English (ENGL)

Yajaira Padilla
Department Chair
331 Kimpel Hall
479-575-4301
Email: engl@uark.edu 

Joshua Byron Smith
Associate Chair
705 Kimpel Hall
479-575-4301
Email: jbs016@uark.edu 

Susan Marren
Director of Graduate Studies
335 Kimpel Hall
479-575-4301
Email: smarren@uark.edu

English Department Website

Degrees Conferred:
M.A., Ph.D. (ENGL)
M.F.A. in Creative Writing (CRWR)

Graduate Certificate Offered (non-degree):
Technical Writing and Public Rhetorics (TWRHGC)

Primary Areas of Faculty Research: English, American, and Anglophone literature; creative writing; poetics; literary translation; rhetoric and composition; literacy; comparative literature; literary theory; service-learning; gender studies; peace and conflict studies; indigenous studies; southern studies; post-colonialism; science fiction; popular culture; American studies; African American studies; Latino/Latina studies; Central American literature; Muslim literature and culture, European studies; medieval Welsh; medieval and renaissance studies; digital humanities; sustainability and ecocriticism; folklore; music and literature; theatre; archival studies; politics and literature; religion and literature; psychoanalysis and literature; technology and literature; social media; film studies; the visual arts as text; professionalization in the humanities.

Areas of Study: Under each of the degree and certificate programs, the following areas of study are among those available:

• Master of Arts — generalist approach to history and criticism of literature in English; specialized approaches in the following areas: comparative literature; cultural studies; ethnic and regional literatures; gender and sexuality; medieval literature; Modern American literature; rhetoric, composition, and literacy. 
• Master of Fine Arts — fiction, poetry, translation.
• Doctor of Philosophy — Medieval literature; Renaissance literature to 1660; nineteenth-century British literature; modern and contemporary British literature; American literature to 1900; modern and contemporary American literature; literary criticism and theory; American southern literature and culture; world literature and culture in English; American multiculturalism; gender studies; film and media studies; popular culture and popular genres; literary history; rhetoric, composition, and literacy.
• Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and Public Rhetorics — document design, writing for online audiences, technical editing, technical writing praxis and practice.

Admission to Degree Programs and Certificate Program: Detailed instructions for the application process are on the English Department website. Each applicant must submit a separate application to the Graduate School and either the Director of Graduate Studies (for the M.A. and Ph.D. programs), the Director of Creative Writing (for the M.F.A. program), or the Director of Technical Writing and Public Rhetorics (for the Graduate Certificate program).

M.A. in English

​Requirements for the Master of Arts in English Degree:

For further information about the Master of Arts Degree program, visit the "M.A./Ph.D. in English" pages on the English Department website.

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, the department stipulates that the following conditions be met:

1. Each candidate must complete a total of 30 credit hours.
2. Each candidate must take:
   1. ENGL 52003 Introduction to Graduate Studies, one course emphasizing theory, and two courses at the seminar (6000) level
   2. ENGL 52103 Portfolio Workshop (and successfully present a portfolio for the final project) or six thesis hours (and successfully defend a thesis for the final project)
      1. The candidate's portfolio or thesis, which will be used to fulfill the comprehensive exam requirement for the degree, is evaluated by faculty committee and scored Pass/Fail.
3. Each candidate must also select either the Generalist Concentration or the Specialist Concentration and take the following courses:​
   1. Generalist Concentration (Portfolio Track)
      1. Two courses selected from two of the following three areas: Medieval Literature and Culture; Renaissance Literature and Culture; Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Culture
      2. Three courses selected from three of the following five areas (at least one course being in British literature and at least one course being in American literature): Nineteenth-Century British Literature and Culture; Modern and Contemporary British Literature and Culture; American Literature and Culture before 1900; Modern and Contemporary American Literature and Culture; World Literature and Culture in English
      3. Three elective courses offered by the Department of English or as approved by the student's graduate advisor
   2. Generalist Concentration (Thesis Track)
      1. Two courses selected from two of the following three areas: Medieval Literature and Culture; Renaissance Literature and Culture; Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Culture
      2. Three courses selected from three of the following five areas (at least one course being in British literature and at least one course being in American literature): Nineteenth-Century British Literature and Culture; Modern and Contemporary British Literature and Culture; American Literature and Culture before 1900; Modern and Contemporary American Literature and Culture; World Literature and Culture in English
      3. Two elective courses offered by the Department of English or as approved by the student's graduate advisor
   3. Specialist Concentration (Portfolio Track)
      1. Five courses in one of the following areas of specialization: Cultural Studies; Environmental Literature, Writing, and Culture; Ethnic and Regional Literatures; Gender and Sexuality; Medieval Literature; Religion and Literature; Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy
      2. Three elective courses offered by the Department of English or as approved by the student's graduate advisor
   4. Specialist Concentration (Thesis Track)
      1. Five courses in one of the following areas of specialization: Cultural Studies; Environmental Literature, Writing, and Culture; Ethnic and Regional Literatures; Gender and Sexuality; Medieval Literature; Religion and Literature; Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy
      2. Two elective courses offered by the Department of English or as approved by the student's graduate advisor
4. Each candidate must demonstrate a reading knowledge of a language other than English that is relevant to the student’s area of study. French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Ancient Greek, and Latin are the normally acceptable choices, although other languages may be used with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. (For details about this requirement, see section 2, a-c, under “Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree.ˮ)
5. Each candidate must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.33 for the total number of hours presented for the degree and may take a maximum of one course at the 4000 level for credit with approval from the Director of Graduate Studies.

