominated by their department or program, and recipients must be full-time students during the period of the award and in good academic standing. The call for nominations goes out on 1 February, nominations are due on 1 March and winners are announced on 1 April.

Visit the Graduate School website for more information.

The English department also hosts annual contests, offering awards in the categories of creative non-fiction, poetry, short story, and critical essay. Other funding opportunities include tutoring in the Talent Development Program or teaching part-time.

Announcements for talks, positions, contests, etc. are sent via engrad, the graduate program listserv. All graduate students are automatically enrolled in engrad.