PhD in literature is typically organized into two parts—the first is your coursework, which will give you a deep understanding of literary theory, the history of world literature, the history of the English language, and other topics that will help you better understand how literature works. The second part is your dissertation, which will examine a particular literary topic that interests you—it could be about Shakespeare or modernist poetry or even how children’s stories work. You’ll spend years researching, writing, revising, and defending your dissertation before receiving your degree. 

An Overview of a PhD in Literature

PhD in literature is typically organized into two parts—the first is your coursework, which will give you a deep understanding of literary theory, the history of world literature, the history of the English language, and other topics that will help you better understand how literature works. The second part is your dissertation, which will examine a particular literary topic that interests you. It could be about Shakespeare, modernist poetry, or even how children’s stories work.  

You’ll spend years researching, writing, revising, and defending your dissertation before receiving your degree. 

A PhD in Literature is like a PhD in any other discipline, but with a particular focus on the subject of literature. The program will include coursework in the fundamentals of literary study and research and the study of specific genres, authors, historical periods, or topics. After years of school and intense research, graduates are ready for an academic career. 

Why a PhD in Literature Might be Right for You? 

• Some choose this program because they want to teach at the University level.  
• A PhD in Literature will prepare you to teach undergraduate and graduate courses and undertake original research that can be published as books or articles.  
• Some choose this path because they have always loved literature and want to pursue understanding it further by studying it as an academic discipline.  
• Others may be interested in pursuing a career in publishing or a related field, and the skills gained through a PhD program may provide openings in these professions.  
• There are also quite a few careers that would be completely unavailable without a PhD.  
• This is true for any graduate degree, but especially for one in Literature (though this is not the only reason why anyone should pursue an advanced degree). 
• As a rule of thumb, if you’re looking for an academic career focusing on literature, you’ll want to get your Ph.D.  
• If you’re looking to teach English or other subjects at the collegiate level, a Master’s degree may give you more flexibility with your schedule.  
• The requirements for teaching at the college level are not as stringent as those for an academic career.  
• That said, if you’ve already completed an undergraduate degree within the field of English or comparative literature (or something similar), it might make more sense to go straight into a PhD in literature rather than taking time off to complete another master’s degree: 
• If you want to teach at the University level, working toward your PhD will give you more credibility. 

Career Prospects for a PhD in Literature: 

A PhD in Literature can be a great way to gain deep knowledge of a specific writer or school of writing. It can also widen your scope, studying how literature intersects with other disciplines like history, psychology, or philosophy. Some people even use their degrees to teach college courses about literature. 

Studying literature at the post-graduate level is one of the most liberal arts-intensive options. Literature is a self-contained study that cuts across all the others, and when you study it this way, you’re able to find connections between the works of Shakespeare and those of Joyce or between the lessons learned from Greek mythology and those taught by Star Wars. You might learn more about yourself as a reader, as well, because as you learn more about what makes good writing good, you’ll better understand what you like and don’t like as a reader. 

The job prospects for PhD in the literature vary widely depending on what you want to do with your degree. If you want to teach at the University level—and even if you don’t—you’ll need some teaching experience. This could come in the form of teaching assistantships where you helped out with classes at your undergraduate institution or tutoring experience at a high school or community center. 

If you want to teach full-time, the best bet is to apply for positions at liberal arts colleges where you can take courses in many fields related to literature. But even then, you’ll likely be stuck teaching remedial courses for the general education curriculum—not exactly the dream job most of us had when writing our dissertations. 

1. College Professor – Most people with this degree will be working as a professor at a college or University. This role often involves researching new topics and approaching them from various perspectives to prepare lectures for students. They may also teach courses on literature methodology, critical theory, and other subjects related to their expertise. 

2. Literary Critic – Another common position for this degree is that of an editor or literary critic. Various companies hire these professionals to provide opinions on works in progress and manuscripts for different authors. They may work for newspapers or magazines or have their own publishing company that focuses on specific genres or types of literature. 

3. Copywriters – Finally, this degree can be useful when pursuing jobs like copywriters. Companies employ these professionals to write or improve existing pieces of text on websites, landing pages, advertisements, banners, etc. 

4. Certain Business Roles – The PhD in Literature isn’t just helpful within the academic environment; it can also be beneficial to those who wish to work outside it. Literature research is often very detailed and requires analysis of different texts and information that can be used for businesses. 

5. Publishing & Editing – If you prefer to work in an area that involves publishing or editing, then your advanced degree will put you ahead of many others who don’t have it. Publishing houses are always looking for editors and copy editors who can understand the work inside out and help make it more marketable—so if this interests you, consider applying for one of these jobs after your doctorate. 

Benefits of a PhD in Literature: 

1. Gain a broad knowledge of literature. 
2. Be well-versed in various literary genres because you are expected to know about them.  
3. Learn how to interpret different texts and make sense of the language used in literature. 
4. Develop good writing skills by writing papers, researching, and producing quality work. 

Drawbacks of a PhD in Literature:

A PhD may not open many job opportunities due to the limited number of jobs out there for professors who specialize solely in literature. 
 
The lack of specialized training or experience might hinder your ability to apply for jobs that require something other than literature degrees (e.g., jobs in publishing or higher education administration).