Graduate Student Appeal Process:  Any M.A. student who is notified that he or she is being dismissed from the graduate program due to inadequate progress toward his or her degree has the right to appeal such a decision.  The process for appealing is as follows:

1. The student may contact the Director of Graduate Studies to determine whether the student can take further steps to avoid being dismissed from the program.
2. If the Director of Graduate Studies advises the student that the student can take no further steps to remain in the program, the student may appeal this decision to the Department Chair.
3. If the Department Chair advises the student that the student can take no further steps to remain in the program, the student may appeal this decision to the Academic Appeals Committee of the Graduate Council through the graduate student academic grievance process.

If the Graduate Council advises the student that the student can take no further steps to remain in the program, the student will be dismissed from the program.

Students should also be aware of Graduate School requirements with regard to master's degrees.

M.F.A. in Creative Writing

Requirements for the Master of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing: The program leading to the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing provides graduate-level training in creative writing and in the study of literature.

Prerequisites to Degree Program: Acceptance to the Program in Creative Writing and Translation requires an undergraduate degree in any field. Applicants will submit the following materials via the program’s application: 

A Creative Writing Sample:

Fiction applicants — up to 20 pages of short fiction or a novel excerpt.

Poetry applicants — 8-10 poems.

Translation applicants — 5-6 pages of poetry OR up to 20 pages fiction translated into English, together with copies of the original texts.

Statement of Purpose — a statement approximately 300 words in length that gives us a sense of who you are as a writer and a person.

Two Letters of Recommendation: Provide email addresses for your recommenders, who will then be prompted to upload letters.

GRE scores are not required, but TOEFL scores are required for applicants whose native language is not English.

Accepted applicants will be prompted to apply for admission to the Graduate School.

Required Courses: 60 hours are required for the M.F.A. degree. 

1.  Required Writing and Craft Courses
   1. Writing Workshop (15 to 24 semester hours)
   2. Craft of Fiction, Poetry, or Translation (9 hours total: 6 hours in student’s primary genre; 3 hours in second genre)
   3. Modern/Contemporary Fiction and Poetry (9 hours total; 6 hours in student’s primary genre; 3 hours in second genre)
2.  Other Advanced Courses (4000-level or higher): 18-30 hours of literature or approved courses, at least 3 hours of which must be a course that focuses on literature written prior to 1900 and 3 hours of which must be a literature course that emphasizes cultural diversity.

    3.   Thesis Advising: 6 hours.

Thesis: An M.F.A. thesis may be a collection of poems or stories or a novel. For students whose primary genre is Translation, the thesis will consist of a significant body of work (i.e., poems, stories, or a novel) translated from the original language into English. The thesis should be of the quality of those works currently published by national magazines, by literary journals, and by legitimate book publishers.

Final Examination: Each M.F.A. candidate must pass a one-hour oral examination and defense of the thesis. Awarding of the M.F.A. degree requires approval of the faculty committee.

