Cheapest Ph.D in English, Creative Writing, Composition Studies, etc.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Farina, Jul 10, 2011.

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  1. Farina

    Farina New Member

    Hi there!
    I just wanted to know if anyone could think off of the top of their head some of the more cheaper options in a Ph.D. in English, Creative Writing, Composition Studies, etc. At this time I am excluding DLitt et Phils which are very popular in South Africa and focusing on pure Ph.Ds.

    Thanks for any help you can give!
     
  2. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    In the US you are pretty limited. You can go to Texas Tech and Old Dominion Univ. Off the top of my head, they are the only US based schools offering an English related PhD online. There are some MFAs out there, though, like UTEP.

    I don't know what Old Dominion's costs are, but if you are not a Texas Resident, then I think Texas Tech's is about $1600 per course (closer to $1000 for Texas residents), plus a two week residency in Lubbock, TX that costs another $1600 or so.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    If I remember correctly, there is a PhD program in English Studies at Nottingham University (UK). Beyond those I think you're going to be limited to something coming out of one of the Australian universities.
     
  4. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Yeah, you might find something in the UK or Australia, but none will be "inexpensive." I doubt you find something outside of South Africa that is any cheaper than Texas Tech. Of course, I could be wrong.

    I do remember hearing something about Universities from Norway, but have no real knowledge about them. Perhaps someone else here does.
     
  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I think you're right. There are so few programs around that even the idea of "the cheapest" loses it's meaning. You're lucky to even find a program and even luckier to actually be admitted (there's no guarantee, as we saw in the UND thread). In some cases this can cause someone to stop worrying about the South African degree nomenclature.
     
  6. Michael

    Michael Member

    Farina,

    Lancaster University, UK, offers a Ph.D in Creative Writing, if I remember correctly, in addition to their MA in Creative Writing. Don't know about the cost, though.

    It's for the reasons that have been stated here, plus time considerations, that I decided to go for National U's MFA in Creative Writing rather than WNMU's MAIS in English and Writing, or an MA in English.

    P.S. Just wanted to add that Rhodes University in South Africa offers a Ph.D in English. I contacted a professor there some years ago when I was considering going that route; I noticed that one of his interests was spirituality and poetry, so I thought he might be a prospective supervisor for me. Here is a link, if you might want to contact him:

    http://www.ru.ac.za/english/staff/academicstaff/danwylie
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 11, 2011
  7. Jacob Perry

    Jacob Perry New Member

    PhD's in creative writing are always going to be limited because the MFA is considered a terminal degree. The two mentioned are the only one's I've ever come across.
     
  8. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Indiana University of Pennsylvania also has a DL PhD in English, which we forgot to put on this list (in case anyone comes along later). They do have residencies in the summer.
     
  9. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Holy thread resurrection, Batman! A one year old thread!
     
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Here are 23 Canadian Universities which offer Ph.D. degrees in English. I'll leave it to those interested to sort through the specifics. There are links provided. Find a study program

    I believe U. of Wales offered a Ph.D. in Creative Writing as well. Oh yes, it's still offered -- but from Bangor University, now...since the breakup of Uni. of Wales schools after the "overseas validation debacle," much-discussed in DL fora a year or two back.

    Creative Writing PhD MPhil, Postgraduate Creative Writing course, Creative Writing course, PhD Creative Writing at Bangor University

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 8, 2012
  11. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Heh, well, I was looking for something else and came across this one and realized that we had left off the other US English PhD. Since some folks DO use the search engine, I thought I would add it.
     
  12. katepr

    katepr New Member

    I am finishing my MA in Literature and Writing at Western New Mexico University ( MAIS) and am planning to pursue a PHD studies in Germany in literature/ literary studies. They have options called an individual doctorate, which an individual project on your topic. You have to contact a professor and see if they are interested in your proposal but it is free. I think it's available at most large universities. I'm looking into LMU- Munich and Univ. of Freiburg. You can write the dissertation in English.

    Search "site:.de individual doctorate" also look into daad.de which has a lot of info for international students. This is intense but it is FREE.
     
  13. katepr

    katepr New Member

    Individual Doctorate in Germany- PhD in English/ Literature

    I am finishing my MA in Literature and Writing at Western New Mexico University ( MAIS) and am planning to pursue a PHD studies in Germany in literature/ literary studies. They have options called an individual doctorate, which an individual project on your topic. You have to contact a professor and see if they are interested in your proposal but it is free. I think it's available at most large universities. I'm looking into LMU- Munich and Univ. of Freiburg. You can write the dissertation in English.

    Search "site:.de individual doctorate" also look into daad.de which has a lot of info for international students. This is intense but it is FREE.
     
  14. Forest Elf

    Forest Elf New Member

    Michael,

    Would you be willing to comment on your experiences with the National U program?
     
  15. PurpleHaze

    PurpleHaze New Member

    Hey does Rhodes University offer distance learning/non residence for US citizens for the PhD program? I looked at their website, and there was no mention of studying from a distance. In fact, I got the impression that they only had the traditional In-residence degree programs. Am I wrong about this??
     
  16. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    In South Africa – and in other African countries, Britain and often continental Europe, Australia, and others – PhD and equivalent programs are often based on a "big book" dissertation project without required coursework, in contrast to the coursework-plus-dissertation model seen in the U.S. and Canada.

    As such, residency for a traditional doctorate in that first set of countries can in fact be negotiable. Emphasis on negotiable: At most traditional schools, pursuing a doctorate with supervision at a distance is all about individual relationships struck between a student, their supervisor, their academic department and the school. You can learn much more about this model by searching DegreeInfo for "research doctorate."

    And, welcome! :)
     
  17. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Holy thread resurrection, Batman! A thread that's been dormant for almost a year!
     
  18. Afterhours

    Afterhours Member

    What Jacob said. In the US the the MFA is the terminal degree in Creative Writing. People teach at the university level with the MFA and nothing more. A good friend of mine has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College (resident) and is tenured at a prestigious branch of the State University of New York.

    Some MFA grads who desire a PhD later obtain one in English Literature or a related field. Those who do that may also teach English in addition to creative writing.

    I do not know of any PhD programs that are available in a distance format other that at newer proprietary (for profit) universities such as Capella University. I do not know if they have one in writing. I highly doubt it.

    I'll speak for myself here. I'd prefer to not have a for profit up-start college on my CV.
     

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