Graduate Student Research
Individuals wishing to study Children's Literature at either the MA or PhD level in the Department of English at the University of Pittsburgh are encouraged to apply. There is not a separate graduate degree in children's literature at Pitt; those who wish to specialize in this field will apply either to our MA program in English or our PhD program in Critical and Cultural Studies. For more information on applying to these programs please visit the English Department Graduate web site.
At Pitt, graduate study in the broader field of literary and cultural studies is understood to be integral to graduate work in children's literature. Consequently, graduate students will be required to fulfill the general requirement for the MA or PhD degree in the Department of English. Please consult the Requirements page to familiarize yourself with the general requirements for these degrees.
PhD students may specialize in children's literature by means of a self-designed PhD Project Exam (our equivalent of the comprehensive or qualifying exam) on the subject and in their dissertation work. MA students may write a Master's Research Paper (our equivalent of the Master's thesis) on the subject of children's literature with the agreement of a faculty supervisor and in the context of a particular graduate seminar. Although it cannot be guaranteed that graduate seminars dealing primarily with the subject of children's literature will be offered frequently, it is possible for graduate students interested in the field to engage in self-designed directed study courses by negotiation with individual faculty members. There is also the Childhood Studies Faculty/Graduate Student Reading Group, which meets approximately once a month to discuss either a children’s book or a work of criticism or theory. In 2007, the Children’s Literature Program inaugurated a speaker series to bring distinguished children’s literature speakers to campus; that too provides a forum for graduate students wishing to engage in conversations about youth literature and culture.
PhD students working on children's literature in our department normally have the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant for our undergraduate course "Childhood and Culture,” as well as to design their own “Childhood's Books" course.
Recent Pitt PhDs with dissertations on children's literature have been appointed to tenure-track positions at the University of Florida and Illinois State University.