Grade Requirement: Per Graduate School policy, M.F.A. candidates must present a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.85 on all graduate courses required for the degree in order to earn the M.F.A. Failing to earn such an average on the minimum number of hours, the student is permitted to present up to six additional course (not thesis) hours of graduate credit in order to accumulate a grade-point average of 2.85. In the computation of grade point, all courses pursued at this institution for graduate credit (including any repeated courses) shall be considered. Students who repeat a course in an endeavor to raise their grade must count the repetition toward the maximum of six additional hours. If a student encounters academic difficulty after having already completed six credit hours for the degree beyond the minimum degree requirements, no additional hours may be taken. Please note that the Graduate School calculates grade-point average on all graduate-level coursework displayed on the transcript.  

All students working toward the degree will plan their specific programs in consultation with their advisers. All degree requirements must be completed within six consecutive calendar years from the date of first enrollment.

Find out more about the program at the Creative Writing website.

Focused Study in Rhetoric and Composition

Students earning the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing may choose Rhetoric and Composition as a field of focused study. Students who choose this option are required to do the following:

1. Take ENGL 50003 Composition Pedagogy; ENGL 59703 Advanced Studies in Rhetoric and Composition or ENGL 59703 Advanced Studies in Rhetoric and Composition; and an additional graduate-level course in Rhetoric and Composition approved by the Director of Composition. 
2. Teach five of the following writing courses offered by the English Department:
   • Any two courses from Category A
   • Any two courses from Category B
   • And any additional course from A, B or C
     Category A
     ENGL 00001, ENGL 10103, ENGL 10203, ENGL 10203 (Special Topics)
     Category B
     ENGL 20003, ENGL 10203, ENGL 10303, ENGL 30503
     Category C
     ENGL 20133, ENGL 20103, ENGL 30103
3. Earn 10 professional development points from the Program in Rhetoric and Composition by engaging in any combination of the following activities:
   • Presenting research at any Rhetoric and Composition conference (three points)
   • Organizing or leading a PRC workshop (two points)
   • Participating in a PRC workshop (one point)
   • Coordinating a PRC course or project (three points)

Ph.D. in English

For more information about the Doctor of Philosophy Degree program, visit the "M.A./Ph.D. in English" pages on the English Department website.

Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree: In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School, the department stipulates that these requirements be met:

1. A student who begins doctoral study here may be required, at the discretion of the Director of Graduate Studies, to take certain designated deficiency courses in lieu of electives.  However, these hours will count toward the 24-hour course requirement for the doctoral degree.
2. Each doctoral candidate is required to demonstrate a reading knowledge of at least one language other than English that is relevant to the student's area of study.  French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Ancient Greek, and Latin are the normally acceptable choices to meet the foreign language requirement, although other languages may be used with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies. Students who elect the medieval period as the field of specialization must demonstrate a reading knowledge of Latin, Old English, and Middle English as well as one relevant modern language. Doctoral candidates can meet the foreign language requirement by documenting that they have met a foreign language requirement at the University of Arkansas or another accredited M.A. program no more than two years before starting the Ph.D. program. This requirement should be met as early as possible in the student’s program of study, preferably before registration for doctoral dissertation hours.
   For either the M.A. or Ph.D. degree, reading knowledge must be demonstrated in one of the following ways:
   1. The student passes a test of reading knowledge as administered through the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures or by a member of the faculty of another department in the University who is competent to assess reading knowledge in the given language. The Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures administers testing either in conjunction with Ph.D. reading courses (course number 3063) in French, German, Latin, or Spanish; or through individual examinations. Students wishing to be examined in a foreign language should contact the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures well before the test to familiarize themselves with the different requirements of each language program.
   2. The student presents evidence of having completed the equivalent of one semester of graduate or upper-level undergraduate study in the given foreign language with a grade of “B” or above at an accredited college or university.
   3. The student documents that the language in question is his or her native language and that he or she has native fluency in the language.
3. By the time they take the candidacy examinations, students must have completed the 24-hour course requirement or be registered for courses which, if passed, will complete the 24-hour course requirement.  Students must pass both candidacy exams before registering for dissertation hours.
4. To strengthen and support a field of specialization, each student may take up to six hours of graduate course work in other departments. Subject to the approval of the student’s adviser, these hours will count toward the 24-hour course requirement for the degree.
5. Students in the doctoral program are required to complete 24 semester hours of course work for graduate credit beyond the M.A. degree. This work must include at least one course in critical theory and at least four seminar courses, at least one of which must be in the field of specialization.
6. With the consent of the Graduate Studies Committee, students will declare a field of specialization. This declaration will be made prior to the completion of the candidate’s first year of doctoral studies; it must be made before arranging to take the written candidacy examination. The field of specialization may be a period (Medieval; Renaissance to 1660; Restoration and Eighteenth-Century British; Nineteenth-Century British; Modern and Contemporary British; American to 1900; Modern and Contemporary American) or an area (Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy; Southern Literature and Culture; World Literature and Culture in English; American Multiculturalism; Gender Studies; Film and Media Studies; Literary Criticism and Theory; Popular Culture and Popular Genres; and Literary History). In conjunction with their committee and with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, students may propose additional fields if their particular projects do not fit within any of the suggested areas.
7. The Director of Graduate Studies in the department must be notified by each student of his or her intention to take the candidacy examinations a month before the end of the term preceding the date of the examinations, which will be scheduled by the student in consultation with the committee administering the examinations. At the time of the candidacy examinations, each student must have a grade-point average of 3.50 for courses taken beyond the master’s degree. 
8. Each student must pass the following candidacy examinations:
   1. A 72-hour take-home written examination in the field of specialization.
   2. An oral examination on a specific topic within the student’s broad field, approved jointly by the student and the exam committee. Students may retake only once any examination they fail.
9. Upon successfully completing the candidacy exams, if a dissertation prospectus has not already been submitted to the student's committee for approval, each student must submit a dissertation prospectus to be discussed and approved in a formal meeting with the student’s dissertation committee.
10. Within the time limits specified by the Graduate School, each student must complete 18 dissertation hours and submit a dissertation acceptable to the student’s dissertation committee.
11. Each student must pass a dissertation defense administered by the student’s dissertation committee.

