Top Ranked English PhD Programs

According to the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2009, the University of California, Berkeley’s English Ph.D. program was ranked as the top graduate program in the United States, cementing its reputation as one of the most prestigious and competitive programs in the discipline. Berkeley’s placement at the number one position reflects its long-standing commitment to excellence in English studies, interdisciplinary scholarship, and advanced literary research. Students enrolled in this program benefit from the university’s distinguished faculty, innovative curriculum, and dedication to fostering critical inquiry across a variety of literary and cultural traditions.

Following Berkeley in the rankings were Stanford University and Yale University, both tied for second place. These institutions are similarly recognized for their exceptional faculty members, extensive resources, and innovative approaches to English studies, making them highly competitive programs for students interested in pursuing advanced research and teaching careers. The shared second-place status of Stanford and Yale underscores the strength of their respective departments in fostering interdisciplinary study, critical theory, and literary research across a wide variety of historical periods, methodologies, and theoretical approaches.

The University of Texas at Austin, meanwhile, was ranked 17th nationally in the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2009, tying with Rutgers State University-New Brunswick and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Although not as highly ranked as Berkeley, Stanford, or Yale, the University of Texas at Austin’s English program maintains a strong reputation for its diverse curriculum, accomplished faculty members, and opportunities for interdisciplinary research. The English Department at UT Austin offers a Doctoral Program that spans a broad range of fields and specializations, allowing students to tailor their academic paths to their individual interests. Among these fields are American Literature, Medieval Literary Studies, Renaissance Literature, Modern British Literature, Bibliography and Textual Studies, and Digital Literacies and Literatures. This wide variety of areas reflects the program’s commitment to providing students with both historical depth and innovative approaches to emerging topics in literary studies.

UT Austin’s comprehensive and flexible curriculum allows students to engage with both traditional and modern approaches to literary studies while pursuing cutting-edge research. This balance between foundational coursework and specialization gives doctoral candidates the opportunity to explore their intellectual interests deeply, whether through historical literary inquiry, textual studies, interdisciplinary analysis, or the study of technological developments such as digital literacies. The program’s emphasis on combining traditional scholarly methods with innovation demonstrates the department’s responsiveness to the evolving landscape of English studies and the changing needs of academic inquiry.

Additionally, the City University of New York (CUNY) boasts a highly respected English Ph.D. program that has also achieved notable success in national rankings. In the U.S. News & World Report rankings of 2009, CUNY’s Ph.D. program was ranked 22nd nationally, reflecting its strength, innovation, and commitment to high-quality research and teaching. The program has also earned considerable praise through other surveys and rankings. Notably, the National Doctoral Program Survey conducted in 2000 identified the CUNY English program as the number one doctoral program in the United States among over 200 English departments. This particular survey assessed student perceptions of the effectiveness and quality of their doctoral education, highlighting the program’s success in meeting the academic and professional needs of its students.

CUNY’s high ranking and positive survey findings can be attributed to its focus on providing a supportive and dynamic environment for doctoral study, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary exploration, academic rigor, and innovative approaches to literary research. The CUNY English program is known for its inclusivity and diversity, offering students the opportunity to engage with a variety of theoretical paradigms, literary traditions, and contemporary issues. With its emphasis on fostering critical thinking, advanced scholarship, and practical research training, CUNY’s program has become a strong choice for students interested in pursuing careers in academia, research, and literary studies.

These rankings—the number one position held by UC Berkeley, the second-place tie between Stanford and Yale, the 17th place ranking of the University of Texas at Austin, and the 22nd ranking of CUNY—demonstrate a wide array of opportunities for students pursuing doctoral degrees in English. They illustrate the diversity of strengths among these institutions, ranging from historical literary studies to digital literacies, interdisciplinary research methods, and critical theory. The U.S. News rankings highlight not only the strength of traditional and well-established programs like Berkeley and Yale but also the opportunities for innovation and specialization offered by other programs such as the University of Texas at Austin and CUNY.

For students considering advanced studies in English, these programs represent both prestigious opportunities and highly regarded pathways into research, teaching, and publishing careers. The rankings provide prospective students with a guide to some of the most competitive and dynamic programs in the field, each with its own distinct strengths, faculty expertise, and areas of specialization. Whether one is drawn to the theoretical depth and historical inquiry of institutions like UC Berkeley and Yale or to the interdisciplinary strengths of programs like those at the University of Texas at Austin and CUNY, the rankings emphasize the breadth of options available to English doctoral candidates. Through their programs, these universities contribute to the intellectual landscape of English studies by preparing students to engage with key literary questions, advanced methodologies, and contemporary trends in research and teaching.

Top Ranked English PhD Programs:
1 University of California-Berkeley
2 Stanford University (California)
2 Yale University (Connecticut)
4 Columbia University (New York)
4 Harvard University (Massachusetts)
4 University of Pennsylvania
7 Cornell University (New York)
7 Princeton University (New Jersey)
7 University of Chicago (Illinois)
10 Duke University (North Carolina)
10 University of California-Los Angeles
10 University of Virginia
13 Brown University (Rhode Island)
13 Johns Hopkins University (Maryland)
13 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
16 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
17 Rutgers State University-New Brunswick (New Jersey)
17 University of Texas-Austin
17 University of Wisconsin-Madison
20 New York University
20 Northwestern University
22 CUNY Graduate School and University Center
22 Indiana University-Bloomington
22 University of California-Irvine
Source: US News and World Report (2009)