The English PhD in the Public Humanities is a dynamic and flexible degree centered on students’ goals. In consultation with their advisors and within department guidelines, students design their own courses of study, create their own applied public projects that engage local, state, national, and/or global communities, and produce a doctoral capstone project that contributes significantly to the public good.
For full-time, funded students, the English PhD is a 4-year degree. Years 1 and 2 are dedicated to coursework beyond the master's degree. In Year 3 student work is devoted to a student-driven Applied Public Project. In year 4 students produce a non-traditional Doctoral Capstone Project.
Part-time students who take summer courses can complete the degree in as little as 4.5-5 years. Program requirements are the same. Part-time students generally have full-time positions in the public-sector and pursue the English PhD in the Public Humanities to advance their careers and/or to work on new, meaningful public projects.
In years 1 and 2, full-time students complete their coursework requirements (9 credits per semester). Each semester students take 3 3-credit courses plus a 1-credit practicum. Part-time students generally take 1 4-credit course per semester.
Students take courses in 4 areas:
1. Working in the Classroom and Beyond
2. Writing and Storytelling
3. Literature, Rhetoric, and Culture
4. Elective Courses
There is no foreign language requirement.
ENGL 5011 - Professional and Technical Communication: Histories, Theories, and Public Engagement Pedagogies. 1-4 Credit Hours
ENGL 5020 - Introduction to the Public humanities Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5071 - Inquiry for Public Humanities Engagement Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5050 - Writing in Public Genres Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5075 - Non-Profit Writing and Grants Credits: 1-4
This is an abbreviated list of courses that fulfil this requirement. A complete list with brief course descriptions can be found in the University of Wyoming Course Catalog.
ENGL 5063 - Feminist Rhetorics Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5065 - Black American Rhetorics Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5074 - Studies in Civic Discourse Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5350 - Global Literatures in English Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5360 - Literatures of Diversity Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5455 - Slavery and Freedom Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5885 - Studies in Popular Culture Credits: 1-4
ENGL 5890 - Consumption, Markets, Cultures Credits: 1-4
At least 4, and up to 8 credits, must be taken outside the Department of English. Below is an abbreviated list of suggested elective courses. A more complete list with brief course descriptions can be found in the University of Wyoming Course Catalog.
ENGL 5000 - Studies In: Credits: 1-8
AMST 5020 - American Folklife Credits: 3
AMST 5300 - American Culture and the Public Sector Credits: 3
HIST 5645 - Seminar on American Indian History Credits: 3
LTST 5650 - Women, Gender & Migration Credits: 3
NAIS 5110 - Foundations of American Indian Education Credits: 3
PBAD 5000 - Survey of Public Administration Credits: 3
PBAD 5510 - Public Policy and Program Management Credits: 3
POLS 5420 - Seminar In Public Administration Credits: 3
More information, including brief course descriptions, can be found in the University of Wyoming Course Catalog.
In their 4th semester (Spring year 2) students will assemble their doctoral committees and submit a prospectus to their committee for approval that describes their Doctoral Capstone Project. Prospectus requirements will vary based on anticipated project, goals, and the project's public intervention.
In year 3 students develop, implement, and execute an Applied Public Project (APP). The APP is an 18-credit hour (9 credit-hours per semester) contained project that bridges academic research and coursework with transformative public programming. The APP may be closely connected to the Doctoral Capstone Project (DCP) and/or may be used to develop skills, knowledges, and methodologies beyond those students already possess and/or will develop in the DCP.
While the APP is independently conceived and implemented by the student, ideally the execution of the project will require ethical collaboration with a partnering organization and/or community members and will ultimately invite transformative engagement with communities and publics through the project’s public-facing deliverables.
To prepare for the year 3 APP, students enroll in a one-credit professional development seminar in their fourth semester (Spring semester of year 2). During that semester, students work with the Public Engagement Coordinator to plan their project, establish any necessary partnerships, apply for funding (if necessary), and write a ~10-page APP proposal to be approved by committee that includes an overview of the project, a description of its grounding in academic and public humanities scholarship, a projected timeline with benchmarks, a description of the public-facing deliverables, as well as a discussion of expected results of the project’s public intervention.
Candidates for the English/Public Humanities PhD must produce a capstone project that makes a significant contribution furthering the work of the public humanities. The Doctoral Capstone Project (DCP) is intentionally a non-traditional academic doctoral project. Instead of using the doctoral project, such a s a dissertation, to train students for future academic careers as professors, the DCP allows the student to pursue their own agendas and develop a major project showcasing their innovative, informed, and engaged public humanities work.
The Department of English offers 3 possibilities for completing the DCP: the Doctoral Portfolio, the Community Impact Program, or the Doctoral Manuscript.
The Doctoral portfolio includes a range of written, digital, and/or multimedia artifacts delivered in multiple genres and formats. The individual works comprising the portfolio can function as stand-alone projects. However, they should all be public-facing texts and/or exhibitions already circulating among communities and engaging publics. An introduction describes the themes that unite these works, examines their grounding in the public humanities and relevant acadmeic scholarship, and charts the candidate’s goals and next steps for their work in the public humanities. Some of the components can derive from coursework taken during the program of study.
Whereas the Doctoral Portfolio is comprised of multiple works, the Community Impact Program is a single and substantial contribution to the public humanities. It can be made up of multiple elements, yet, together, comprise a whole. Also, like the portfolio, the Public Project can be realized in a variety of genres and presented in written, digital, or multimedia formats. The project must be public-facing and useful outside of academic institutions.
For candidates interested in staying in academia and pursuing a career as faculty, the requirements for earning the degree may be met by writing a traditional dissertation. Dissertations generally should fall within 150-200 double-spaced pages and be organized as an academic book complete with an introduction that offers a literature review, multiple body chapters that are united by a single argument, and a conclusion that outlines the manuscript’s significance and contribution to the field. The manuscript option is only advised for students who wish to remain in academia.