Graduate Student Appeal Process:  Any Ph.D. student who is notified that he or she is being dismissed from the graduate program due to inadequate progress toward his or her degree has the right to appeal such a decision.  The process for appealing is as follows:

1. The student may contact the Director of Graduate Studies to determine whether the student can take further steps to avoid being dismissed from the program.
2. If the Director of Graduate Studies advises the student that the student can take no further steps to remain in the program, the student may appeal this decision to the Department Chair.
3. If the Department Chair advises the student that the student can take no further steps to remain in the program, the student may appeal this decision to the Academic Appeals Committee of the Graduate Council through the graduate student academic grievance process.

If the Graduate Council advises the student that the student can take no further steps to remain in the program, the student will be dismissed from the program.

Focused Study in Rhetoric and Composition

Students earning the Doctor of Philosophy in English may choose Rhetoric and Composition as a field of focused study. Students who choose this option are required to do the following:

1. Take ENGL 50003 Composition Pedagogy; ENGL 59703 Advanced Studies in Rhetoric and Composition or ENGL 69703 Seminar in Rhetoric and Composition; and an additional graduate-level course in Rhetoric and Composition approved by the Director of Composition.
2. Teach five of the following writing courses offered by the English Department:

• Any two courses from Category A
• Any two courses from Category B
• And any additional course from A, B or C
  Category A
  ENGL 00001, ENGL 10103, ENGL 10203, ENGL 10203 (Special Topics)
  Category B
  ENGL 20003, ENGL 10303, ENGL 30503
  Category C
  ENGL 20133, ENGL 20103, ENGL 30103

3. Earn 10 professional development points from the Program in Rhetoric and Composition by engaging in any combination of the following activities:

• Presenting research at any Rhetoric and Composition conference (three points)
• Organizing or leading a PRC workshop (two points)
• Participating in a PRC workshop (one point)
• Coordinating a PRC course or project (three points)

Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and User Experience Design

Requirements: Students must earn a grade of ‘B’ or better for all courses used to fulfill the requirements of the Technical Writing and User Experience Design Graduate Certificate.

Graduate Faculty

Bailey, Constance, Ph.D., M.A. (University of Missouri-Columbia), B.A. (Alcorn State University), Assistant Professor, 2016.
Booker, M. Keith, Ph.D. (University of Florida), M.S., M.A. (University of Tennessee), B.A. (Vanderbilt University), Professor, 1990, 1997.
Brock, Geoffrey Arthur, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania), M.F.A. (University of Florida), M.A. (University of Pennsylvania), B.A. (Florida State University), Distinguished Professor, 2005, 2020.
Burris, Sidney J., Ph.D., M.A. (University of Virginia), B.A. (Duke University), Professor, 1986, 2002.
Candido, Joseph D., Ph.D. (Indiana University at Bloomington), M.A. (University of New Hampshire), B.A. (Colby College), Professor, 1979, 1997.
Cochran, Robert Brady, Ph.D. (University of Toronto), M.A., B.S. (Northwestern University), Professor, 1976, 1987.
Davis, Geffrey, Ph.D., M.F.A., M.A. (Penn State University), B.A. (Oregon State University), Associate Professor, 2014, 2019.
Dempsey, Sean A., Ph.D., M.A. (Boston University), B.A. (Connecticut College), Associate Professor, 2009, 2022.
Hallett, LewEllyn, M.F.A. (Bowling Green State University), B.A. (University of New Mexico), Instructor, 2013.
Hinrichsen, Lisa, Ph.D., M.A. (Boston University), B.A. (Wellesley College), Associate Professor, 2008, 2015.
Hurt, Bryan M., Ph.D. (University of Southern California), B.A. (Ohio State University), Assistant Professor, 2019.
Jensen, Toni, Ph.D. (Texas Tech University), M.A., B.A. (University of South Dakota), Associate Professor, 2014, 2019.
Kahf, Mohja, Ph.D., B.A. (Rutgers State University-New Brunswick), Professor, 1995, 2019.
Kayser, Casey Lee, Ph.D. (Louisiana State University), M.A. (University of Missouri-Columbia), B.A. (Westminster College), Associate Professor, 2012, 2022.
Long, Mary Beth, Ph.D., M.A. (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), B.A. (Ouachita Baptist University), Assistant Professor, 2014.
Madison, Karen L., Ph.D., M.A., B.A. (University of Arkansas), Instructor, 2013.
Madison, Robert D., Ph.D. (Northwestern University), M.A. (Clark University), B.A. (University of Rhode Island), Instructor, 2016.
Marren, Susan M., Ph.D., M.A. (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor), B.A. (Cornell University), Associate Professor, 1995, 2002.
McCombs, Davis, M.F.A. (University of Virginia), A.B. (Harvard), Professor, 2002, 2018.
Padilla, Yajaira, Ph.D. (University of California, San Diego), B.A. (University of California, Santa Cruz), Professor, 2013, 2022.
Pope, Adam, Ph.D. (Purdue University), M.A. (University of Arkansas), B.A. (Freed-Hardeman University), Assistant Professor, 2013.
Pritchard, Eric, Ph.D., M.A., (University of Wisconsin-Madison), B.A. (Lincoln University in Pennsylvania), Associate Professor, 2021.
Quinn, William A., Ph.D., M.A. (The Ohio State University), B.A. (Xavier University), Distinguished Professor, 1979, 2018.
Raines, Anne, M.A., B.A. (University of Arkansas), Instructor, 2019.
Roberts, Robin, Ph.D., M.A. (University of Pennsylvania), B.A. (Mount Holyoke College), Professor, 2011.
Smith, Joshua Byron, Ph.D., M.A. (Northwestern University), B.A. (University of Illinois at Chicago), Associate Professor, 2011, 2019.
Sparks, Leigh Pryor, Ph.D. (University of Arkansas), M.A., B.A. (Stanford University), Instructor, 2009, 2019.
Stephens, Dorothy Anne, Ph.D. (University of California-Berkeley), M.A. (University of Illinois-Chicago), B.A. (Northwestern University), Professor, 1992, 2008.
Szwydky-Davis, Lissette López, Ph.D., M.A. (Penn State University), B.A. (University of Miami), Associate Professor, 2013.
Teuton, Sean Kicummah, Ph.D., M.A. (Cornell University), B.A. (University of Colorado-Boulder), Professor, 2013, 2018.
Viswanathan, Padma, M.F.A. (University of Arizona), M.A. (Johns Hopkins University), B.A. (University of Alberta), Professor, 2010, 2022.
Walsh, Lora, Ph.D. (Northwestern University), M.Sc. (University of Edinburgh), B.A. (Pepperdine University), Assistant Professor, 2014.
Yandell, Kay, Ph.D., M.A. (Cornell University), B.A. (University of Arkansas), Associate Professor, 2013, 2018.